# How to Get Rationalist Feedback

For the vague ideas and posts that you *want* to write up, but which don't feel "ready to be A Real LessWrong Post" yet.

- Describe your idea on a LessWrong or LessWrong-adjacent Discord server. The adjacent servers (in my experience) are more active. For AI safety/alignment ideas specifically, try describing your idea on [one of the Discord servers listed here](https://coda.io/@alignmentdev/alignmentecosystemdevelopment).

- Write a shortform using LessWrong's "New Shortform" button.

- If you have a trusted friend who also regularly reads/writes on LessWrong: Send your post as a Google Doc to that friend, and ask them for feedback. If you have multiple such friends, you can send the doc to any of all of them!

- If you're trying to explain something technical, especially aimed at a *nontechnical* audience: Talk your idea over with a smart friend or family member who doesn't have any of the relevant background knowledge. You get fresh eyes on the idea, and partly escape the [curse of knowledge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge).

- Write notes about your idea, then reread (and maybe rewrite) them a day or two later.
> For example, you can’t find typos in your own writing without a great deal of effort because you know what it’s supposed to say; so copyediting advice runs like ‘read it out loud’ or ‘print it out and read it’ or ‘wait a week’ or recite until gibberish or even ‘read it upside down’ (easier than it sounds).

\- Gwern Branwen, [On Seeing Through and Unseeing](https://gwern.net/unseeing#learning-to-unsee)

- Ask an AI chatbot to write a similar post of your idea. If it says something you didn't think of, that can be good feedback. (If it said everything *you* were going to say, possibly your idea isn't yet new enough.)

- Read ["How To Write Quickly While Maintaining Epistemic Rigor"](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/Psr9tnQFuEXiuqGcR/how-to-write-quickly-while-maintaining-epistemic-rigor). It can get you out of the "perfectionism + nervousness --> never finish or post the idea" trap.

- If you have [100+ karma points](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/nsCwdYJEpmW5Hw5Xm/lesswrong-is-providing-feedback-and-proofreading-on-drafts#Getting_Started), you can click the "Request Feedback" button at the bottom of the LessWrong post editor. This will send your post to a LessWrong team member, who can provide in-depth feedback within (in my experience) a day or two.

- If all else fails (i.e. few or no people feedback your idea): Post your idea as a normal LessWrong post, *but* add "Half-Baked Idea: " to the beginning of the post title. In addition (or instead), you can simply add the line "*Epistemic status: Idea that needs refinement.*" This way, people know that your idea is [new and shouldn't immediately be shot down](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/R6M4vmShiowDn56of/butterfly-ideas), and/or that your post is [not fully polished](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mLubC65xXekk5tkug/see-edits-no-you-need-to-write-clearer).

*This post was based on the latest edit I made to [this post](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/mLubC65xXekk5tkug/see-edits-no-you-need-to-write-clearer). Thanks to Justis for feedback and some of the ideas.*