I think you're right - there is a tendency to see discussion as something adversarial, particularly among people who strongly tie their identities to their ability to make a compelling argument in a written format, regardless of the actual validity of their points. Doubly so if writing is their profession. Writing/debate skills could be an obstacle for participation for a lot of users, however I personally feel that navigating eccentric personalities in an insular community with strongly held values can be a greater challenge.

I can also see how generational differences could factor in. I know I am often inhibited by my fear of being accidentally disrespectful - an inhibition not always shared by older folks, in my experience. Though, I expect this tendency is likely to fade as I age and learn to care less about what others feel about my opinions.

I guess I just don't see why a conversation should "devolve" because someone chose to "rip" the other person's argument "to shreds" instead of furthering the discussion, the latter of which can sometimes require a little more finesse.

Case in point - my very first comment on this site was actually a response to a post of yours about the use of the phrase "wine-dark sea" in greek epic poetry. Another user commented dismissing the post outright as stoner-level navel-gazing. I also disagreed with the presuppositions in your post, but I thought the idea was worth talking about, so I said something.

I think there's a huge difference between pointing out where someone's argument or thought process fails, and just being an asshole to relieve some pent up angst (often the easier option).

Of course, as a newbie here, it's likely that I don't yet understand how all the old-timers relate to each other, so what may seem like blatant disrespect at face value could just be old friends sparring with no ill intent. Another point in favor of letting me have my own "don't post this for six hours" switch, haha.

The thoughtful discussion is 100% the reason I come to Hubski. I come here because Hubski never fails to deliver stimulating posts and conversation, and that makes this place an oasis from all the other noise on the internet.

I mention the intimidation factor in part because the experimental delay alleviated a lot of my apprehension about commenting, and also because I've noticed a lot of long-time users expressing that they feel the quality of discussion has changed somehow. As a newer user, I don't have a frame of reference to make a comparison between present day Hubski and how things may have been in the past.

mk has pointed out that there was a dip in the general respectfulness of interaction, but the comments on the posts discussing the changes to the site suggest several Hubski veterans see lack of user engagement/activity as the problem. As an outsider, I suspect these two phenomena are related, but I'm curious about what users with longer tenure think - and I'm especially curious about the perspective of other longstanding users who tend not to participate.

Yep!!

Big Fish?

I imagine it would be too cumbersome to include something like that as an option for individual posts, but why couldn't it be something I can switch on/off on my own profile as needed?

Let's say I'm having a rough few weeks, and I'm a little on edge, and I know that maybe I need to more carefully consider what I say to others for a time - I can turn on the delay option, and then only the person I'm responding to and people who follow me will be able to see my post right away, and then it can appear for everyone else after a set time frame.

"Squish" might not be the right word here.

Maybe they actually roasted the bug in the engine exhaust of their craft after everyone else onboard died.

I think the popularity of goobster's post goes to show that the pressure to be as "thoughtful" as possible is pretty high, and that pressure can be surprisingly intimidating. It was actually a deterrent to my participation when I first started lurking around here... and I'm sure I'm not the only person who has felt that way on Hubski.

Being able to discuss conflicting viewpoints is what keeps this place interesting, which means the occasional tactless exchange is inevitable. That's not a problem, but being able to approach a sensitive conversation at a different pace can be helpful for someone less familiar with each user's idiosyncrasies. It was nice to have a period during which I could edit my comment or reconsider my perspective without being immediately bludgeoned back into silence by someone like kleinbl00 (obviously, nothing against you, kleinbl00 - your contributions keep things lively, but yours is definitely not a style of discourse I was in a hurry to engage with).

The experiment may not have had any positive impact for the Old Guard, but they've had years to get comfortable with each other, and they can exchange jabs without issue. The delay in visibility actually encouraged me to participate more. It gave me the chance to find my bearings with a smaller subsection of the community, and now I feel comfortable expressing a thought without always feeling like I'm about to defend a dissertation. I might never have participated at all had mk skipped the experiment altogether.

I don't know if there are any other new users who found the same benefit, but I wouldn't mind having the delay as an option I could toggle for my own posts.