[jtheory]

I think you're arguing with the tone, but not the advice -- reading gwern's post, by the end of it I had a pretty strong feeling that he was being unwise (and somewhat cruel) in the way he carried his side of the exchange. Taunting the mentally ill (and intentionally encouraging their delusions) just to eke out a bit more "purple prose" is a bit mean at best, and could be quite damaging to them at worst.

I suppose you might take issue with the word "crazy" generally (that's fair); but the real point is that there can be real-life consequences to pressing the buttons of the mentally-ill that can be way out of whack with your actual interaction -- e.g., with a more balanced person an internet argument is a minor diversion and possibly an annoyance. With a mentally-ill person it could be the same, or you might set them back months in therapy, or they could commit suicide, or they could harm others.

Have we really reached the point where we are calculating the likelihood of "sav[ing] someone by argument" vs. the risk of civil liability?

Option one is futile waste of time; option two involves real-life permanent damage (first to the ill person, incidentally to you) -- basically, don't wade into an exchange that will be (1) and best and (2) at worst.

[matthudson]

A large portion of my comment was a response to the tone. I shouldn't have done that.

Something about the original comment really bothered me. And I can't quite put my finger on it. I'm not a good enough writer to flesh out what bothered me without responding to the tone.

I do feel pretty strongly that it's wrong to casually talk about mentally ill people as objects of fascination. And then to advise against engaging them because it might be a liability to yourself, as if that's the only concern. e.g.: "...[if they happen] to commit suicide a week later and mention you in the note."

I think I'm perceiving a lack of empathy in the linked article and the top comment. Or something. I think I just need to stop commenting.

[jtheory]

No worries, I agree with your comment on the tone -- it does come across as cold-blooded to even think as far as lawsuits when "you might induce someone to commit suicide" is a possibility.

Just saying "someone might be unstable enough to harm themselves or others" is more than enough for most people, I hope...

I think the tone comes from the reality of so many unstable people wandering around the internet, some of them extremely obnoxious. How far does basic empathy go in the face of delusional extortionists, hate-spewing bigots, etc.? ...but still, falling back to "I should avoid doing evil even to evil-seeming people" is better than some of the alternatives.