This is the weekly visible open thread. Odd-numbered open threads will be no-politics, even-numbered threads will be politics-allowed. This one is even-numbered, so go wild - or post about whatever else you want. Also:

1: We now have a “report comment” button! If someone posts a terrible comment, click the three dots after “Reply”:

…and choose “Report Comment” on the menu. This will send it to me so I can check if it merits a banning. Remember, ACX rules are that comments should be at least two of polite, relevant, and plausibly-true-according-to-me. This means I do not generally delete comments for being false (ie “misinformation”) unless they are also rude or irrelevant. However, I may also unprincipledly delete comments that bring shame and/or negative media attention upon this blog, depending on how much shame and negative media attention I’m up for that particular day. And I may occasionally delete comments I think are stupid and lowering the average level of debate.

2: Some updates to my Predictions for 2022, especially relevant if you’re playing in the related contest: First, I misinterpreted Matt Yglesias’ question about a Q4 2021 recession as being about a Q4 2022 recession, so my prediction on it is dumb and you should ignore it - for your own contest entries, please predict the Q4 2021 recession, as Matt did. Second, for unclear reasons I gave the wrong current floor value for Bored Apes; I will be judging the prediction on whether they end up lower than the real floor price as of last week ($320K), not whether they end up lower than the false number I gave. Sam and Eric can weigh in on how they’re going to judge this in the contest.

3: Somebody sent in an ACX Grant application saying they didn’t want any money, but they wanted data on my grantmaking process for their study on what makes teams succeed. I took this out of my pile intending to come back to it after the grants round, and then I lost it. If that was you, please send me an email at [email protected] reminding me what I can do for you.

4: Remember, if you won an ACX Grant I am willing to provide updates and advertisements for your project on Open Threads. ACX Grants winner Yoram Bauman writes:

One paragraph summary of Jan 2022 progress on #climate24x7 (advancing smart climate efforts in the legislature and/or via 2024 ballot measures in at least 7 states): In Nebraska, climate-concerned R state senator John McCollister introduced LB944, a short 3-page bill that cuts the regressive 5.5% state sales tax rate on electricity once electric utilities hit certain carbon intensity targets; see these one-pagers. We have a page of potential improvements based feedback from utility folks and others and are anticipating a public hearing in late February or early March. A similar idea is making progress in South Dakota, where a D legislator has expressed interest in similar legislation, and in Arizona, where I’ve hired Autumn Johnson of Tierra Strategy to pursue this; we’ve written one-pagers and draft legislation, she’s gotten fairly positive feedback from utilities, enviros, and legislative staff, and we’re doing our best to find a House member to introduce legislation before the cut-off of Friday Feb 4. In Utah we continue to work on the signature-gathering plan for the Clean The Darn Air 2024 ballot measure effort; we also anticipate the introduction of a similar bill in this year’s legislative session. Also trying to push forward with ideas or exploratory conversations in Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Michigan. Additional funding would help extend Autumn’s contract and help push forward faster in Nebraska, South Dakota, and elsewhere! From Yoram Bauman ([email protected], @standupecon)

5: In the comment section of Why Do I Suck?, someone linked this Scholars’ Stage post on Why Public Intellectuals Have Short Shelf Lives, which I found interesting.