EA - An Incomplete List of Things I Think EAs Probably Shouldn't Do by Rockwell

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: An Incomplete List of Things I Think EAs Probably Shouldn't Do, published by Rockwell on September 8, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum.There has already been ample discussion of what norms and taboos should exist in the EA community, especially over the past ten months. Below, I'm sharing an incomplete list of actions and dynamics I would strongly encourage EAs and EA organizations to either strictly avoid or treat as warranting a serious - and possibly ongoing - risk analysis.I believe there is a reasonable risk should EAs:Live with coworkers, especially when there is a power differential and especially when there is a direct report relationshipDate coworkers, especially when there is a power differential and especially when there is a direct report relationshipPromote drug use among coworkers, including legal drugs, and including alcohol and stimulantsLive with their funders/grantees, especially when substantial conflict-of-interest mechanisms are not activeDate their funders/grantees, especially when substantial conflict-of-interest mechanisms are not activeDate the partner of their funder/grantee, especially when substantial conflict-of-interest mechanisms are not activeRetain someone as a full-time contractor or grant recipient for the long term, especially when it might not adhere to legal guidelinesOffer employer-provided housing for more than a predefined and very short period of time, thereby making an employee's housing dependent on their continued employment and allowing an employer access to an employee's personal living spacePotentially more controversial, two aspects of the community I believe have substantial downsides that the community has insufficiently discussed or addressed:EA™ Group Houses and the branding of private, personal spaces as "EA""Work trials" that require interruption of regular employment to complete, such that those currently employed full-time must leave their existing job to be considered for a prospective jobAs said, this list is far from complete and I imagine people may disagree with portions of it. I'm hoping to stake this as a position held by some EAs and I'm hoping this post can serve as a prompt for further discussion and assessment."Promote" is an ambiguous term here. I think this is true to life in that one person's enthusiastic endorsement of a drug is another person's peer pressure.Thanks for listening. To help us out with The Nonlinear Library or to learn more, please visit nonlinear.org