It's less about the plausibility of the thought experiment, and more about typical online drama and hysteria that ensued, which sort of belies that LW is made up of mortals like you and me. They aren't hyper-rational machines, after all.
No one claims they are. In fact, if I was to name a single overarching theme of all lesswrong discussions, it would be the fallibility of human reasoning. How is having some reddit-like drama on an open internet forum even relevant?
ps. to belie is to contradict, whereas I think you meant the drama shows that LW is made up of mortals? Just making sure I understood you correctly.
"The subject matter that LessWrong considers is certainly unusual, but that alone should not be enough to call it arbitrary, questionable or outlandish."
"But let me tell you about the time LW experienced internet drama."
