Several times in the past, I've had burning questions and not been sure who to talk to about them. People outside the EA movement have too great an inferential distance, and people inside the EA movement are all so busy doing important stuff! Why would they want to answer my question which will probably turn out to be silly anyway?

Just in case there are other people who feel like that, I'm launching the EA Buddy System. The idea is to get people to talk to each other when stuck.

• Not sure what's the "most effective" thing to do next?
• Unable to get yourself to do stuff?
• Generally bewildered by the effective altruism concept?
• Want "permission" to help out on a project?
• Aren't sure if you "qualify" as an effective altruist yet?

The EA buddies are here to help with these kinds of problem. It's peer-to-peer rather than master/apprentice, meaning we all have problems and can all learn from each other.

The way into the system is easy enough - just email altruismbuddy@gmail.com, or get in touch with one of the people on this list on facebook. After that, we'll set up Skype calls at convenient times. After that we'll have to see, because I've only just set this up.

I'm posting this here in order to advertise it, and also to ask for advice on what really obvious things I can do to make the system more effective.