@EnigmaMaitreya easy: install this xkcd substitutions browser extension.

Just change the personal subject into something else, preferably silly or fictional.

@EnigmaMaitreya I think I missed the "not nice" thing, so I'm not sure I can say yet.

But for instance, on the whole topic of "can we talk about a society without women, even though that offends people", I think it's very possible to have an open conversation without personally attacking anyone, on either side of the conversation.

There is no such thing as a "right to not be offended"

@CaptClockobob’s question was so bad that it crashed the site!

Evidently

I'm somewhat surprised to see chat still working

@Aify I found a dup of his follow-up, @Aify

@CaptClockobob’s question was so bad that it crashed the site!

@AndyD273 My question is when the Op is being attacked by a comment and/or a message then how does one play nice?

@kingledion ha ha I had the answer to your question in and was told the site is no longer accepting new answers.

@EnigmaMaitreya Don't feed the trolls, and if it's a real attack then flag it for mod attention. That's why mods get paid the big bucks. ;)

@EnigmaMaitreya you can be polite, rather than ironically exhibiting the same behavior. Be sure to use correct spelling and grammar too, just to rub it in.

@EnigmaMaitreya You understand that I was one of the ones attacking the OP, and I'm right here.

The question had poor spelling and punctuation, from an author with a history of making no effort int that regard

The picture was borderline pornographic, and not suitable for work (like my work, for instance)

Aaaaaand the question was a rehash of a previous question

It was a very poor question, and was (rightly) criticized harshly.

@AndyD273 and @JDługosz - Yeah I know that :( what I need to accept is how to deal with it in a more passive and acceptance way. @kingledion Yes I know your :)

@kingledion Poor spelling, I should find the Princton and MIT link that demonstrates that humans auto-correct for that and .... well moving on ... History can be construed as enemy

@EnigmaMaitreya Generally, I try to read past the attacking bit and see if there is any genuine content in the comment. Even meany heads like @kingledion can have useful points to help make for a better question.

@EnigmaMaitreya Have you taken a look at the first revision of the post?

@Secespitus I can't even find the post I put the messages to and I really do not want to rehash that post but this is a far better place to do it if required. I was seriously looking for input ... what I got was what I told myself ... so I need to deal with the conflict it is my problem

I am leaning to stay the hell out of other peoples issues with each other and let it work its way out

After all I am not a mod and I cant do squat to affect anything anyway except to express dissent or criticism of the action

For instance, English is not everyone's first language, and punctuation really shouldn't be a reason to object to a question. A very light edit can fix that very easily instead of a mean comment. Likewise, if people are objecting to a specific image, then maybe find a different one. google.com/search?q=artificial+womb brings up a lot of images that bring the point across just as well. Rehashing isn't the worst thing, but maybe something can be changed to show that it's different.

@EnigmaMaitreya Actually, you can do a lot! Neither myself, @AndyD273 or @Secespitus are mods. Yet we all help out in the site, by contributing good answers, editing posts for clarity, and attempting to comment on question to help them improve.

If you come to the site for a while, and try to be helpful, eventually you will have a better understanding of how the site works.

Then, when you raise objections, they will be taken more seriously.

May I suggest you spend a few weeks reading questions, voting, and trying to provide good answers. This will increase your reputation and allow you more privileges as far as editing and moderating the site.

@kingledion - "Then, when you raise objections, they will be taken more seriously." the good old boys club syndorm :)

@EnigmaMaitreya No and yes. There is a bit of a reputation bias, but it's not that extreme as far as I've noticed on my way up the privilege chart. And if things are better now than in the beginning, it's because I've learned "how to play the game" a little better than when I first came to the site.

@EnigmaMaitreya there's a lot of spelling mistakes that can be auto-corrected, but at a certain point there's just not enough correct content to work off of. And not knowing the language isn't an excuse, people who don't know English well are going to have an even harder time uncovering the meaning

I have a better understanding of what makes for a good question or answer than I did at the beginning, even coming over from Stack Overflow.

@AndyD273 Allow me to make an argument in favor of spelling and punctuation. If someone comes to this site and sees it full of spelling and punctuation errors, does this affect their likelihood to stay and contribute? I think it does, and I think the people who can make the best contributions are most likely to be negatively affected by poor spelling and punctuation.

@kingledion - I participate on 4 forums. Two are forums as I would expect them. Two are as you say "Good Old Boys Club". I see things this way respect and being taken seriously is a two way street both sides need to earn it. @AndyD273 - Shrug i have learned "playing the game" is to support it. That is of course what each and every individual needs to choose.

@kingledion My experience with speeking with Korean, Chinese, Japanese, South East Asians, Arabic indicates a local perspective of how things are and not a World View of how things are.

In my world I cut English Is not my Native language a LOT of slack because it is guaranteed my ability to speek their langue is WORSE

@EnigmaMaitreya I think the important bit is to not take it all that seriously. You can't cash out rep. :) As you stay around you'll see that most people are generally helpful, and if you have questions you can ask on Meta or in here. Knowing how to ask a question is a useful skill, and not just in WB

Well, I gotta run to meet the school bus.

Later all!

@DaaaahWhoosh it is not my desire or intent to make things a perfect world. My point is and was Humans have an enormous capacity to communicate even if the language is not the same. I am not sure that all people choose to "communicate" I see it more as the overly used "are you on drugs" "have you taken your meds"

are you saying that there are too many people insulting people who cannot speak perfect English?

because yes, that is usually not a helpful response

sometimes, when I see a post with spelling/grammar mistakes, I'll just edit it.

no blaming/shaming, just reading the post, understanding it, and fixing it so that other people don't have to look at it as long

@DaaaahWhoosh Nope, not at all, I am saying it is all to frequent the case that people read something that was produced by a translator (internet) and go after the person.

yeah, that's what I was saying you were saying

@DaaaahWhoosh And I can approve of the just edit it. I personally a, ethically prohibited from doing that. That should NOT be seen as me saying I am better. If anything take it as admitting a flaw. It is a flaw that enables me to function better in society and can be most annoying at times.

you're ethically prohibited from editing out spelling mistakes?

@DaaaahWhoosh You didn't know that was a rule here?

@James if it is, I will lead a rebellion

@DaaaahWhoosh You probably should have capitalized If and dropped a period after rebellion then.

@James You probably should have put quotes around 'If'.

...................

What has this chat come to

It was so much more civil the last time I was in here

@DaaaahWhoosh I'm not a rebel though.

@Aify No one asked you kitty man! :D

kidding, kidding

cries internally

@DaaaahWhoosh Ha Ha go ahead and lay it on ... it wont change anything and yes to alter someone else work is an Ethical Problem for me and there is no sneaking around that or stepping on slippery slopes.

But this is civil for d.w. goosman and myself.

Technically none of us could be a rebel, since in order to be a rebel there has to be an established government or ruler.

Glarnak rules chat with a might iron fist that can shoot lightning bolts.

@EnigmaMaitreya Where's the original question where there are people attacking the post based on grammar and spelling errors?

@Aify but there are established rules

@EnigmaMaitreya eh, makes sense. I do my best to not alter other people's work, but in the case of spelling I consider it a benefit to them in most cases. This is not a place for art, it is a place for being understood.

@Aify I dont no it was there and now it isnt

Here is a link to revisions of the question. Please have a look at the revisions 3 and 4. This is a question this user posted ealier. Please have a look at Revisions 1 and 12. Those two were just about 2 hours apart. Just to give everyone an equal footing in this discussion.

@EnigmaMaitreya That only makes you a rule breaker; you technically can't be a rebel unless there is someone or something to rebel against.

@Secespitus Thanks mate~

@DaaaahWhoosh If only I could allow myself to do that ... but in the end in this scenario perhaps this can help "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" that works for both of us. We use it from different directions.

Oh, I've seen this guy's questions. They're so bad it's unbelievable

@Aify (All in fun) But I am rebeling against the rules

@EnigmaMaitreya Which one(s) in particular?

@Aify We've all asked bad questions to be fair...and he's new, we don't need to be jerks in correcting people's mistakes. That was my main concern with how the comments on that thread were.

@Aify as in the establishment is only enforcing the rules, ergo sans the establishment it is legitimate to rebel against the rules

@Aify None or all we are just playing word games .... aren't we?

JK

@Aify ha ha we can disagree :)

Okay, so I just read through the chat discussion on his newer question

I see no personal attacks towards him O.o

@Secespitus - I mean no disrespect and I am serious. That issue is dead, decided and nothing I can do about it so it is not on any part of my radar not even historicly

@Aify they were deleted

@DaaaahWhoosh Unlucky for me then, I guess

oh, wait, they were moved to chat!

I'm pretty sure if I commented every time I downvoted or VTC'd, my harshness would come off as a personal attack and eventually get me banned or something like that :/

@Aify I flagged them earlier today because they were pretty out of line...if you get frustrated just downvote and VTC then walk away. Obnoxious comments are unecessary.

@james ugh yup

The only thing I see as an improvement would be a mechanism for commenting on why that can not lead to discussion.

Shrug I would probably make it mandatory to comment why

I think comments should be mandatory on votes-to-close, on downvotes less so

voting doesn't really matter to whether or not your question gets answered, it just reflects what people think of the question or answer

@EnigmaMaitreya Aify asked about which question was being discussed and I pointed them out to him. Nothing more.

Sorry I agree with you @DaaaahWhoosh Down vote whop cares

The Down vote is just an opinion

The vote to close is an opinion too

btw I would like to take this time to note that to the right of every post in chat, there is an arrow you can click on that will connect your next post to the one you clicked on. It's a more useful way to reply to people because they can tell specifically what you're replying to

@Aify I understand your position but I am not quite in agreement as 6 passive VtC's will remove a question. It is just my opinion but such an action, should be supported with why the 6 chose to do that. Not just one answer from one person but all 6.

@DaaaahWhoosh so that is what that icon symbolizes

@DaaaahWhoosh OMG REALLY?!?

heh

@DaaaahWhoosh You have rocked my world. Rocked it. :)

@James The sarcasm is strong with this one.

@EnigmaMaitreya yeah, so if you see the arrow to the left of a post you can click it to see what it's responding to

@Aify My context is Passive is undocumented at the time of action meaning there is no accountability upon review

@Green This is sitting on my desk at work.

@James You have a name plate that says "The Sarcasm is strong with this one"?

@Aify 3 - 'majority' is a problem if there's more than one reason to close the question, or people choose the wrong VTC option

WHY THE HECK can I not click that dismiss button

@James HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH

:D

Wait I know I don't have the reputation to do it :)

I also have a magnet that says I'm pretty sure my last words are going to be, "Hold my beer and watch this"

@EnigmaMaitreya We disable it for new users out of spite.

its how we haze.

@James curses but it is easy enough to get rid of it ... just sayin

@EnigmaMaitreya For the record since you are new, I am a wiseass and never mean to offend (except for the things I say to @DaaaahWhoosh) he's a jerk and hater of good desserts.

:(

Gooses can't frown

@James If I said the pattern of how one speaks can tell a lot about them hence it follows that I can determine your not meaning me any harm nor are you holding any ill will. So do not be overly concerned in regards to me :)

@James ):|

@EnigmaMaitreya Excellent we will get along fine :) I like to offer the disclaimer the first time I meet someone in here.

@DaaaahWhoosh Now that I think about it geese can't type either...WHAT ARE YOU!?!?

I have achieved a goal I have been reticent to focus on and pay attention to but put on myself as a requirement before going to see Logan and has nothing to do with anyone here now to see when the next available showing is HURRAY.

I'm actually a flock of geese. There is a large keyboard in the park. The kids used to play on it, but it's mine now

We are the goose.

you will be assimilated. Or bitten.

But are you the golde one

@DaaaahWhoosh STAR STAR STAR STAR

@DaaaahWhoosh lay me an egg!

If not then .... well your just another loosy goosy

@Pᴇᴛᴇ I am no egg factory!

@DaaaahWhoosh Yet!

I mean, come on, I'm a hive-goose with human-level intelligence. That's gotta be more valuable than eggs

Well, if you breed other hive-geese we can build our own army, so egg-factory it is.

actually, maybe hive-goose isn't the right word. That'd imply a bunch of individuals forming a goose. I'm more of a gaggle-mind

@James I never got one; any of your disclaimers, when I first used chat :(

@Mithrandir24601 You must have fallen through the proverbial crack...

or you ignored me...

or ...I dunno maybe DW briefly claimed me as part of the goose briefly.

@James So you are part of the gaggle-mind?

Traitor!

@Secespitus I may have been but I escaped.

Congratulations on that accomplishment.

Was it very hard?

now I lead the resistance, our slogan is Save the turkeys! Goose for thanksgiving

you cannot consume the goose; the goose consumes you

@DaaaahWhoosh thats just the goosel-aid talking.

foie gras is French for 'resistance is futile'

oh man, I really want to answer that computer question

quick, everyone, vote to close it immediately! We can reopen it when I get home

@kingledion one of the things I love about this site is that it's “highly literate”. Even compared to other SE sites, posts are well written and bring out better writing in those who reply to fit in. With peer-review editing including copyedit and grammar, good posts are easily the equal of what we used to find in professional print.

@DaaaahWhoosh How do you think I learned good English? From being corrected, hanging out in a (pre-Internet) forum full of professional writers and publisher employees. I recall when Stan Kelly-Bootle just had to jump in and admonish the several posters in the thread for using wrong (and all different) homonyms for “whose”.

(I'm also mentioned by name in The Computer Contradictionary for my tounge-in-cheek suggestions for improving English.)

@EnigmaMaitreya Try using a translator for someone you live with. You could make a great sitcom for that. In particular, Google doesn’t work as well in Mandarin as you would hope. Just a few mi utes ago I had a conversation about laundry. I think.

@Aify obligatory xkcd reference

@Pᴇᴛᴇ oh, I’ve been meaning to ask: is there a gap or something after the P in your user name? It always formats like it’s supposed to be a bit longer than the one character.

damnit, did that question really get deleted in the time it took me to drive home? I thought out such an interesting answer!

@JDługosz I mean, sure, being corrected is nice. But you get notified if someone edits your posts, right?

Does anyone have a question tagged gravity they're still looking for an answer to? I'm shamelessly trying to get a bronze tag badge, but I don't want to just add useless answers.

I could maybe answer this, but it would take a long time to write a good answer.

@DaaaahWhoosh right. I’m always being notified that @a4android has fixed my typing or spelling.

@HDE226868 maybe we could brainstorm a new one in celebration.

@JDługosz I've done a little bit of thinking.