I'd like to see him add the studies he mentions in there

So would I, hence the down vote. ;)

Oh well, as long as it doesn't get up voted I don't care.

If next time I see that answer it has +1, I can't be held responsible for my own actions. :)

I removed the word average as I think that only complicates the question, rather than clarifying it as I originally intended

I think some very good points were made on the thread, despite the use of questionable examples

(as you guys pointed out)

Welcome back @Casebash, as a matter of fact I'm still reading through it.

I think the top answer to the question on meta skeptics is much better than the question itself

Basically, it is easy to make claims that something isn't clear enough, but much more valuable to explain why it is important to clarify that issue

The entire thread is missing the point of one of the other main issues that have been raised with this particular question several times @Casebash.

You don't show that you've done sufficient research. Just adding a few links, relating your thoughts to those can do wonders.

Again, try reformatting it. Your side notes shouldn't be side notes at all. They should be well ingrained in your question.

i'm also available now to discuss this if you wish @Casebash

It doesn't hurt to link/quote from the resources you read either.

For example, I'm not proficient in the subject at all either.

But take this question:

Yeh, I'm at work atm, so I don't have time to read up. But I will edit some references in later

1. I phrase something I experienced, I explain why it is relevant to me. 2. I eliminate all possible causes (although subjectively in this case, I detail very accurately why I believe it not the be 'obvious' answers) 3. I detail I did search for it, and what I got out of it, actually quoting why I feel that doesn't answer my question.

4. I clearly state what I am looking for, nothing more nothing less. just exactly what I need. There is no ambiguity in what I am asking.

The "side notes" aren't as important as the original question. They are simply to answer some of the question people had. Not everyone cares about these issues, so they can skip or skim them if they want

Do you see how that differentiates from how you phrased your question?

@Casebash Well obviously we do care don't we?

Many questions on the site don't use references

@Casebash I didn't say anything about references. That's exactly why I showed you my question. It's a really really basic question.

@StevenJeuris: Of course, if no-one cared I wouldn't put the side notes there

And still there didn't seem to be any confusion about it.

I use these sidenotes for info that some people find important and others mightn't be interested in. They aren't core

Anyway, I'll edit some links and info about what I found elsewhere into the question tonight (I'm in Australia)

@Casebash I want to make sure you know Steven's trying to help you :-)

Neither he nor Jeromy nor I really should reopen the question without community support

If we can help you improve the question so it gets some upvotes and reopen votes, then we can reopen it

I understand that

Great! Just making sure :-)

Its just frustrating that this question is having policies applied to it that don't apply to other questions

@Casebash Which policies do you feel are being unfairly applied?

Many other questions have been posted with the same or less level of initial research

(Admittedly, this is probably due to this policy not quite being clear yet)

Yeah, I think that's a big part of it is that the policy on initial research is in flux

But I don't think research is the only reason your question received down/close votes

For example @Casebash, read @BenBrocka's comments:

> "Off topic" was just the most common (I assume) close reason. I voted as "not a real question" because it was vague. It's still possible to reopen it (we just have to vote or have a mod do it) but IMO it is lacking some specifics (why do you ask? What's not satisfactory or confusing about the WIkipedia article on hypnosis, ect) – Ben Brocka 20 hours ago

I disagree with most of the vague complaints, but adding the word "average" wasn't a good idea

I've now also stopped it being formatted as a block quote. That made it seem like I copied someone else's question

Yeah that was one of my biggest complaints

Anyway, I better get back to work. Thanks for chatting

@Casebash Sure. I'll leave you with one final thought

> Of the two answers, one was a philosophical discussion of what involuntary means and the other was anecdotal

That's one of the things I find vague about your question

See Ben's comments above and on Meta re: hypnotism

It's a state where you're much more open to suggestion. So what do you mean by "voluntary"?

@Casebash No problem. Before you leave, I don't feel adding "Update:" to your question helps it. An "Update" section could work for a question which did get initial answers, but I don't see it working for a question which got closed. Just ace the question, nobody has to know the history of it.

Hi @Jeff!

hi @Steven

how's it going?

It's getting late here in Belgium. :) But fine, you?

hehe

just got home from work here in Virginia, USA

I've seen you around on main and meta! Nice having some new active users around!

yes, i've been following the area51 proposal for quite a while

im a grad student in cog sci, and i think this site has lots of potential to help others like myself

@Jeff Did you get the cold snap we got in NC this past weekend?

@Jeff That's what I'm hoping as well. Be sure to make your voice heard on meta. There are a few users who'd prefer to keep it strictly for professionals. ;p

btw, both of you have done a great job moderating, i know that's time consuming

EXCLUSIONISM FTL

@Josh yup! been pretty mild this winter, but this weekend got cooooooooooold

I know! We had the first snow of 2012

(In Asheville, NC, in the mountains)

what part of NC?

ah, just a hop down the blue ridge... im in roanoke, va

In Europe we apparently had a very cold winter due to global warming. Haven't been following the news properly though.

@Jeff Awesome! I love the Blue Ridge Parkway

@StevenJeuris lmao

I just followed the very cold part. Arriving at work with frozen hands and feet was pretty common lately.

Ug, not fun

@Jeff Thanks! (I missed this message at first)