The Water Cooler

12:06 AM

lol @JaneS I was just about to start an answer to the Labor Day question :D

7:09 AM

How do we handle nuisance users/downvoters/hatchet-job commenters like jmorc? Flagging is not the answer since it is his combination of lack of basic reading, nasty comment and downvote that is the problem. My answer is in the first sentence. workplace.stackexchange.com/a/52903/16071

That's @jmorc, just so he/she gets notified. They can defend his own remarks, if they're able to. Otherwise, it would be reasonable to withdraw the false comment and the downvote.

Masked Man

@smci Why don't you just ignore him?

Lilienthal

7:52 AM

@smci You're right that jmorc's comment seems out of place but I'd caution against using the kind of confrontational language that you're using. There's very little need for that kind of aggressive response on this site as you're only going to needlessly escalate the situation. Even your answer seems unnecessarily harsh.

smci

Because Workplace.SE has far more than its share of nuisance users who go around writing narky comments without contributing, and once you get downvoted once others are more likely to do it blindly. Which will clearly damage the site. Anyone see that as being a problem?

Lilienthal

Counter: You don't see your abuse of the OP and the misguided commenter as a problem?

And I'm sure every site has annoying users but I'm no sure Workplace has more than its fair share of them or that the existing site mechanics are insufficient for dealing with them.

smci

@Lilienthal: How would you ask a nuisance user posting a clearly false statement accompanying a malicious downvote to explain themselves? And anyway why should this discussion be about me and not him - I contributed a useful answer (which IMO is at least as good as Bill Leeper's) - he contributed less than nothing.

Lilienthal

But you'd be better off waiting for a mod or putting it up on meta if you want to discuss that.

Why would he need to contribute an answer to have the right to comment or vote? It's a clear site mechanic that people are able to judge other's posts. As for how to respond, I'd say something like "I believe my first sentence clearly answers the OP's question and the rest of my post expands on that. Can you clarify why you believe I failed to answer the question?"

smci

Workplace.SE and Academia.SE do have more than their share both of false commenters and narky comments inciting other people to downvote. That is a problem. And the existing site mechanics are insufficient for dealing with them. That's why I'm bringing it up here. A flag will go unseen and not reverse the downvote.

@Lilienthal: in this case it's not a question of 'belief': sentences one and two are "No, it would be a ridiculous request (were you not paying attention?). You should have taken written/typed notes." In anyone'e reality that constitutes an answer. Now if he dislikes that answer, that's his prerogative. But pretending I did not answer at all, is pure trolling. It's not even like he politely said "I don't understand how this answers the question". Why would you throw a lifeline to a troll?

Lilienthal

8:07 AM

Don't confuse brevity with impoliteness. Don't assume malicious intent where the user could have made a simple mistake. That's why you respond respectfully and ask the user to explain. Maybe he commented and voted on the wrong answer, maybe he misunderstood you.

If he really is malicious, then you flag his comment for moderator attention and they'll deal with it.

If it's a pattern, they'll also deal with it.

You can get downvotes for any number of reasons and just a single one is hardly ever a problem. As long as your answers are good they should receive plenty of upvotes to offset the occasional misguided downvote.

enderland

12:32 PM

@smci to be fair, your first sentence in bold comes across as a, "you are an idiot OP, why weren't you taking notes in your interview?" and the rest of that paragraph isn't any better

And your answer really doesn't answer the question: you are answering a different question, "should I take notes during an interview?" rather than "after an interview where I didn't take notes, can I ask about the technical questions?"

@smci Also, keep in mind that starting off a chat question in the form, "this other user is a complete and utter idiot and can't read" doesn't really communicate good faith interest in understanding why that comment might be there - it's immediately a defensive attitude which makes it quite difficult to response to, since it's framing the argument as a straw man

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Lilienthal

1:29 PM

1

Q: How should I list small freelance jobs on my resume?

A couple of years ago, I did a lot of little help jobs for handicapped people (driving, grocery shopping, cooking, etc.). None of these where with official contracts or for a company and I was paid in cash or goods. This work experience in not related to the types of jobs I'm looking for now, bu...

I wish all OPs were so responsive and easy to work with. :)

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