« first day (800 days earlier)      last day (4131 days later) » 
01:00 - 15:0015:00 - 00:00

MετάEd
MετάEd
3:02 PM
Or maybe "explanation" is too strong a word. Let's say it's taken for granted that today's languages are related to the mythical languages of the sagas which supposedly occurred thousands of years ago, which are in turn shown to evolve as time progressed in the myths.
Languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien
The languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien are a set of constructed languages, of which most but not all were created for his fictional universe, often called Middle-earth. They are used in The Hobbit in a few names like Elrond or Bolg, in The Lord of the Rings for names (like Galadriel or Aragorn) and several poems ("Namárië"), and in The Silmarillion almost all names, including the title and a few sentences, Tolkien wrote in one of his letters : "what I think is a primary ‘fact’ about my work, that it is all of a piece, and fundamentally linguistic in inspiration. [. . .] It is not a...
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
3:48 PM
@tchrist There are a couple of gems waiting for you in the delete queue.
 
 
1 hour later…
user19161
4:50 PM
@MετάEd Let me take a look as well...
 
user19161
5:03 PM
@matt Are VCDs common in your part of the world, or have they been replaced by DVDs already?
 
Joseph Weissman
Joseph Weissman
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir (originally Melkor) is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings. Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became Morgoth, the definitive antagonist of Arda from whom all evil in the world of Middle-earth ultimately stems. Sauron, one of the Maiar of Aulë, betrayed his kind and became Morgoth's principal lieutenant. Morgoth was the principal agent of evil in The Silmarillion, and his...
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
@JasonBourne vcds were never common here. we went from VHS to DVD. there probably was some laser disc and VCD stuff going on, but it wasn't popular
 
Joseph Weissman
Joseph Weissman
i had one of these thingys:
oh vcds
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
you had a twirly circle?
 
user19161
@MattЭллен VCDs and LDs are pretty common here.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
5:15 PM
@JosephWeissman oh! a saturn. nice
 
Joseph Weissman
Joseph Weissman
yessssss
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
@JasonBourne what about Blu Ray?
 
user19161
@MattЭллен Hmm, not too common. But I haven't really been stepping into these shops to see.
 
user19161
I notice that my Chrome slows down whenever images are being posted in chat.
 
user19161
No wonder it keeps freezing in this room, the one with the most pictures.
 
user19161
5:20 PM
Amazing that Jon Hanna and John Lawler both commented on my trivial answer.
 
user19161
I feel so honoured.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
@JosephWeissman 7mb, no wonder it took so long to load!
 
user19161
Now even Barrie England has joined the party of commenters. This is a miracle.
 
user19161
I cast 21 delete votes today.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Hi
 
user19161
5:28 PM
@Sudhir Hi! I noticed you like to start new rooms with individuals. Most of us prefer to chat in the main room if possible so as not to divide our attention.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
No I haven't
 
user19161
@Sudhir Also, it might be a little weird to ask about a person's age if you have just started to chat with him.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Only one time I have
 
user19161
@Sudhir I wasn't talking about today but the recent past.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
I am a newbie so give some leniency.
 
user19161
5:31 PM
Oh, I am not upset with you. I am just telling you what I think. I think we are on very different wavelengths.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
We soon be in same frequency :)
 
user19161
Well, yes. Using the equation speed equals frequency times wavelength.
 
user19161
Note that to be on different wavelengths is a standard expression, but not on different frequencies.
 
user19161
So in ordinary speech use the former but not the latter.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Definitely you are right
 
user19161
5:34 PM
I only understood you using my own extrapolation.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
You are 10 times more intelligent than me.
I know this fact.
 
user19161
No, you cannot say that when you don't know me.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
We will know each other very soon.
To which country you belong?
 
user19161
Well, I am the same person who told you I belong to no country on New Year's Eve!
 
user19161
I have merely changed my username...
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
5:38 PM
Ah! I forgotten
 
user19161
I may be identified by a square of some shade of blue.
 
user19161
But others may try to impersonate me using a blue square, so beware.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Okay, I will remember you by square
Also in Javascript there is a term known as 'json' data. It will help me in remembering you.
 
user19161
Do you use Firefox or Chrome?
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Chrome
 
user19161
5:42 PM
I am always trying to decide between these two browsers.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Why?
 
user19161
Firefox is slightly more responsive in chat while Chrome has a built-in Flash plugin.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
yes, exactly
What you do?
I mean profession?
 
user19161
Well, I would rather not talk about myself. I have many secrets.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Why?
 
user19161
5:44 PM
Well, for reasons that are secret.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
You know computer languages?
 
user19161
Nope. Other than knowing a little LaTeX, I don't know anything related to programming.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
oh
What's your native language?
 
user19161
I am not really interested in programming either.
 
user19161
But I do like using LaTeX.
 
user19161
5:46 PM
I speak English mostly.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Oh great
then
My English is very weak.
as I belong to India.
 
user19161
Do you speak English with the people around you?
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
No, we use Hindi
 
user19161
Don't many Indians speak English at work?
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Very rare
they do speak
 
user19161
5:48 PM
Hindi is one of the most common languages in the world by number of native speakers.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Ya I know
 
user19161
That is largely because of the huge population of India.
 
user19161
The same for Mandarin I suppose.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
But for me English is prerequisite as
all work is done in it only.
 
user19161
There seem to be many users of this site from India.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
5:50 PM
Hmm. I don't know
Who are in your family?
?
What happened?
 
user19161
Well, I would rather not talk about that either. Anyway, I am off!
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
means?
 
user19161
Nothing happened, don't worry. We don't man this chat all the time!
 
user19161
Off there means I am leaving this chat. Bye!
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
When you ll come ?
 
user19161
5:55 PM
I will come when I come.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
ok
 
user19161
Good night to you.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Its day time
:)
What's your time?
 
Novice
Novice
Hello.
 
Sudhir
Sudhir
Hi
 
Novice
Novice
6:02 PM
@Sudhir Indian?
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
6:39 PM
Amber alert.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
7:23 PM
@MετάEd I totally agree about the colours. stern look
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@Cerberus I've warned you about that before, haven’t I?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@MετάEd Is this the thing about lost girls?
How come you know about these girls before everyone else does? Hmm...
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@Cerberus It's the name of my avatar color.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@MετάEd Excuse me? Who has warned whom?
I you, surely.
@MετάEd How...odd. I prefer to call you Windows 1/8.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@Cerberus No stern looks in this chat, unless you are @Kitfox.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
7:25 PM
!
If you deserve it, you get a stern look.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@Cerberus If @Kitfox thinks I deserve it.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
You can't just warn people back and counter their warnings that way. This isn't Pakistan.
Or Russia.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
In Russia, Windows calls you.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Where anyone suspected of corruption is just investigated by some other corrupt anti-corruption bureau and made to disappear, pay huge "evaded taxes" bills, or go to gaol.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
I suppose that's how they spell it in British Monopoly.
Go to gaol. Go directly to gaol. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £ 200.
 
user19161
7:31 PM
@MετάEd Blue alert.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
Or € 200, for that matter.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
The Brits don't have the Euro.
They have the City.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
people like to get pounded in the City
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@JasonBourne Blue? Excuse me? No, you plebe, that's clearly gray asparagus.
 
user19161
@MετάEd Is there even such a colour? Anyway, the official name for my current colour is steelblue.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
7:37 PM
@MattЭллен Indeed.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@JasonBourne Don't argue with me. I'm being arbitrary; unreasonable. I'm following sim's advice.
2
 
user19161
@MετάEd Marshmallows are as arbitrary as coffee, says Will Hunting.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@JasonBourne I suppose everything is arbitrary if you have no point of view.
For me, marshmallows are an arbitrary sweet and coffee is food of the gods.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@MετάEd Done. I feel like nobody else ever hunts on that queue. My guess is that until it lands in the Review queue, next to nobody will bother.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@tchrist Sweet.
@tchrist We're at NS = 12. That's a new low.
 
tchrist
tchrist
7:54 PM
-7
Q: What is another word to describe a "Very Difficult Question"?

Daniel FeinI am looking a word to describe a question that has so many defenses and offenses to answer it, that is it nearly impossible. If somebody asks you, would you rather own Facebook or own Google? and to answer it you contradict yourself or you constantly have a response that outweighs the other, wh...

words
-7
Q: What is the usage of "don't touch me"

yaa110What is the usage of don't touch me? When do English people use this phrase?

usage
I very badly need to hunt something down and kill it.
So in my customarily nonviolent fashion, I am looking for candidate questions that need axing instead of taking it out on ghosts in the machine.
-5
Q: Preference or Preferences?

BobWhich sentence is grammatically correct: Therefore, we conclude that the effect of music on times table tests greatly depends on the particular individual and their music preference. or Therefore, we conclude that the effect of music on times table tests greatly depends on the particula...

word-choice
These are all new, and at -5 or below and closed.
-5
Q: "Already approaches"

prasopesIs the use of present simple in the following sentence grammatically correct? We'd like to inform you of the fact that the closing time already approaches. (Meaning that the closing time is 30 minutes from now.)

grammaticality present-tense
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@tchrist Sorry ... I've already run the deletequeue and exhausted my quota for the day.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Unless we want to keep them around, kinda like putting heads on spikes around your encampment.
I want a Review-queue approach to deleting, so it doesn’t present us with candidates we can’t vote on again.
I haven’t exhausted all my delete votes in quite some time. But most of those on the queue have a vote of mine on them.
Not all, of course. But many. Too many to make it worth using that to find candidates.
> 3 ▲ @nohat: M-W is ruining all my good pedantry. First this, then I look up "literally" and find that "virtually" is the second meaning. I'm going to go sit in the corner and cry now. – mmyers Aug 19 '10 at 23:38
Things like that should be searchable. :)
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
8:34 PM
This is not general reference: this is not something you can easily look up. It is a valid question about the specific use of a the present simple in a certain kind of situation. Voting to reopen. — Cerberus 19 secs ago
@tchrist Deleted.
 
user19161
@MετάEd Well, those 12 questions are not closed, but don't waste your closevotes because they decay. We need to get a few more folks here to close and then delete them at the same time. I am with you and @tchrist, and we need to find two more folks for such a session.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
This is not General Reference. The question asks about a specific word in a specific situation. Voting to reopen. — Cerberus 25 secs ago
 
user19161
@cerb @matt Would you like to cast close votes on Nortonn S questions?
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@JasonBourne Much too late. I closevoted them at the time, and my closevotes have long since decayed.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@JasonBourne No, I am not eligible to closevote Nordie again.
 
user19161
8:38 PM
Perhaps I have cast a few too in the past which have decayed.
 
tchrist
tchrist
ditty ditzy dittos
 
user19161
Anyway, 12 is a good low.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Cerberus I didn’t vote for GR.
 
user19161
His questions are not fantastic, I think he should just stop posting on SE altogether and go get a life.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Stop all the closing.
It's not nice.
 
tchrist
tchrist
8:40 PM
You prefer proofreading questions? I can give you a list of those to reopen.
That question showed no research.
It did not say what they thought the issue was.
It just wanted a proofreading gimme.
That is Off Topic.
"Should I say this or this?" questions are not good enough. Sorry.
 
user19161
With regard to single word requests, I find that the asker often asks for a word simultaneously satisfying many unrelated conditions.
 
user19161
For example, what is a person who has long hair and walks quickly and talks slowly and drives a blue car and has a red watch?
 
tchrist
tchrist
Mahnax?
 
user19161
The problem is not the language used in the question, but rather how silly the thought process is.
 
tchrist
tchrist
What thought process?
 
user19161
8:43 PM
None.
 
tchrist
tchrist
-3
Q: "Children playing" or "Playing children"?

user35987 Children playing do not require the active involvement of nearby adults... Is it more grammatically correct to say "children playing", or "playing children"? Source

grammaticality grammar word-order sentence
Proofery.
 
user19161
Also frustrating is the edits which seem to change the question. Some people post an answer, and then the asker changes the original question and the answers then look foolish.
 
tchrist
tchrist
-3
Q: "Children playing" or "Playing children"?

user35987 Children playing do not require the active involvement of nearby adults... Is it more grammatically correct to say "children playing", or "playing children"? Source

grammaticality grammar word-order sentence
 
user19161
On math this happens too, and edits are not just used to change the question but also to add a new question.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@tchrist Which question? Those two were only about a specific word/tense, not proofreading at all.
 
tchrist
tchrist
8:46 PM
Damn it. I give up.
My mouse has mind of its own.
Which is more than I can say for myself today.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
I honestly wonder what @tchrist and @MετάEd will be doing on ELL.
 
user19161
@tchrist You need more sleep, now go to bed and tell your boss to fuq off.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
You would close every single question there. I really don't understand this.
 
user19161
@Cerberus I won't be joining. I don't want to divide my attention.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Cerberus I believe that questions asking nothing more than "Should I do X or Y?" and nothing more are fundamentally poor questions. They are not researched. They do not say what the poster’s concerns are. Do you disagree?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
8:48 PM
Yes.
And now I have to go.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Whether you call them proofreading or not is less important than the fact that they care crappy questions.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
It's well known that Cerb disagrees.
 
tchrist
tchrist
It shows no effort.
And yet, they ask for our effort.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
However, NS questions have so many problems that most people can agree they simply need to be deleted.
 
tchrist
tchrist
And their chicks for free.
 
user19161
8:50 PM
Well, some of them are OK, but I don't see why we can't cast our votes on them to close and delete when he is being suspended.
 
user19161
Sure, one may say it is not the right thing to do, but they can't stop us from using this means to keep him off the site.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Nothing can keep him off the site.
That is the entire problem.
Bans mean nothing, apparently.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
NS apparently surfs the web looking for grammatical constructs that might be wrong and then posts them on multiple websites for confirmation. And it seems to be compulsive behavior, as he basically does virtually the same thing again and again and has no other kind of question.
 
user19161
Other than deleting them, we should just ignore him altogether. He is probably a psychopath.
 
user19161
A person who has compulsions alone will not attack people in the ways he has used.
 
tchrist
tchrist
8:52 PM
 
user19161
Neither will an autistic person or one with asperger's. Psychopathy is definitely involved.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Boulder police officers Sam Carter, 35, and Brent Curnow, 38, turned themselves in to the Boulder County Jail on Friday morning and were booked on suspicion of forgery, tampering with physical evidence, attempting to influence a public official --
all felonies -- as well as unlawful taking of a trophy elk, conspiracy, a Samson surcharge, killing an elk out of season, unlawful Samuel J. Carter (Boulder County Sheriff's Office) use of an electronic device to unlawfully take wildlife and first degree official misconduct -- all misdemeanors.
Bastards. Pigs. Murderers. Assholes. Strip them and make them run through the snow for their lives until they drop from exhaustion. Repeat this every day till they are dead.
I do not have the words to describe my rage at this injustice.
> Friday's arrest comes after a tumultuous few weeks, as residents of Mapleton neighborhood where the elk was often seen expressed outrage over the shooting. The elk's death sparked everything from vigils and marches to Twitter accounts and even a ballad.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
NS questions are thus, in a real sense, Exact Duplicate. They are also Off Topic as requests for writing critique, they are generally Not Constructive (nothing wrong with the original text), they are incomplete (show no research effort) and so are Not Really A Question, they are Too Localized (his imagined mistakes are of interest to nobody else), and very often General Reference (he could just have looked up the original and replacement words to find out the answer).
 
user19161
@MετάEd Haha, what a justification!
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
On top of all that, NS questions are also Off Topic as not "based on actual problems that [NS] face[s]". It's always someone else's published text that he is ranting about. Which brings me to "it is a rant disguised as a question", yet another Off Topic no-no.
There is simply no reasonable basis to object when someone closes an NS question.
 
user19161
9:01 PM
In short, NS questions are Not Suited. QED.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
9:11 PM
@tchrist It was a serious question. Will you be active on ELL? What questions will you leave open?
 
tchrist
tchrist
9:33 PM
@Cerberus No.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
9:57 PM
You will not be active there?
How about @MετάEd ?
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Hello.
I survived, although my voice did not.
Today was almost "feeling dainty and fresh" day.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Really??
I am surprised!
Very good.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I am really quite pleased about it all.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
So you feel better now than last night?
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Yes.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
10:12 PM
Great.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Yes. How are you?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Good. A tad hung over, but not terribly so.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Haha, hungover at 23:00?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Is it polite to call a friend at 23:15 on a Saturday night, to arrange for a dinner party next week or the week after?
She will probably be out somewhere...
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Uhm, perhaps wait until tomorrow, unless she is the type to be up late.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
10:16 PM
@Mahnax Just extra tired and such. That doesn't go away on the same day.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
@Cerberus I suppose.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
She's probably up, but chances are she is either entertaining someone or in some bar/restaurant/whatever.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
I would wait, then.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
So I'll call her tomorrow, yeah.
@Mahnax It goes away with alcohol, which is a bad idea if it can be avoided.
That path leads to alcoholism.
And it isn't an unpleasant feeling anyway.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Right, that's sensible.
We have to wear name tags at work now.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
10:19 PM
Hmm.
Is that annoying?
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
They attach to our aprons and are like little chalkboards; we have to write our names on them.
@Cerberus I don't mind, but lots of people don't like it.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Hmm.
I never get why they do that.
I suppose someone's function can be practical.
Only if it is in big letters.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
The customers do not need to know our names. If they care to know, then they could ask.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
True.
Names are useless.
Although some clients like to thank staff personally.
 
user19161
Names are but labels.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
10:21 PM
@Cerberus During commitment phase I committed to help publicize and moderate the site.
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
And the names on the name tags must be our real names.
 
user19161
The reflection of the moon in the water is not the moon itself.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
The mother of a friend does this at the supermarket. She feel it is proper etiquette. "Thank you, ehh... <stares at fine printed located near girl's boob> Natasha."
@MετάEd So moderate?
 
Mahnax
Mahnax
Oh, I should go. See you all later.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@Mahnax I can understand why people should dislike that.
Bye!
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
10:23 PM
what would we do if we only had our avatars to go by?
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@Cerberus Eh? What is the question?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@MετάEd You suggested you intend to moderate the site. I wished for you to confirm this.
@MattЭллен We'd call each other funny names.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
@Cerberus I imagine you'd still be Cerberus, some how :D
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@Cerberus I volunteered to. I intend to do what I offered to do. By the way, by "moderate" I do not mean I expect to have a diamond. I mean moderate by performing the usual community actions: votes, etc.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@MattЭллен Yup!
@MετάEd Okay, so then my initial question was: do you intend to close questions such as the ones mentioned above?
@MattЭллен And you'd still be Greenmonster.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
10:28 PM
Is that what my name translates to in Dutch! I'd no idea.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Possibly.
 
tchrist
tchrist
It turns out that @MattЭллен’s real name is Madeleine. I chanced upon this while looking for some missing bits of my day, and life.
 
user19161
@tchrist No way! I know what he looks like, and he is rather good looking too.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
@tchrist my parents wanted to toughen me up. it didn't work
 
tchrist
tchrist
@JasonBourne That’s just precious! MP would be proud; would you like to buy a clue? But enough of the flirting already.
 
user19161
10:41 PM
@tchrist No there is no flirting here, because I ain't gay. =)
 
tchrist
tchrist
@JasonBourne You really think it works that way, eh?
 
user19161
@tchrist Not really. I know what you mean, and so do you!
 
tchrist
tchrist
Just keep telling yourself that. And don’t talk with your mouth full.
And go read Proust.
Sheesh!
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@Cerberus Do you have a link? I vaguely remember you asking tchrist something like that but I don't remember the question.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
If we're not allowed to call Proust gay any more, then whom—?
 
tchrist
tchrist
10:46 PM
Precisely.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
3 hours ago, by tchrist
-5
Q: Preference or Preferences?

BobWhich sentence is grammatically correct: Therefore, we conclude that the effect of music on times table tests greatly depends on the particular individual and their music preference. or Therefore, we conclude that the effect of music on times table tests greatly depends on the particula...

word-choice
3 hours ago, by tchrist
-5
Q: "Already approaches"

prasopesIs the use of present simple in the following sentence grammatically correct? We'd like to inform you of the fact that the closing time already approaches. (Meaning that the closing time is 30 minutes from now.)

grammaticality present-tense
 
user19161
OMG, the answer saying newbie is negative instead of neutral got one upvote.
 
user19161
The two answers saying it is neutral got no upvote.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
It is often negative...
 
user19161
I think this site is finished.
 
tchrist
tchrist
10:48 PM
@JasonBourne It is an insult, you realize.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
If I had to use a single word, I don't know what I'd pick.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Neophyte.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
It can be neutral or negative.
 
user19161
OK, a bit of exaggeration on my part.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
beginner
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
10:49 PM
It is possible that the negative connotation is solely the consequence of the inherently negativity inherent in saying that someone is new on a website...
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
starter
learner
 
tchrist
tchrist
Novice.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
initiate
 
tchrist
tchrist
Parvenu.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Yeah, those are slightly more positive, at least.
 
user19161
10:49 PM
Any positive word can be used sarcastically too, see.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Tenderfoot.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
drinking whisky
 
tchrist
tchrist
Johnny-come-lately.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@tchrist Uhh that is quite different, and very negative.
 
user19161
I am once again reminded of the euphemism treadmill.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
10:50 PM
A parvenu is an arrivé but negatively so, I would say.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
ingénue?
probably not
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Cerberus I know what it means. I’m the one who considers newbie an insult. Same thing.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Not quite.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Plus I despise the word.
 
user19161
So if I say you are a beginner in chess, I am insulting you?
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
10:51 PM
@MattЭллен Hmm ah, somewhat related. Probably not negative?
@JasonBourne Possibly, yes, but not necessarily.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
@Cerberus I don't think it's negative
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
Right.
 
tchrist
tchrist
@JasonBourne No, because you used real English.
 
user19161
@Cerberus Oh, then I think you need a thicker skin.
 
tchrist
tchrist
Not cursi claptrap by people with 500-word vocabularies.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
10:52 PM
@Cerberus General reference is used when the response to a question is "why didn't you just look it up yourself?" I know the general reference works for vocabulary, spelling, and etymology pretty well, as well as various tools for searching within a corpus. But I do not have a similar knowledge of grammar general references. So I could not vote to close either of those two questions "general reference".
 
user19161
I am aware of the negative ways it is being used, particularly on the internet.
 
user19161
For example, Eugene Seidel once compared what I did to saying "f u, newbie".
 
user19161
That meta post is now deleted anyway.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@JasonBourne If I think of myself as an expert, and you know I do, then it is not very nice, don't you agree?
 
user19161
I wasn't ignoring Eugene, I was the only one who responded to him in fact in chat then.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
10:54 PM
@MετάEd And would you vote to close them on other grounds?
 
user19161
Yet he raised a meta post and made a mountain out of a molehill.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
But neither of those OPs made any effort to provide an explanation or context to their questions, and they posted no results of research effort. So as far as I am concerned the questions are incomplete. So I would say the moderator's job would be to encourage the OPs to provide that information as a help to the people answering.
 
user19161
So you see, in this world, it does not pay to be kind.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@MετάEd But would you vote to close them?
 
tchrist
tchrist
Better to play pin the tail on the pineapple, don’t you think?
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
10:55 PM
@Cerberus Very possibly. It is not fair to the answerers to leave a question incomplete. When this happens, it is very common that the OP comments "but I thought of that" or "I looked it up", so the answerer basically wasted their time.
So a question which is very incomplete really should not be open for answers until it is completed.
 
user19161
Anyway, I will delete my post now that it has gotten a minus vote.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@Cerberus I think the "already approaches" question has enough background included that it would not need a closevote for incomplete.
 
user19161
Guys, feel free to downvote me. I am just ranting. If you disagree with me, just downvote.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@JasonBourne Where?
 
user19161
@MετάEd The newbie question.
 
user19161
11:00 PM
I like bib's answer the most, I have upvoted him. I might consider downvoting the other two...
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@MετάEd I think ELL Meta is going to be a volcano, during the first month or two. So much to debate and decide on.
 
Matt Эллен
Matt Эллен
I think we won't get ELL until we pick a new name
 
tchrist
tchrist
@Cerberus ♬ Reuben, Reuben I've been thinking / what a fine world this would be / if all the boys were far transported / way beyond the Northern sea! ♬
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
@JasonBourne Actually I think all the answers, including your deleted answer, have some merit. The fact is that it can be used derogatively, but then so can "young" and in just about the same way.
 
user19161
@MετάEd Exactly!
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
11:04 PM
@Cerberus You might be worrying too much.
 
user19161
@MετάEd The problem is that language is so tied to how people think.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
6 hours ago, by Sudhir
I am a newbie so give some leniency.
Dec 18 '12 at 11:53, by RegDwighт
And stop confusing newbies.
 
user19161
I am a beginner. He is a beginner. She is a beginner. You are a beginner. So what? No offence!
 
user19161
NEWBIE is NEWTRAL. QED.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
in Root Access, 1 hour ago, by Ariane
Uhm, my sister is an utmost newbie when it comes to computers. I seriously doubt she would install this. She doesn't even know what an ISO is.
in RPG General Chat, Jan 14 at 22:17, by Simon Gill
It's probably a good idea to just post the questions as questions. They might come in handy for other newbies picking up the system and getting confused.
 
user19161
11:08 PM
I can understand why my answer is downvoted, but I don't think bib should be downvoted at all.
 
user19161
His answer has the most references, and it is very balanced.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
@MετάEd When I see the huge gap between how I vote and how you vote, I might not be worrying too much.
 
MετάEd
MετάEd
11:40 PM
@Cerberus Really? How do I vote?
@Cerberus And possibly more importantly, how does my vote count any more than anyone else's? Why worry about me? I'm one person.
 
Cerberus
Cerberus
11:57 PM
@MετάEd You close most ESL questions, and I leave most open, so far as I can see.
@MετάEd It is enough to worry. I don't want ESL questions to become the same problem on ELL as they are here. Then I won't participate.
 
01:00 - 15:0015:00 - 00:00

« first day (800 days earlier)      last day (4131 days later) »