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12:05 AM
@Washu A referendum, perhaps?
A referendum is usually a binding poll among the citizens of a country.
A plebiscite?
By the way "quit the charge" doesn't sound quite right.
You probably mean "step down from office"?
 
12:41 AM
@Washu I did a google search, and 'impeachment' is indeed the correct word.
And @Cerberus yep, I think Washu means "step down from office". :)
I also just posted this discussion on meta, everyone: meta.ell.stackexchange.com/questions/330/…
 
Right.
 
Hmm the link isn't expanding into a questiony thingy
 
I just don't see the word impeachment used much outside the context of the official procedure to oust a president in the USA.
 
Oh well. Anyway, I think it's something we should talk about, so if anyone wants to check it out please do. I'm going to try the link one more time. meta.ell.stackexchange.com/questions/330/…
 
@WendiKidd It needs to be on its own line.
 
12:42 AM
@Cerberus Yes, I haven't heard it that much either except for presidents, so I looked it up. I'd definitely agree it's uncommon in other cases!
Oh! Thanks, I'll try that now. THIS Discussion! ;)
0
Q: Wait a few minutes before closing new users' questions?

WendiKiddA couple hours ago this question was posted as the first question by a new user. The basic content of the question was asking when to use "you" and "you're", saying the OP was confused about the difference between the two. They asked how to know when to use each one, and for definitions. Now o...

 
Yay!
 
Aha :) Thanks @Cerberus : D
 
Okay, +1 for the parts in bold.
 
Haha, thanks!
 
The rest is a bit too long for me at the moment, hehe.
 
12:43 AM
LOL I know I should have made it shorter
I couldn't think what to cut out though, so I just posted it xP
 
You tried to mitigate the effect by using lots of paragraphs...but it's still a bit of a wall, hehe.
 
I knooooooow. Gah okay, I'll go back and try to edit some more things out. It's useless if people won't read it after all.
 
I read some words!
You could post a summary at the top. With a separator (---) below it.
 
Heee.
 
That usually works.
 
12:45 AM
Good idea! I'll go do that, thanks :)
 
Start with "Summary/in short: I would like to..."
Or whatever.
 
@WendiKidd Nice question.
EL&U is trigger-happy enough already (yes, Cerb, I admit it), but if we're going to try to promote ELL as more for actual learners then the attitude should be different
 
@Cerberus Done, thanks! Tell me what you think : D
@simchona Thanks! Yes, exactly. Especially since it's for english learners, even if they DID read the FAQ they might not have understood parts. We need to take the time to help people understand the SE format to keep them around and contributing!
 
@WendiKidd Could you even really expect someone learning English to understand the FAQ?
 
@simchona No, I really couldn't.
I think that's a problem too, but I don't have a solution for that.
We've already had questions asking what the definition of a NARQ is.
 
12:51 AM
@WendiKidd That may change in a few months.
 
(or maybe it was Not Constructive they asked about, I forget).
 
@WendiKidd The solution to a text that is too long is making it longer at the top.
Longer beats long every time. Les extrêmes se touchent.
 
@simchona What may change? The FAQ problem? (Maybe we could have it in different languages?)
2
@Cerberus Wait you mean you think the summary is too long too???
 
@WendiKidd The close vote reasons
 
@simchona Ohh I see. Yes, that would be really great. When even native speakers look at them and can't decide which one to use as the closevote reason..you know they're too confusing
 
12:52 AM
@WendiKidd I don't think it's feasible for SE staff to translate the FAQ into every language, but maybe if there were a reasonable Google Translate version
 
Yes, that'd be nice.
 
That's something you can also ask for on Meta
Either Meta.ELL or MSO
 
Yeah. I'm not sure if they'd go for it or not but it's worth a try!
I just think we need to get in the mindset that this site is about the people asking and answering the questions, not the questions and answers themselves
 
I would think a version in Hindi would help SO, especially to explain that the site is in English
 
Then I think we'll have the right approach to having questions and answers the best they can be.
Yeah, what we could do is have a list of all the languages in the world, and get a volunteer who speaks both that language and English to do a translation. (With maybe a couple people per language to make sure no one tries any funny stuff!)
 
12:56 AM
When do the pro tem mods get chosen?
 
If SE members volunteered it wouldn't cost them any money
I don't know! I asked a meta question about a week ago asking "Who sees it when I flag a post, since we don't have any mods yet." Robert Cartaino said they'll be appointing pro tem mods at some point, but didn't say when
 
At least that way the popular languages might get done first. Several mods speak other languages, so that's an option
If you don't nominate yourself, I'll nominate you
 
Aww, thank you! That's really nice : D
There's actually already a nomination post somewhere, though nothing's been done with it yet lol
I upvoted J.R. and RegDwight's nomination posts, it's shown up in community bulletin a few times
 
Can I refer to you as "she" in the post?
 
@simchona Also regarding the popular languages thing--that actually makes the most sense, because in theory the more volunteers you get for a certain language, the more members we have who speak that language.
Yes, you can :)
 
1:01 AM
@WendiKidd No no, it was a joke. But your summary has increased the length of your question, hasn't it?
 
@Cerberus LOL! Yes, I suppose it has ;)
Hopefully it will get the question attention though, because I agree the Wall of Text was intimidating!
 
Hehe.
There is nothing wrong with text walls, and I think summaries make them perfectly fine for everyone. If you're interested, proceed to read the wall; if not, you have the summary, which will be fine for many.
 
:) Thanks. I think I got the general point across, so hopefully people will agree and ease up on the closehammer!
 
Yeah.
 
0
A: Who should the moderators be?

simchonaHaving spoken with her in chat and read her Meta questions, I would like to nominate WendiKidd as one of the moderators. She has made a distinct effort both to answer users' questions and try to make the site successful. Some of her Meta posts have aimed to: Figure out the audience of the site ...

 
1:07 AM
@simchona Thank you very much :) I appreciate your nomination!
 
@WendiKidd You're very welcome!
 
I'd like to point out this question that was asked earlier today, which I find very interesting (and also especially appreciate J.R.'s answer):
5
Q: Mnemonic for remembering the difference between 'while' and 'until'?

MarthaMy mother almost consistently uses "while" when she means "until", and vice versa. (This is because in her native language, those are the same word.) Obviously, I can't simply tell her, "whichever word you were about to say, choose the other one", because that would just make her second-guess her...

The problem with StackExchange: being able to edit posts here makes me want to edit the whole internet
This is of course a futile task, but still I search for the edit button where I shall not find one
 
You should pop into the ELU chat sometimes. Cerb is there, and I feel like you'd get along with everyone
 
@simchona Oh yeah? Can you link me over to the chat room? :)
 

 English Language & Usage: Multi-Layer

Not for the faint of heart or those easily triggered by Englis...
 
 
2 hours later…
2:50 AM
@Cerberus I faced the word "impeachment" when a judge in Supreme Court was prosecuted against corruption and the parliament started impeachment procedure against the judge in India.
 
Oh, OK.
It may be more frequent.
 
@WendiKidd WTF? Are you female?
 
@WendiKidd It was my question...
@WendiKidd and thanks for finding the word ;) i'm going to finish my report now
 
So happy to see everybody is up in this chat room now. :)
 
Well here is 10pm... i bet in india is already 8am i think
or 7am?
 
3:00 AM
@Washu wow...you live in Peru, but got a beautiful idea about time here :)
It's 8.30AM here.
 
In geography they teach you that every 15 latitue is 1 hour... so i do my calculations that UK is at 0... and i'm usually right ;)
Also i have worked with people from india when i was in a technical support call center
 
@Washu Yeah true...and Geography seems to be your cup of coffee ;)
 
really kind people
 
@Washu, but sadly I do not possess a lot of knowledge about Peru :(
 
Don't worry I only know a few things about India,
But as i told you really kind people and very polite
 
3:04 AM
Thank you, well most of 'em are.
 
But i must admit that it was hard to write their names sometimes ._.
 
hehe
 
And to win a girls heart is hard man....
 
Well I believe there are some broad linguistic differences between European and Asian languages.
@Washu Seems you tried on somebody? ;)
 
Well i'm from South America and the linguistic differences are really big....
The Asian languages are completely different
 
3:07 AM
Actually I saw Spanish is spoken in Peru, so I thought European :)
 
Oh well yeah... you could say is the same hehe
Yep i have tried and it was hard and in the end it didnt work
 
:D
@Washu, I admit and for a western people it would seem to him a mystery about the girls here and thereason being a huge cultural difference.
 
Indeed
There are some crazy girls here....
 
Similarly if we see Western gals, we would be surprised for them being too open.
 
Even me check my profile picture :D
 
3:09 AM
:D
Ah Machu Pichu is located here. It was one of our group discussion's topic. Everybody in that 12 student's good were at a loss on what machupichu is!
 
there*
Well we don't know what it is either... i mean most of the researchers say it is just a temple but other say it is a tomb for pachacutec
So it still remains a mistery.... the Inkas were really smart people, i bet that there are a lot of ruins hidden in the deep highlands
 
@Washu Yep and a lot of people lost their lives searching for the hidden treasure of the Inkas. Really smart for the Inkas or maybe they are only myths.
 
What do you mean by myths?
 
@Washu Myths of hidden treasure, they say.
Gold city and stuffs.
 
Ohh no no the gold city was of the Mayas...
But we did have a lot of treasures... but the spaniards take most of it
 
3:16 AM
@Washu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paititi
 
Ohh Paititi yeah it is a city full of gold
Well i gotta tell you mot of the temples here in Peru were full of gold and minerals....
 
Yeah that is the one I was talking about :)
 
We were very rich and still are in minerals
The inkas used to wear gold as an accesory
When i remember the history of Peru i get mad...
 
Yes, Spaniards took it all. But now you talk Spanish. ;)
 
I wish i could talk Quechua
One day i will learn..
 
3:21 AM
It is a fact that colonial administration left some deep impacts in the colonies all over the world.
 
Not just that...
 
Okay @Washu, I gotta go now. Talk to you later. Good day.
 
Perhaps Quecha-speaking warriors raiding the village of your ancestors 2000 years ago.
 
@Mistu4u ok ;)
 
The Incas were no doubt also ruthless imperialists.
Bye Mistu!
 
3:23 AM
They were but they were native of south america, according to the quipus and ancient chronicles when the inkas supressed a new tribe they let them have they're costumes and believes.
 
Maybe...but by how many tribes and kingdoms have your ancestors not been raided? And in the end they came from Asia themselves...
They may have destroyed some tribes in Africa or elsewhere on their way towards Peru.
 
The inka empire was far after the population of SA
and according to most of the theories the first human in SA came from NA
 
Yes.
 
so ithat would be really ancient tribes....
 
But no less cruel, perhaps.
By the way, it appears Polynesians also reached Peru, sometime during the Middle Ages.
 
3:32 AM
Yeah it is another theory...
There are like 5
@Cerberus i will be back later cya ;)
 
Bye!
 
4:22 AM
@Mistu4u LOL yes, I am in fact female ;)
@Washu yes, it was your question. I feel like it shouldn't have been closed so quickly, but I'm very glad you've stuck around!
@Cerberus You still hiding in that sack? Don't forget I have an arsenal of pointy sticks at my disposal.
Meh, I think it's bedtime for me guys. Peace, talk to you all tomorrow!
 
Good night.Sleep tight.
@WendiKidd But I am within a ton of surprise how @simchona had a clue that you are a girl. I could not conclude that from your profile :O
 
4:53 AM
@Mistu4u It looks like you didn't see the comments on this post:
3
Q: What does "You are talking through your hat" mean?

user37324I heard this phrase when I was following a hot loud debate by two Americans in a restaurant: You're talking through your hat! What is an equivalent expression? If you find it interesting for yourself and useful for audiences you can write about its etymology and usages too.

See the third comment, which she posted on in response to @snailplane.
 
5:08 AM
@Mistu4u Maybe because her screenname is "Wendi Kidd"? Wendi (or Wendy) is a female name
 
@ctype.h, Oh, yes, now I see :) @simchona, true, actually the concatenated "Wendikidd" misled me :)
 
@WendiKidd i didnt like the 2nd comment in my question.... i know it was kinda vague but i think there would be other ways to say it
@WendiKidd i voted for it to close it so i could ask it again with more info and detail tomorrow
 
@Washu, link of the question please!
 
@Mistu4u i deleted it... today later i will post it is 0:21 am ;)
 
Okay.
 
5:23 AM
@Cerberus The Peruvian history is amazing there were many tribes before the Inka Empire like the Chavin, Nazca, Tiahuanaco, Paracas (these guys were crazy they invented a medical process called "Trepanacion Craneana" in which to heal people they would make a hole in their head so the demons would come out, I still dont know how so many survived in that time), Chimu and others.
@Mistu4u also we have the Nazca Lines.. and many other cool stuff :) until the spaniards came...
 
@Washu Oh yes, perhaps they are world heritage. I have seen on TV.
Various tribal rituals in Peru are a good subject of interest.
 
I have studied all of them....
Everything was cool until the spaniard conquist...
Then everything went down
 
@Washu "Today" will become "Tomorrow" by 00:21AM :D
 
xD
Yeah
 
@Washu It happens when foreigners conquest~!
 
5:30 AM
conquest* ok :)
 
But honestly I am a fan of Spanish culture and language. I love 'em :)
No offense intended to others!
 
Ohh me too i mean i have no hatred towards them or anyone, but i feel sad when i read an episode of my country where most of it was stealing,killing,suffering and slavery
 
@Washu That is true, but we should also keep in mind the fact that then it was an age of invasion, which is gone now! We are far advanced now and we need every other country beside us!
 
@Mistu4u yeah :)
I have never read anything about Indian history...
But i'm reading a manga regarding Djinns... and Rukh
dont know if that is related to Indian history
is it?
 
@Washu what is "rukh"?
Djinn is the ghost in Muslim believing.
AFAIK
How could that be a part of any nations history?
 
5:39 AM
Sorry i'm kinda ignorant in those aspects...
Yep just checked it it is muslim
Sorry
 
No no sorry..... Everybody is noob in something XD
Like me in Peru's history
And here in lies the success of chat room
BDW if you are a cultural exchange enthusiast you can follow one of my proposals in AREa51.
10
Know Others Culture

Proposed Q&A site for enthusiasts, learners and researchers of cultures of different countries. It would help people of a country to understand and be informed about the culture of other countries and cultural exchange better!

Currently in definition.

Kinda self-promostion. XD
 
Joined
@Mistu4u well is time for me to leave, i will log later take care :)
 
6:07 AM
@Washu Thank you.
@Washu Bye
 
 
4 hours later…
10:21 AM
Is "antinomy" a commonly-used word for learners of English? I'm a native speaker, and I'd never heard it used before. (See ell.stackexchange.com/q/2962/120 ).
 
 
1 hour later…
11:44 AM
isn't it a chemical element?
 
@MattЭллен That's what I thought at first glance, but that's antimony, not antinomy.
 
Oh! sorry, I'm thinking of Antimony
In that case, this is the first time I've heard of the word.
 
Glad it's not just me then :-) The OP used it in that question; I changed it to "contradiction", and then another user changed it back. If it's a commonly-used term for learners, then fair enough; but if not, I'd suggest using a more understandable word.
 
I agree. It doesn't lend itself to being easily understood, especially with Antimony being so similar
 
 
2 hours later…
1:41 PM
Hi @all
 
2:35 PM
Hey @Mistu4u
 
@Washu Hi, sadly a little busy now, please don't mind! :)
 
2:59 PM
Haha I read Antmony at first too! I've never heard antinomy either, interesting.
Interesting word though, Merriam Webster:
: a contradiction between two apparently equally valid principles or between inferences correctly drawn from such principles
2
: a fundamental and apparently unresolvable conflict or contradiction <antinomies of beauty and evil, freedom and slavery — Stephen Holden>
 
3:25 PM
I believe it was Kant who came up with the word.
 
@Cerberus! You've left the sack! : D
 
goes back into sack
 
Noooooooo
 
retracts all heads
 
lights sack on fire so Cerberus has to come out
 
3:27 PM
sack is made of asbestos
this is the underworld, you know
 
Fine, I'll just poke you with pointy sticks until you come out. Always works eventually!
 
Ahhhh!
 
@Cerberus I'm so sleeeeeepy. Are there comfortable bean bag chairs here in the underworld?
Hi @snailplane! :)
 
Anonymous
Hi! :-)
 
How goes it?
 
Anonymous
3:41 PM
I think this the first time I've joined the chat when someone was here.
 
Anonymous
It's been a ghost town!
 
Haha yeah, it has been!! Last day or so it seems to have picked up though; I hope it stays that way!
@Cerberus is lurking around somewhere as well I think
I threatened him with pointy sticks so he's hiding ;)
 
Anonymous
@Cerberus Antinomy is an older word (see etymonline), originally referring to a conflict between laws (which is its literal meaning), then used figuratively by Kant
 
Yeah, I'd never heard that word before. Learn something new every day!
 
Anonymous
I thought it said antimony at first!
 
3:45 PM
Me too : D
Until I read someone else post that exact same comment LOL!
 
Hi @WendiKidd
 
Hi @Washu! How are you doing? :)
 
Good
And you?
 
I'm glad to hear that :) I'm doing all right, just sleepy ;)
Are you going to repost your question today? :)
 
4:01 PM
@snailplane Ah OK, then I guess he just made it popular!
 
Anonymous
Oh, yes, I think so! And with a new meaning.
 
@WendiKidd i want to, but today we are going to charge a standar container to export it to USA so i will be kind of busy :/
 
Right, right.
 
@Washu Ahh I see. Well we're not going anywhere! :)
 

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