@Lambie "I was told"? Are you not a native speaker? You make a lot of very authoritative assertions about French for someone who does not speak it natively.
I'm not a native speaker of French. I studied French all my life, I lived in Paris for 16 years, I attended the ESIT (3 years, competitive entrance exam), and I am an interpreter and translator. And yes, a moderator commented on a post of mine saying that "C'est le monde à l'envers" was a "tournure non-idiomatique". Now, it would seem to me that these facts give me some creds for making some assertions about French. Right?
Just as, the reverse would give a French speaker grounds for making assertions about English.
And I know I make typing errors (I do not translate into written French) but quand même. But when learners tell me my translation of this or that is wrong, it's quite a laugh. Alors, cela vous va? Ou faut-il que je dise autre chose encore?
Consider taking the Tour... you can see from it that "This site is all about getting answers. It's not a discussion forum. There's no chit-chat". Then it goes on to say things such as that "Good answers are voted up and rise to the top" or that "Your reputation score goes up when others vote up your questions, answers and edits".
You can "Use comments to ask for more information or clarify a question or answer" but "Remember: we're all here to learn, so be friendly and helpful!".
So I think it's about peer review, something, because it says "Our goal is to have the best answers to every question, so if you see questions or answers that can be improved, you can edit them" etc. You can even unlock badges for "special achievements you earn for participating on the site" such as the sportsmanship badge we've discussed before!
This is what credentials are based upon, not the number of days spent in France or your job, the number of degrees or what not. It's about content contributed under the cc by-sa license which is reviewed and supported by your peers with a variety of expertise and interests etc.
Anyone can contribute and your contribution or opinion doesn't take precedence over anyone else's, and credentials which can't really be substantiated in this context anyway wouldn't make a difference because that's not what such sites are about imho. So yeah. Thanks.
Finally, concerning my handle in chat, that's been resolved elsewhere. Thanks.
