The Upper Room

12:56 PM

@dancek It looks ok. As long as we don't have an ancient-greek.SE, stuff about the greek meaning of words will likely be on topic here (I don't love it, but if they are Bible words then I guess they have a place).

Q: Brothers, we are not Christians

1:45 PM

@JonathonByrd Please don't take this as calling you out as you are by no means the only one struggling with the scope of the site (I would include myself). I just saw this comment just as I was taking off earlier and it got me thinking and I came up with this:

0

I am a Christian. You say you are. We are not. It seems that lots of folks are having a hard time wrapping their heads around the scope of this site. While I respect the SE staff* and have been impressed with the effort they have taken and judgement they have shown in nurturing this site into ex...

discussion site-definition sensitive-topics

@Caleb This is excellent.

2:05 PM

@waxeagle Thank you, I hope it helps somebody. I wasn't sure how well that angle of introduction would be received, but I think it's an honest representation of what we are dealing with.

The silence has been deafening tho. Is everybody out of votes on meta too?

Other than beating up on @JonathonByrd (sorry man, just remember meta voting signifies something different than main site voting) there hasn't been a lot of voting activity on meta in general.

2:31 PM

@Caleb I don't feel the same voting obligation on meta I do on a mainsite. I will vote on stuff that I agree or disagree with, but I don't vote on nearly everything like I do on the main site

2:41 PM

wishes there was a reward for accepted answers on meta

@waxeagle Voting on meta may not have as direct an effect as on the main site since it doesn't affect user reputation, but it still helps shape and define the site as consensus is reached about what is good/bad, on/off topic, etc. I think it's an important privilege particularly during beta.

3:00 PM

@waxeagle the Biblical Hermeneutics suggestion would probably be an appropriate site if it's launched, but the question can be moved later, right.

@dancek yes it can be.

Q: What is the origin of "Jesus H Christ"?

3:18 PM

1

I have always wondered how this meme started.

jesus meme christ phrase

can someone finish this off?

3:51 PM

@waxeagle i second this (already voted)

@dancek i hadn't seen it yet. I was gone most of yesterday. Hell fire and brimstone I say.

A: Pro Tem Moderator nominations

4:24 PM

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I'll nominate Caleb. I don't know him previously, but I recall seeing his posts on Unix.SE (where I'm not active at all, just googling at times). After the first four days of the private beta I have the following good things to say about him: He has been one of the most active users in meta (if...

5:32 PM

Gmornin

@JonathonByrd morning :)

C. Ross

@waxeagle done

@JonathonByrd morning

5:53 PM

@JonathonByrd good afternoon

6:10 PM

we need more questions

we're starting to slow down huge

@JonathonByrd lol the pace at which we opened was untenable for 200 people to keep up. Things will pick up for a few days when we open to the public. But I would say the 5-10 q/day would be a solid level for us long term.

@waxeagle I assume that you're a mod. no?

@JonathonByrd I am mod on Gardening.SE yes

@JonathonByrd We've got such amazing subject matter that asking ten questions on the first day was easy for everyone, so no wonder we had extraordinary figures in the beginning.

@waxeagle just curious as to what level of interest that you play in Christianity.se whether its from a "have to" stand point or you actually are here because of the topic

6:14 PM

I think I'll personally be able to maintain 1-2 questions a day for quite some time if I try to. Not sure I will, as those wouldn't really be actual problems I face.

@JonathonByrd its because of the topic. I don't have to be here. I committed because I am interested in doctrinal discussion. i also want to see how a site like this works in the SE format. I am very interested in the success of this long term. I also joined because I thought that this site could use some committed Christians familiar with how the system works

@waxeagle nice

is there a quick reply hot key?

@waxeagle I'm glad to see that. I notice your participation level but the mod bit through me off

@JonathonByrd I thought I saw an insinuation here...

@JonathonByrd I don't think so. There are some userscript mods but I'm not sure how they work (I don't use them

@dancek nope, I was just confused as to why a mod was giving such christian answers :)

6:18 PM

@JonathonByrd :)

@JonathonByrd lol, lots of mods participate on other sites (I'm very active on RPG.SE, in fact I have more rep there than I do on gardening).

@JonathonByrd note that mod <> SE employee. I'm a volunteer...

@waxeagle haha, is that mmorpg?

@JonathonByrd Yes there is, but it comes in the form of a (staff written) user script. This one is pure magic. Readme here.

@JonathonByrd no table top only

I play D&D and a game called Dread.

@waxeagle, @Caleb you seem to be active on multiple SE sites. How do you find the time? Do you consider this a hobby?

(by active I mean, more active than I could find the time for)

Stack Overflow Blog: Optimizing For Pearls, Not Sand

6:25 PM

@dancek Yes SE is my hobby. I spend a fair amount of time on it. Honestly it doesn't take that much time to vote and ask/answer quetions. The thing that sucks time is chat :)...

@JonathonByrd just so you are aware.

Posted by Jeff Atwood on June 13th, 2011

In March 2010, we rebalanced our reputation system to favor answers.

While we value good questions (and asking a great question is absolutely an art), we want to explicitly encourage people to provide the best possible answers. Without people interested in providing good answers, the questions are moot. We know that answers have more intrinsic value than questions, and the reputation balance should reflect that.

The question asker already enjoys a substantial benefit beyond reputation gain from upvotes on their question — namely, they get great answers to their question! Thus, the asker shouldn’t need as much reputation gain. …

> We now limit users (and IP addresses) to a maximum of 6 questions per day and 50 questions per month.

specifically

@waxeagle I find myself working over an hour for a single post at times, but then that's the way I like to write stuff...

@dancek lol thats more likely here. Note most of my activity is on Gardening or RPG where the answers are either off the cuff or easily researched and fairly definitive

@waxeagle thats awesome, we reserve the right to refuse your questions.

@JonathonByrd I was mostly posting it to make you aware of the limit. I noticed you were at 22 questions already and you would be hitting it soon...

anything that I can do to assist this community

I want to see it succeed

I'm curious, I heard that atheism only lasted two months

that mean it was doing great through beta? but they only had like 30 questions in total on that site

6:36 PM

@JonathonByrd yeah, me too... I'd like to hear what went wrong there

@JonathonByrd yeah not sure how fast they started, but they turned into a ghost town pretty quick.

I guess the problem with atheists is that they only necessarily agree on one thing...

thats not surprising. you can only yell dogma at each other so long before it gets old :)

@JonathonByrd I doubt 30 would have gotten them out of private beta (at least per current practice). I have no idea how it really went

true true @dancek

I was looking at their beta stats

6:37 PM

@JonathonByrd right, but note that the q/day is a 2 week average

i see their top rep had almost 4k

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JonathonByrd Atheism doesn't have much to ask questions about, as a topic. The Stack Exchange format isn't a good fit for a site about atheism.

yea, its just comical

@dancek My participation on Unix.SE and ServerFault fits in well with work. My work consists mostly of poking at a wide variety of Unix machines. I started answering because I was also finding a lot of answers there and it became an addiction as well as a way to continue to learn so my skill set doesn't stagnate (very important in the world of computers). English.SE is a hobby because I don't get to speak it much. I am here because I am passionate about the subject matter.

Mr. Shiny and New 安宇

@JonathonByrd what's comical, atheism.se or atheism in general?

6:42 PM

@waxeagle Out of curiosity, why is RPG still in beta after a year and mostly good stats -- just hasn't made priority on the to-dolist at SE because of the low traffic?

@Caleb we only recently got back to 5ish q/day we were langushing around 3 or so for several months.

We do really well on giving answers, and fairly well on traffic, but we have had trouble getting a proper volume of questions and maintaining it.

ok im out

@JonathonByrd ciao

Hmm... For me, the main motivation in taking part in SE is that it teaches you to write, and helps maintain or even improve my English.

@dancek its certainly a great writing exercise. In fact Jeff wrote a blog post about that...let me see if I can find it

codinghorror.com/blog/2011/02/how-to-write-without-writing.html

wonders why that didn't onebox

6:47 PM

@waxeagle It's posted on his personal site not the official SE blog.

@Caleb I know...I swear thought I had seen them onebox before...not a big deal

hmm, I'm starting to feel bad about my porneia == premarital sex question christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/778/…

ChaosGamer ΕΛ-Υ ēel-ū

lol...

I really would like to have good arguments against those liberals who claim some unusual meaning, but no one in that topic seems willing to assume that the point liberals make should be looked at

this is definitely an instance where I'd like to see the assume without questioning attitude I've suggested on meta

@dancek right. I didnt' think it was necessary earlier, but what if you change the question to remove any mention of fornication and only use the word porniea? Then ask if its greek usage would indicate an inclusion of premarital sex.

out of courtesy I would then notify the answerers to come by an change if needed.

6:57 PM

@waxeagle I think the major problem is that some answerers trust dictionaries. I did already state that a dictionary definition isn't gonna cut it...

@waxeagle but yes, that's good advice and that's what I'm gonna do.

@dancek right, but the thing is that a dictionary is an authoritative source for most folks. If you look up fornication it means sex between unmarried folks. Thats the source you point to. If your friends dispute that they can take it up with English :)

however if they argue porneia doesn't include the full definition of fornication then its a biblical greek question which is legit here.

@waxeagle hngh, can't help but think those people must only know one language

@dancek lol. I'm bilingual but if I'm looking for the meaning of a word in English its a dictionary I head to. Although used in the bible its usually a dictionary + commentary, or at least 2-3 translations into English

If I am really confused or want to get a deeper understanding I might pull up a spanish translation or two.

For instance in John 1 english uses "Word" however the spanish is much more awesome using "Verbo" which is a different way to look at the passage. It make it much more alive to me.

7:15 PM

@waxeagle I think I see what you mean.

9:02 PM

"@dancek You want to justify premarital sex. This is not a place for debate. My answer stands. Premarital sex is fornication"

I feel this is a little personal...

@dancek Link?

Purmou

hello

9:40 PM

I love the splash screen when entering chat on here "Loading Christianity" as if we can simply install our beliefs.

Purmou

hey there

Afternoon

A: Is premarital sex πορνεία (porneia)?

10:14 PM

2

Dictionary.com Fornication 1. voluntary sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons or two persons not married to each other. Yes. Premarital sex is fornication. Adultery is fornication. Any type of sex where the two people are not married or not married to each other is for...

@dancek I found the question but I couldn't find the comment you quoted.

Never-mind it was just buried so didn't come out in search.

I don't really mind, but if that is meant as personal then it shouldn't be

I'm also willing to delete the question by now if it's deemed inappropriate, but I just don't see it that way.

Steve Moser

I don't like how no one mentions OT verses about how fornication can relate to idol worship instead of sex

@SteveMoser at least now that the question is all about porneia, OT would be off-topic as it's Hebrew, not Greek

Hey @Caleb, I just answered your comment and would be happy to discuss it more if you like.

10:29 PM

@dancek I don't think that's necessary but I might suggest an edit. Maybe tomorrow, it's way past my bedtime right now.

@JimMcKeeth Thank you for that. And I would like to talk sometime, but I'm going to have to take a rain check at the moment. It's 1:30 am for me and I have an early morning.