Software Recommendations

Undo

01:13

Ok, folks, we need to come up with a decent nickname. I'm going to go insane if I have to run around saying, "I did such and such at softwarerecs" all the time :P

Seth

@Undo Wait, you're running around and saying you've done such and such at software rec already?

Undo

@Seth Well, we're talking about it in the Tavern.

Seth

Oh?

I've got spare invites if anyone needs one.

Undo

@Seth Anyone can get in through the link on A51.

Seth

I guess Gilles should answer this one: meta.softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/57/…

@Undo Not in the private beta right?

Undo

01:19

@Seth Yes in the private beta.

I wasn't committed to this site ever.

Seth

@Undo How does that work? It isn't obvious..

Everyone I've talked to said you needed an invite or a commitment.

Undo

You used to

@Seth Go here in Incognito (or what have you) and click the Visit the site now! link. It lets you log in and everything.

Seth

That's a bug then.. According to this:

Undo

It's not a bug. I already pinged Nick or someone about it, and they said it's by design

That screen is lying.

Seth

It's a bug in the screen then :P

Undo

01:23

They say that they figure that if someone finds it on A51 and wants in, we shouldn't be hindering them.

Seth

And what is the point of a "private" beta if it isn't private?

Undo

It's quite a bit more private than a public beta.

Seth

hmm

Compukid

I agree with @Undo . We need a better name

hichris123

01:40

No room owners? Heh.

15

A: Why am I allowed to sign up on a private beta site I never commited to?

It occurred to us that it didn't really make sense that you could participate in a private beta if you committed on Area 51 anytime up to the launch of the private beta, but not once it started. We still want private betas to be limited to users who are actively interested in building a site (vs...

Seth

@hichris123 Strange change if you ask me.. but ok.

5

Q: How can the automatically created beta site chat rooms get owners?

I am participating in the private beta for a new stack exchange site. I entered the automatically created chat room to make myself available to help discuss site issues, flag/edit questions, help new users, etc. This room has no owners. I guess these rooms are created automatically with new beta...

hichris123

Yeah, I don't know. I like it though... it's kinda like if you're smart enough to find that link, it's okay.

Seth

18

A: Chat clean up & owner rules

Sure. In most cases, the room owner is more or less arbitrary, because it's just the person who was first to create the (e.g.) PHP room. But of course it makes sense to have several owners, especially for rooms that are quite active and have developed their own "style", and have those owners be p...

Double meta'd ya :P

hichris123

@Seth So... post a lot in here and you're owner? :P

Seth

@hichris123 Something like that..

Undo

01:54

@hichris123 Yes. The person with the most posts is automagically chosen by chat as the owner.

So be very,

very,

conscious of how many messages you post.

hichris123

YAY! MESSAGES!

@Undo Very very very?

Undo

very

hichris123

Very very very very?

Undo

very very very

hichris123

very very very very very?

Undo

01:59

yes.

exactly.

hichris123

Yay!

@Undo You get an upvote for fixing your errors in the meta post. :P

Undo

yay!

Undo

02:34

0

A: Become a temporary moderator for the beta

I would like to nominate Undo. Main: http://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/users/46/undo Meta: http://meta.softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/users/46/undo

I... uhm... uh...

Sure you got the right person? :P

I'd do it if asked and all, but... this site is going to need far more than what I'm capable of.

hichris123

@Undo Why not? :P DIAMONDZ!!!

Undo

I know, I just seriously don't know if I can handle it on this site.

hichris123

You have help... called the TL. :P

Undo

I'll think on it for a few days.

hichris123

I'm already plotting stuff... which involves said comment flagging. :P

@Undo FGITW on meta-stuff... good mod. :P

Undo

02:41

hehe

@hichris123 you need to start participating so that I can nominate you :P

hichris123

But... but...

Undo

Yes, it becomes harder to flag comments here. [status-bydesign] :P

hichris123

Well then: softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/review/suggested-edits/142

Undo

wants to be able to review suggested edits

hichris123

@Undo If you're a mod... you're not going to be happy with me. :P

And I'm going to laugh when you're like TOO MANY FLAGS!.

Undo

02:44

sigh

hichris123

What, can't I dream of the future?

Undo

Yes, but your dreams are scaring me :P

hichris123

That's a good thing. :P Now go accept, good boy.

Undo

I can't even edit yet ;(

hichris123

... and?

Oh, duh. :P

Undo

02:46

My plan: think about it until I get edit privs. Then I will have figured out whether I think I can actually do it.

This site is... special. I want to see it succeed, and I really think it needs more than I have to offer.

hichris123

@Manish Undo got nominated. :)

Undo

:P

ManishEarth

heh

Undo

I still can't figure out why

hichris123

Cause you edit stuff?

Cause you post answers?

Cause you do stuff on meta?

Undo

02:48

I've got to eat, cya folks!!

hichris123

Cya.

Where's the share button on per-site meta posts?

4

Q: A different thought on moderation

Traditionally sites have 2-3 moderators and start with pro-tems, etc. However, the sites often don't have much need for extra policing for subjective arguments. I'm going to propose that this site have potentially a different moderation model, in that we probably need people who are experienced ...

discussion

ManishEarth

@hichris123 not on private beta

hichris123

@ManishEarth Oh... that makes sense. First private beta. :P

ManishEarth

whoa 32nd meta post WHAT MADNESS

Undo

Back, kinda

hichris123

02:52

@ManishEarth There's a lot of SE veterans in this site...

Undo

Yeah, it feels like I'm on mSO sometimes looking around at the users.

hichris123

Which is why I had to join. ;)

Undo

Oy @gparyani!

gparyani

@Undo You've been appointed as a temporary moderator...would you like to accept?

3

Q: Appoint temporary moderators for the beta here

How do you become a temporary moderator for the beta? Deep engagement in the community's development is required for all temporary moderator candidates. All potential candidates must: Have a reasonably high reputation score to indicate active, consistent participation. Show an interest ...

discussion moderation

hichris123

9 mins ago, by Undo

My plan: think about it until I get edit privs. Then I will have figured out whether I think I can actually do it.

Though I'll let him speak for himself. @Undo speak! :P

Undo

02:57

@gparyani I probably will eventually... But I need to think about it for a while.

gparyani

@hichris123 Is it a little too early to post that?

Do any of you think that I should nominate myself?

I've done lots of moderation work on Super User...

Undo

If you think you can handle it, go for it.

gparyani

That is, helpful flags.

Would you reject, @Undo?

hichris123

If you think you can moderate the community, sure.

Undo

@gpar Remember that this site is going to be quite a bit different, and need a lot more work.

if this were any other SE site I would probably accept on the spot. But...

gparyani

02:59

Only problem is, I am in a network where stackexchange.com is blocked, so I can't access most network sites from there.

Undo

this one is special. It's going to need a lot of skill, and I don't know if I have it.

gparyani

Sites hosted on other domains are fine, like Super User and Stack Overflow.

I agree that it will be a pain to moderate,...

Undo

Exactly.

gparyani

...and considering that I can't participate in the site when I am in that network,...

...I'll probably not nominate myself.

If someone appoints me, I'll likely reject.

Now, if our IT department starts allowing stackexchange.com, I'll probably think about it, but now...

probably not.

ManishEarth

@gparyani tor

gparyani

03:02

@ManishEarth Yes, I know. But our network is as smart as China to block Tor traffic...

Undo

Wow.

ManishEarth

Tor is pretty much un-blockable, even by China

Unless you whitelist

gparyani

Not that I can't use Tor if I have my own laptop, but

ManishEarth

ah, work laptop

gparyani

the website to download Tor from is blocked, and even if I did

ManishEarth

03:03

PuTTY allowed? I usually have a bunch of tunnels I can worm into open

gparyani

download it onto a public computer there, the thing would be smart enough to terminate it...

so that I can't launch it on one.

Undo

Wow

gparyani

@AlE. Why?

gparyani

04:27

@Undo I'm going to ask the user for an explanation.

Undo

@gpar If you'd like to, I'd certainly like to hear it.

gparyani

Is there any specific reason why you'd like to nominate this user? — gparyani 1 min ago

(click the time)

@Undo, you're splitting my username wrong. 'g' is my first initial, while "paryani" is my last name

Undo

@gparyani Oh, sorry. I'm just grabbing the minimum number of characters to ping (3) and gpar sounds better than gpa. I'll use your full username in the future ;)

gparyani

@Undo Did you downvote that answer? I see a downvote on it.

Undo

@gparyani Nope.

Aaack! Did it again!

gparyani

04:32

@Undo It's OK ;)

Undo

Hehe. Okay ;)

gparyani

@Undo Why would someone downvote your nomination?

Undo

Meh, one never knows.

gparyani

@Undo As far as I know, they don't consider vote counts in nominating, but I could be wrong

Undo

they do, but only to a certain extent.

a very very small extent.

gparyani

04:34

Maybe they ignore it if it's grayed out (-3 or below net score)

Undo

It's a CM (possibly the whole team) that chooses manually.

so maybe they would take it as the user isn't supported by the community.

gparyani

@Undo Do you think that SE should acquire your iOS app and make it the official app?

Undo

@gparyani Well... Yes, if I were to be purely selfish. But they can do so much more, make their own look so much better... They don't need mine.

Seth

06:29

@Undo What do you mean you have to eat? I thought flagging comments gave you energy.. or was the hichris? :P

Undo

14:41

@Seth I think that flagging gives hichris more energy than it does me.

People! We don't have any stars in here for non-robot users! This must be fixed immediately!

jokerdino

15:10

made it.

Undo

Hiya @jokerdino!

Stack Exchange

jokerdino has made a change to the feeds posted into this room

Undo

yay!

jokerdino

OK. I just edited the feed to post recent questions on the site and the meta to this chat room.

Stack Exchange

2

Q: App to alert me of firmware updates on a rooted Android phone

Are there any apps that will notify me of firmware updates available on a rooted phone? The built in firmware check on my Samsung Galaxy SIII will no longer work on the stock ROM, because it has detected that the phone is rooted. Are there any that will download the updated ROM for me too?

android

1

Q: Offline Vector Map for Windows Mobile

I’d like to use an offline vector map (not bitmap) with more or less up-to-date map data on my Windows Mobile 6 Professional (Windows CE-based, not related to Windows Phone) device. (These devices typically have only 64 MiB RAM, which constraints them quite a bit.) OpenStreetMap would be nice, b...

gps navigation offline windows-mobile map

3

Q: Draw freehand on Android

Using paint on Windows, I can edit images and also draw freehand. The default image editing application on Android doesn't support freehand. I need software that will enable me draw freehand on Android.

android images

2

Q: QuakeLive alternative on Linux

Requirements Easy to install on Fedora (RPM) or installer Multiplayer with online players available Low hardware requirements - should work on Intel Gfx like QuakeLive Similar game style is nice to have I'm asking because QuakeLive is not available on Linux anymore.

linux quake quakelive

2

Q: Software for landscape design?

I am looking for software for landscape design. So that I can easily draw buildings, fences, parking areas, and represent trees, bushes, gardens etc. A free cross platform or web based option is optimal. I don't need tons of features since I am no pro but features are nice.

landscape drawing mapping

0

Q: Can the Browser Tab title not start with the tag name?

Currently some of my browser tabs are titled like this: Since I guess most questions will start with an OS tag like [Windows] or [Linux] the title is partially useless and I can't see the rest which makes the complete title useless in my case. Can the main tag be removed from the browser tab ...

feature-request title browser-tabs

1

Q: Are hardware recommendations on-topic?

This site was established as a software recommendations site. However, we do not have to define our scope based on historical happenstance in choosing a name. Given that our primary focus is on software, it could make sense to allow hardware recommendations as well, at least computer hardware r...

discussion scope hardware

2

Q: Populate the site with our best use cases

For me it is a great deal working with Ditto. And I added how I work with it as a self-answering-question. Everyone has a way of making the daily use cases easier. I believe many of them are actual great since these methods developed over the years. It would be a great addition if people using...

discussion questions

5

Q: How should we flag answers?

Let's prefix this with this: I'm quite new to all of this. I've been on mSO for almost a year now, and I know the normal ropes, but this site is a brand new category for SE. We have some work to do. How should we flag answers? We have quite a few one-liner answers comprised of a link to some sof...

discussion answers flagging

2

Q: Should we accept root/hack/jailbreak related questions?

In the Tavern (where the mSO folks sit all day and watch this site with eagle eyes), at least one person expressed concern at this recent question - App to alert me of firmware updates on a rooted Android phone. What's our policy on such questions?

discussion scope

jokerdino

15:13

Both of them right now get posted as normal chat messages. If either of them gets overboard, we can probably switch them to ticker.. oops

Undo

yay feed dump!

allquixotic

@jokerdino I like the ticker a lot better

jokerdino

Ticker can be missed if you are catching up on the transcript.

OK now, this site has already had a headstart. Look at the meta!

hichris123

15:29

@jokerdino Is it even working now? The feed.

jokerdino

The feed posts the question to this chat room when they get asked. At a time delay of ~20 minutes

hichris123

@Seth Um... not sure. :P Closing questions gives me energy... maybe flagging. :P

Oh, okay. Delay makes sense.

allquixotic

man, meta is hopping more than the mainsite

hichris123

We have a lot of mSO/SE veterans here...

jokerdino

We are all interested in watching the shipwreck very closely.

allquixotic

15:33

<--- SU veteran :P but I focus mainly on SU itself and only a little on meta

hichris123

@jokerdino Pretty much. :P

3ventic

I wouldn't call myself a veteran..

hichris123

How long have you been here?

3ventic

Here as in SE or here as in this chat?

allquixotic

any further thoughts on this?

hichris123

15:37

@3ventic As in SE.

3ventic

6-7 months active, registered for...

a year and 3 months

hichris123

Registered for 7-8 months. :P

@allquixotic I think you have it right... if such a question existed it would turn into a very opinion based listy question.

allquixotic

@hichris123 I've seen questions of that format flourish on SU, though -- there tend to be more than 2 or 3 answers, but the ones that don't get mod-deleted tend to be high quality and of "good subjective" pedigree

this is for questions that ask, basically, what are the attributes of a certain type of product that I should look at in order to decide which one to use; it isn't saying "decide for me"; it's saying "tell me how to develop my own decision-making skills"

3ventic

I have no idea why I registered

allquixotic

the question seems to be of good quality

3ventic

15:43

OH

jokerdino

Hey, do we have a format for answers or something?

3ventic

Now I remember

hichris123

@allquixotic Hmm... not sure. I'd have to look at one of these questions...

3ventic

1

Q: IP address times out

I'm running a dedicated server with a couple of game servers running on 4 different IP addresses. The most network-heavy server times out a few times during peak hours and all other communication (FTP/SSH) through the same IP also briefly times out. Other servers using other IPs are fine and unaf...

debian ip dedicated-server timeout

That's why I registered

Then I was pretty inactive until I got association bonus from SO

Stack Exchange

15:57

1

Q: Recommend portable offline virus scanner

I have a low system memory and work in a pretty safe environment so don't feel it wise to have a big AV running in background all the time. I also have multiple systems so a portable AV that I can place in all of them through a USB would be the nicest option for me. I have tried ClamWin Portab...

antivirus

1

Q: Must I specify an OS?

I asked a question here, where the OS is not important to me. OS is not a hindrance for me personally. I could go with any of them, but I would prefer if I could use it on Windows, Linux, and OSX. The best software in my experience is cross platform since it is a fit for anyone. Or in my case I c...

discussion

1

Q: Are answers which provide a complete script acceptable?

Olli has this excellent question which asks for a file integrity checker. I'm sure many of us could write up a quick shell script and cron entry that will do exactly what he needs. We seem to have established that offering to write code for an asker is bad mojo. But what if, instead of an offer...

discussion

0

Q: What are the rules for self-answering your question?

On SE sites, it's encouraged to self-answer your question. But on Software Recommendations, an answer to your own answer will probably look like spam. So, is it allowed to post an answer to your own question here?

support answers

hichris123

@jokerdino It just kinda dumps them in here...

jokerdino

What do you expect? It's not smart. I'll give you that.

hichris123

It is SE after all, so I expect magical unicorns powering that and making it pretty & smart.

Stack Exchange

16:15

0

Q: Tools for maintaining and deploying database schemas and data for SQL Server?

I'd like to maintain the schema and 'static' data of a SQL Server database as code in a version control system. I'd also like to be able to deploy specific versions of the database code to actual instances of the relevant database, i.e. migrate a database to a new version (and optionally 'migrate...

database software-development

Undo

Crap.

> Daily vote limit reached, vote again in 7 hours

;(

hichris123

@Undo Heh.

jokerdino

I am sorry :(

Stack Exchange

16:28

0

Q: Making my screen less bright at night

I use my computer also at night, but my computer screen looks like daylight and I find it too bright to really use it at night. So, what is a good tool to make my screen less bright?

screen

0

Q: Portable bootable virus scanner with secure signature update and low memory requirements

Another question that arose from this question is: Is there any decent portable virus/malware scanner solution that: can be placed on a bootable medium (such as a USB stick, but maybe a CD-R too) ideally, also on a non-bootable medium (SD card) and chainloaded has a secure way to get up-to-d...

virus-scanner bootable

0

Q: Should we have tags for separate Linux distributions?

I'm going through the Suggested Edit queue, and I'm seeing a lot of removals of the ubuntu tag. This question is one example. Since the asker is specifically asking for something for Ubuntu, I feel it's appropriate to keep the tag for that distribution. But what does the community think? Should...

discussion tags

Seth

Oh help. Now they want tags for separate Linux distros D:

@Undo I ran out of votes on meta.. Which is worse! :(

Now people are going to make all these decisions without me! :O

allquixotic

whoa, our numbers on the stats tracker on a51 are jumping around like crazy

the % answered is changing by 5-10% per hour, up and down

Seth

This site really took off.

Which isn't exactly a good thing as animuson says.

allquixotic

I think there's a lot of interest in the site, more than most betas

Sathya

@jokerdino should make it into a ticker

else it'll flood the room

Seth

16:42

I hate tickers.. Can we just remove the question feed from main?

Sathya

yeah

else just populate tag based questions

ex: only feature-requests from meta

Undo

nah, let's do all meta questions

Seth

I think all meta questions are ok, but every question on the main site is too much.

allquixotic

I think whatever the setup is in Root Access works the best -- I see tickers from meta.SU occasionally and often jump right on and answer, but because the mainsite is so active, I don't even need the ticker or a feed to see new questions; they are always on the frontpage

not saying let's mirror Root Access, but, let's mirror Root Access!

Seth

Works for me, that's what the AU general room does. Just a meta feed.

Stack Exchange

16:47

1

Q: Is an 'editing' tag really useful?

There are currently two questions with this tag (or at least there are two questions on the 'newest' page), but the tag seems way too broad to be useful. I could understand photo-editing [and, in fact, I just edited one of the two questions and replaced the editing tag with photo-editing], but in...

discussion tags

Sathya

Undo

I have to say that we have the most active meta of any new beta site I've ever been a part of.

YES THANK YOU SO MUCH @gparyani that typo was driving me insane.

hichris123

@Sathya What's the create user button?

Seth

It's a mod button, they can create feed users

Undo

@hichris123 It lets diamond mods create custom feed users.

Sathya

16:53

@hichris123 creates a user to which imported RSS feeds will be attributed to

allquixotic

@hichris123 didn't you know? that's how moderators make those spam bots that show up at night ;-)

all the spam bots linking to SUPER CEAP DIAMOND NEKLIS come from mods; it's all just a test ;-)

4

hichris123

@allquixotic Ah, that makes sense now. :P

@allquixotic chat.meta.stackoverflow.com/rooms/551/in-praise-of-moderators

Seth

FIRE ALL THE MODS!

allquixotic

chat.meta? O.o TIL there's another chat subdomain

Undo

Someone post something starrable.

Seth

16:56

@allquixotic You didn't know? It's where we ~~don't~~ criticize moderators.

jokerdino

@Sathya i assumed this will be just another beta site on SE, without any real activity. Obviously, I am in the wrong.

Seth

This is in queue to be closed. I'm voting to leave it open because of what @Seth is saying. — dotVezz 1 min ago

opinions on that Q?

allquixotic

Undo

@jokerdino I assumed the same thing.

@Seth I think it's too broad.

But the thing about this site is I don't think anyone really knows ;(

Seth

@Undo Why?

Undo

16:58

@Seth Every meta thing inside of me is screaming it's too broad. But this site is special

hichris123

Yeah... I think it's still too broad. Not sure though.

jokerdino

I don't think it is too broad. He gives a list of features he is looking for. Unless those features are standard for every editor, it probably should stay.

Undo

> If you do not have a very specific problem to solve (an actually question that needs a community to resolve), it should not be here.

0

A: Populate the site with our best use cases

I'm going to make a case that this is a supremely bad bad bad bad idea. Setting yourself up with a "question" so you can tout a particular piece of software is the very definition of astro turfing. Even if it is done with full disclosure, this site will become an advertising haven and software a...

Where's the problem in that question?

(of course, that reasoning can be applied to almost every question on the site so far)

hichris123

@jokerdino It already has 10 answers...

jokerdino

Since when is that a bad thing?

Seth

17:01

@Undo Yes, I am having to suppress the meta inside me too.

@jokerdino Exactly.

I submitted an edit on it to make it look less broad, but it wasn't ever too broad to begin with.

bbl

hichris123

@jokerdino Um, it has 10 answers? It just seems like a question that there's so many answers to...

jokerdino

I think we should really try to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Strive to make questions work for our site instead of showing the boot.

Think how that question can be made better!

hichris123

True...

Stack Exchange

0

Q: gtk Linux file manager with column view

Is there a Linux file manager or a file manager add-on in gtk with the column view (or something like it) that Apple's Finder has?

file-management

hichris123

That's why I didn't VTC.

Stack Exchange

17:11

0

Q: Drawing software

I'm looking for some software that allows you to do drawing/sketching but more on the amateur level. Some specific features I am looking for: Ability to make shapes Change colour of your pen Different pen types (brush, fine, spray paint etc) Ability to save to a .PNG format Easy "clear" button ...

windows drawing

Stack Exchange

17:29

1

Q: App to quickly generate iOS app icons?

In iOS development, there are quite a few different sizes of icons needed to make your app look the best throughout the system. Here's what the average list of icon files looks like in an iOS project: There are different sizes of images, retina versions of those... it's a mess. Is there a tool...

osx image-processing images software-development

Undo

That was actually pretty fast for @StackExchange

Stack Exchange

1

Q: What are recommended free, open, and easy DLNA/UPnP servers for Linux?

On my Linux PC, I've stored many personal photos, videos, and of course music files. I have several devices capable of interacting with DLNA/UPnP servers to make use of that collection. So I'm looking for a DLNA/UPnP server software for Linux, which... is easy to handle (management console woul...

linux free server dlna

0

Q: Should we be transparent when recommending our own software?

A large part of our community may also be members of StackOverflow, Programmers, or just happen to be software developers. If I answer a question and recommend software that I, personally, am somehow associated with, should I be transparent about my association with that software?

discussion answers

Undo

FGITW's another meta question

hichris123

@Undo See? Typical mod stuff.

Undo

lol

jokerdino

17:40

Now you are just egging him on.

Undo

:P

hichris123

@jokerdino I'm almost seeing his name in blue right now... :P

Undo

I have everything covered, right?

hichris123

Hmm.... SEDE?

Meta-meta?

Undo

@hichris123 Eh?

hichris123

17:42

@Undo You haven't answered questions on SEDE or meta-meta. :P

Undo

Oh. Drat

Stack Exchange

17:54

0

Q: Is there a faster Android emulator?

I'm playing with Android development, but the emulator is sooo... slow... It takes upwards of five minutes just to start up! I'm not interested enough in Android development to continue pursuing it with such a slow virtual device (and I don't really want to go buy a real device). Is there a fas...

osx software-development

Seth

There, I revised that one question:

18

Q: JS/PHP editor software

I am looking for a code editor. In my case mostly for JavaScript and PHP, it should have: Syntax highlighting Code hinting (like IntelliSense). Support FTP. Be cross platform.

cross-platform javascript editor ftp php

Better?

can.someone.please.remove.the main question feed.

Stack Exchange

jokerdino has made a change to the feeds posted into this room

jokerdino

It's a ticker now.

Seth

>.>

Stack Exchange

0

Q: Tags for toolkits?

Should we have tags for different tool kits (especially gtk and qt)? Often, different users (mostly on Linux) will want software that fits in with their desktop. Also windows users may want native toolkits instead of Tk. Is it worth having tags for that?

discussion tags

jokerdino

18:00

@Seth from "Code editor software", that question improved considerably.

Seth

@jokerdino Hmm. Maybe I should have done the title too.. but yeah, shouldn't get closed now.

I think bullet lists are the way to go for this site.

@Pops Think maybe you could feature this:

28

Q: You're doing it all wrong!

Before this proposal went into beta, Tim Post layed out some ground rules on Area 51. If you haven't read them yet, I strongly encourage you to do so. The problem, a lot of you guys aren't following them, and it's really bringing down the overall quality of a just-blooming site. It's beginning to...

discussion scope answer-quality

We're getting a lot of link and one sentence answers..

Animuson beat me to a meta post :)

Pops

Sigh.

That's such a depressing title to have in the featured box.

hichris123

@Pops There's an [edit] button you know.

Seth

@Pops True, but it gets people's attention.

Pops

@hichris123 Wait, what? How does that work?

hichris123

18:12

@Pops Since you're not a mod or a high-rep user, you should look at this Meta Stack Overflow answer for help:

2

123

A: How do suggested edits work?

See the related blog post for an overview with screenshots: Suggested Edits and Edit Review. Who can suggest an edit? Registered users without the edit privilege (2000 rep) can suggest edits to any post or tag wiki. Registered users who have the edit privilege but are not trusted users (betwee...

Undo

@Pops You click it and a unicorn impales you.

Seth

@hichris123 He's not a mod? LOL

hichris123

@Seth Yeah, blue == unicorn. ;)

jokerdino

@Pops, you should consider truncating your name to Pop. It's too hard to type 4 char.

Seth

haha

@jokerdino but then he'd be a soft drink!

jokerdino

18:14

hah

Pops

Obligatory:

jokerdino

For a sec, I read the second line as "By Country" and was getting furious.

hichris123

@Pops You have that as a bookmark, don't you?

jokerdino

It's his background image

Seth

@Pops So are you going to feature that one question or did you decide not to?

I think it's important people see it.

Pops

18:27

@hichris123 Who needs bookmarks when you have Google Image Search?

Seth

I think I found a bug:

Pops

@jokerdino I actually did set it as a background image for a semi-public computer I used in college.

Seth

Pops

@Seth I really don't want to, but I don't want to decline without having an alternate plan in place. It's much easier to stall if you don't call me out on it, dangit!

Seth

@Pops lol

Is it just the title?

asdfk@$%JKDFS. I'm still out of votes.

Guess I'll go vote on AU.

Stack Exchange

18:30

1

Q: Is it acceptable to use 'best' in a question?

Obviously, a question like "What is the best Linux distro" is just BAD in every way, but if it is a narrower question ( like "What is the best Linux distro for everyday use on my old G4 PowerBook" ), is it still OK? In other words, is the word 'best' bad in itself, because it causes opinion base...

discussion question-quality asking-questions

Seth

aaaand I'm out of votes on meta too. Go figure.

hichris123

@Pops When's AI going to launch? (since you can't [status-decline] me. :P)

jcolebrand

Sorry all, I should've popped in here sooner

Seth

The lack of a share button on private beta sites is... infuriating to say the least.

Pops

@hichris123 [status-declined]

hichris123

18:33

@Pops [status-plz]

Seth

@Pops want me to get it a better title or what?

Stack Exchange

0

Q: Should we have some broad wiki questions for some things?

Crazy idea -- I was just wondering, maybe it is good if we include some very few broad questions (like "What is the best Linux distro"), so that each noteworthy distro gets a wiki answer for people to write advantages and disadvantages of the particular piece of Software. Also, people could jus...

discussion questions

dotVezz

I just drop into chat and scroll up to see that I've been quoted in here. You guys talkin' behind my back?! (Also, Hi!)

Pops

@Seth Eh. I'll just feature it. Usually, the loud, direct approach isn't my style, but maybe it's the right choice in this case. (And I don't have a good alternative handy.)

Seth

@Pops Cool :)

We need some quiet guys and some loud guys.

hichris123

18:46

LOUD

quiet

@Seth Better?

Seth

Quiet guys to combat shog :P

@hichris123 just.. never mind.

"What is the best Linux distro" <-- If anyone asks that I will feel obligated throw them into /dev/null. Okay, just kidding, but please DON'T ASK THAT! — Seth 2 mins ago

hichris123

@Seth Heh.

Seth

Thanks @Pops

I will let you eat your waffles in peace now.

hichris123

meta.softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/revisions/86/2

jokerdino

@Seth I see strains of ThomasW in there.

Seth

18:48

@jokerdino He's thrown me into /dev/null one too many times I'm afraid.

jokerdino

haha

@Pops I don't know if that is the best-est idea to feature that question.

Seth

@jokerdino Gotta love ThoamsW.

@Pops Don't listen to him!

hichris123

Maybe I'm crazy, but @Pops where does the featured post show up?

jokerdino

It's making me think Pops wants this site to go to doom.

@hichris123 it shows up in the bulletin.

Seth

@jokerdino It's going to doom already. We need more people to read that post!

hichris123

18:50

@jokerdino I... don't see it still. :P Probably caching.

jokerdino

It's always caching.

Stack Exchange

0

Q: Add descriptions of mentioned software

How far should software mentioned in questions be described? Now and then, I encounter questions where I don't know the software described ( like here ), but I think I might know an answer. Is it good to include a short description of the software mentioned, or should the potential answerer check...

discussion asking-questions

Pops

It is, indeed, always caching.

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