Wow... how many classes was that?

Mine was 10 classes, 3 credits each, plus two 1 credit classes

CSCI 112, 225, 235, 245, 255, 265, 321, 376, 361, 470, 481, 482, 150, and then MATH 131 and 132. So... 15ish?

I'm amazed at how a compsci major can be only 32 credits

Like that's not a rip on you or anything, I'm just surprised

Probably the CS major wouldn't include the gen ed classes

Oh, my University also didn't include the math requirements in the CS list

I'm not including the gen eds yeah. The math classes were part of the major.

46 credits including the math classes required

Oh yeah, and I had to do natural sciences with it also, I forgot. So add like 3 more classes

Lol

Did you take APs?

I did IB and AP in high school

I took APs, but only AP Chem, Physics and Calc I+II applied towards my eventual major.

Did you do a BS or a BA?

That helped a bit with my gen eds, but my university didn't accept all the courses, like you couldn't test out or use AP/IB credit for anything in your major

BS

Sorry, it was 36 CS, plus the 10 math

valpo.edu/computing-information-sciences/academics/…

Ahh, okay. That makes more sense to me. Just hearing 32 with no context made me double take for a minute lol

So far I've taken 6 AP tests, all with 5s, so hopefully I can skip some of those.

36 CS and 10 math makes sense

It's also plausible my college just had a stupidly ridiculous course load in comparison to most colleges

I got senioritis bad in HS, so I just half-assed my IB and AP exams senior year

Relatable

the mathjax-list person posted another question (thankfully without mathjax lists), but they still are putting periods after every question mark

I had my college acceptance and scholarship, and there was no way I could fail to graduate at that point. Still got a 3 on most exams, 4 on physics and 5 of computer science

I wish my HS had offered AP Computer Science, that was one of the few they didn't offer.

Think I got 3 on Physics because I was senioritis-ing hard

5s will help you a lot Bobble, so that's good you got 5s

It's a lot easier to senioritis with distance learning. Not that I am.

You have more distractions when online, so that makes sense :p

I discovered very early on that the teacher can't tell you're doing puzzles in a separate window while they lecture

Hence comes the danger

And since I need to be doing something during a lecture, and it doesn't take up any word-space, I do puzzle quite a bit :)

I remember when I used to pay attention in lectures... what a time to be alive

Last year's AP tests were weird - they were shorter, which means any mistake you make is magnified. So, terrifying.

I heard about that yeah

Tons of students were protesting

Seriously, I had one that was "write a full-length essay in 40 minutes"

And the website kept crashing I guess and some people couldn't even take the test due to Internet issues.

It was just a giant mess all around.

One test the scanner refused to scan, so I had to turn in a picture through email (ran out of time)

Ah yes, the old "emailing your professor at the last second to turn something in because the turn in link broke"

They accepted it, so all was well.

Are there essay tests in college?

I had a few, but not many

Oh Lord, my senior essay class...

All my high school ones have been justified as "you have to write essays very fast for AP tests"

We had like a senior class that everybody had to take, and you were required to write like 8 essays called your "Lifeview Papers" throughout the course of the semester. Each of them a minimum of 5 pages

whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I had two gen eds that were literally nothing but essays

On the last one I ran out of topic ideas, so I just wrote some shit about being gay

I was so deep in the closet during college I would have never been able to do that

I didn't fully come out until my husband and I posted our wedding photos on Facebook

AP World taught me how to bluff my way through an essay. It seems this is an important life skill

;-;

what is that emoticon supposed to be?

Remembering being in the closet

Oooh boy, I came out to my friends (not closest friends anymore) in the exactly wrong way.

I came out to my future in-laws junior year, my sister senior year, my parents just after graduation, and to the rest of the world/my family on Facebook after our wedding

Came out to my parents my sophomore year of college and everyone else a few months later, it was definitely a ride.

The way I came out to my parents was, "So, I'm dating Luis, and we're getting married in 6 months"

Oh my

Did they take it well?

"Bit of a nasty shock for them when they found out."

Hahahahaha

No

Loool I can imagine

Sorry man

They've mostly come around

We did a vow renewal for our 5th wedding anniversary and finally got them to come since they wouldn't come to the actual wedding

It's good that they've warmed up to you at least, the first coming out is always rough though.

Goddamn that was a long night

I hope you're doing well now though?

For me it was the build up, once I decided I was going to but before I actually went through with it

Oh yeah, we're good. We're actually both diversity ambassadors at our respective companies, doing training and support for LGBTQ+

I'm glad you are in a better place now. The build up is 100% the worst part

You genuinely do not know if your own parents will hate you, I can't describe that feeling to anybody who hasn't experienced it.

I've never come out to anyone in a coherent, planned fashion. So I sorta skipped the buildup.

If you need help or advice about it bobble, it sounds like we are the pros here and can help :)

Terrible as it sounds, my main concern was more selfish in that I wanted to be completely financially independent. If they hated me, then that was that, but at least I'd have a place to live and a job

I came out as not-straight to one group of friends by cutting into a "joke" about how me + bestie should marry and saying "well, you know, I actually like her". Probably not the best way.

Better than a Facebook post :) Although most of my friends were still very happy to find out

That's not selfish at all Anthony, I had a backup plan too. And oh no bobble

But you know, a joke can be a safe way to gauge reaction, it provides a bit of an out if one is needed

But no matter what way it happens, it's never easy, and it's never a sure thing

The main thing with parents is just being very, very gentle and explaining your feelings, because it will be a big shock and they will change how they see you. It's important to be slow and validate the shock and surprise (and maybe anger) they will feel.

And I came out as not-straight to my parents in the middle of a rant about how my life was really hard at that point.

Oh boy

When was this?

I have blocked the exact time from my memory

@bobble I did not!

That's... not the ideal way to do it for sure, that's rough

@bobble Ah. I'm guessing it wasn't today

I'm guessing it did not go well :/

They were more upset about other parts of the rant, to be honest

At least they know, even if it wasn't the ideal way for them to know

If you need support we're here for you, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.

Whereas my sister managed it really well: she went away for a summer program, and in one of the letters home casually mentioned her sexuality. There was time for it to sink in before she got home, at which point she checked with me for their reaction. Such a better plan.

Speaking of your sister, does she still insist you type "I confirm I am Deus" into the chat? :P

No, and I hope she doesn't read the screen right now

What even happened in this chatroom? Gosh I step away for several hours and bam

that happens a lot, North

I made a joke about writing an essay about being gay and we got hella real

So Bobble, you said you were queer?

very.

Someone wanna explain that to me?

Explain what part, specifically?

What is queer?

"Queer" is usually a label meaning you're LGBT but aren't sure yet where you fit.

also bobble: what's today's pronoun?

she/her, same as morning

It's kind of an umbrella term.

@Sciborg Oh, I see. So basically, "I don't know what I am, just not completely straight and completely cis"?

Yes, exactly

Sometimes you need to take time to figure out how you feel, which is valid and good to do

It used to be kind of a slur, but it's been adopted now and the negative connotations are less pronounced nowadays.

Huh. Can't really wrap my head around it, but okay

But again, I've never really understood gender very well

Think of it like knowing you have some kind of thing going on, but you're not sure what and you need some time to process it emotionally.

Or maybe you just don't like labels and like to be your own thing :p

Yeah, queer originally meant "not normal" or "different", but it's been redeemed from being an insult. Some people also use queer as their sole identity, basically as a way of eschewing labels

Right, exactly that

Could a person who came out as queer come back out as straight & cis (so not LGBTQ)?

de-transitioning is a thing

Yes, I've known a friend of mine who identified as lesbian but then realized she was straight and went back to that identity.

It's completely valid. Just like thinking you're straight but you're actually gay, but reversed

This is new information, not even going to lie

That's okay! I find a lot of this stuff really fascinating, obviously, so if you're curious please ask questions.

Questioning is also sometimes used for people who are less sure in their own identity, but what label, if any, they choose to gravitate towards is up to them

I admit I'm still learning a lot of it myself

Like the concept of being trans is just super foreign to me. I can't even fathom the ideas of your gender not conforming with birth, because it's so different than anything I've ever experienced

But I can still empathize and understand that just because I can't imagine that feeling doesn't mean it doesn't exist

Just like I can't really fathom being attracted to a woman

Eww, that's terrible advice

That's...

I mean, that completely alienates the ace community

Disturbing

That... might be a bit intense for a puzzle chatroom

should I delete it?

...possibly

Yeah

And yeah, that's terrible advice lol

See, I figured that out now. But baby-bobble was very confused.

Yeah, I got a ton of bad advice from random internet websites when I was figuring myself out

Some of it really messed up early parts of my marriage when I felt like I wasn't "gay enough" or the right kind of gay

@bobble with how many pointies?

none, sadly

I don't know what the best advice for knowing your sexuality is, except that it involves a whole lot of soul-searching and it's definitely something you slowly figure out over time.

I'm fairly certain that it involves actual dating at some point, which terrifies me.

Yeah, having an understanding partner helps a bunch

For me it was pretty simple, I just realized in middle school-ish that I had never dated anybody and wasn't attracted to anybody, had a nice long soul-search as I went to high school and college, and then tried a gay Tinder date, had the time of my life and felt attracted to someone for the first time in my life, and was like "yup, okay, I'm gay"

I lucked out, I only dated two people, one woman because I was convinced I wasn't really gay

See, I realized I never dated anybody and thought that's why I had those thoughts and forced myself to find a girlfriend

Absolutely miserable year I will never get back

Yup, that's the mental trap of it

It's going to be fun for me to figure out if I like someone - I have approximately zero ability to identify my own feelings.

You're like "it's just because I've never dated somebody, that's gotta be it" so you try and date somebody you're supposed to but you're like... oh, jeez, nope, this isn't happening.

Worst part was I knew all along it wasn't right, but I held out a full year

The only people who've asked me out are boys, if that matters at all.

Well, bobble, you just gotta look gayer :p

It's hard to be asked out, because so many people are still closeted or unsure of themselves

Straights have it so much easier, just assume everybody else is straight!

It was the greatest feeling in the world when somebody I liked asked me out, it's like meeting a unicorn.

there's a question - how do you figure out who to ask?

Do you wear a big neon sign saying "I am ____"?

It sounds bad to say, but I usually can tell from signs. The gaydar thing and all :p

They wear rainbow pins, have rainbow stickers on their laptops, etc

I'm the wrong to ask, my husband is the only man I ever dated, and he asked me out

They also tend to dress incredibly not straight

But yeah, in general the safe bets are at the gay bars (when you're older), online dating, etc

*GRINDER WHEN YOU ARE OLDER, that's IMPORTANT

NOT YET

yeah, making that less specific

even when older, only if that's really what you want

looks jealously at people are are ase

There are nice family friendly apps like Bumble

Bumble is wonderful

I'm not sure if I'm ace or not! I might be!

hi, xnor!

Ace, or demi, or any one of a bunch

You can be anything you want and that's the great thing

I'm incredibly jealous of people who are sure of themselves

I'm demi myself, took a while to figure that one out

What is it like to know who you are, honestly

Lol

How do you know when are done knowing who you are?

I'm just going to step aside here because I really have no commentary or useful advice. :)

What is life

WHO ARE WE

42; humans

There's a new puzzle idea, just have to wait for the green checkmark and then we'll be set

new puzzle idea?

I was completely sure of one thing for a bit - that I was disabled - and now I'm taking medicine and that identity is thrown into question again.

Answerer's username is "TheOneGod" and the answer is just: "Who knows, man, I made you guys in Perl"

137 might be the next number I get unhealthily obsessed with aside from 42, thanks @matt

ah yes the inverse of the fine structure constant

Hi Lukas!

The queers have hijacked the chat

Hi! I've been creeping around here all time along :P

Yeah we kinda went on a gay thread, sorry :p

We'll talk about puzzling now we promise

lol np I found it interesting FWIW.

I found a new crossword type were the words go in a spiral both inwards and outwards. Trying to construct now.

@bobble Ooooh details?

Do you have a link? Weird crosswords are fun

That's basically it. Some words go inwards, the other words go outwards (they overlap)

example

Nifty :D

poor Deus, he's probably going to have to back-read our who detour

Poor Deus

No front, but isn't Deus basically the only active mod here? He no doubt does his job well from what I have seen, but that seems like a bottleneck. Rubio and GPR are completely inactive if I'm not mistaken and Gareth seems to be heavily limited by the time he has

*#nofront

They could be busy with mod-only tasks, which we lowly mortals cannot see or track

Stuff like handling comment flags

He is the most active, but Gareth is around sometimes too, and bobble and other users help with moderation tasks.

true

Rubio was on 23 hours ago and GPR was on 2 hours ago. So they log in at least.

@LukasRotter There's a whole plethora of stuff to your comment

Gareth is definitely active, but he's in England

[rant about Spanish teacher's attendance system]

Yeah the 2 might be handling a lot of mod-only tasks, I just haven't seen anything from them since I arose from the dead

And in a healthy site, moderators shouldn't really be doing much tbh

Because it has a solid enough community base that can take care of its own issues

and obviously there has been a situation where many mods are not active anymore

Yeah I don't think we're at that point yet :P

There's one site that, to my knowledge, has no mods

Writing used to have none, but we thankfully elected three of them recently

anarchism.stackexchange?

@LukasRotter Really? Despite the on-flood of bad posts, a lot has been closed by the community themselves

oh hmm they have one

Deusovi happens to be a much more active moderator, but Rubio's methodology has always been that of a "the community should learn to run themselves" kind of idea, I think. Plus, mods are real people with real lives.

They're busy

what they have lives? shocked

hehe

I think the fact that we don't have to overly rely on moderators is a good thing. Though I do feel bad that Deusovi is the only one we're able to ping

It helps that Puzzling has a lot of good high-rep users like you guys who help to moderate.

Oh, I'm not high rep, not really at least

I'm not high-rep.

*high enough to do close votes and downvotes and things

"high-rep"? I have like only 370-ish

For example, Rubio tends to leave bad questions untouched just to give the community a chance to close it themselves, because his closes are applied automatically

Let me see if I can find the exact discussion I had with him a while, while back

This wasn't the discussion I had, but it sums up Rubio's philosophy pretty well

That's fair

Again, don't take my word for it, it's just what I think I've seen from Deus over the years. I could be completely wrong

For reference, Deus's answers to the questionnaire in the election he won along with GPR

> Many of you know that my current "moderation" style (especially in close votes) is fairly strict. I'd "loosen up" a bit as a mod - currently, in cases where I have small doubts, I go with whatever I think the proper response is, even if it's possible that I'm wrong. As a mod though, I'd leave open whenever I'm "on the fence", since my decision would no longer need four other people backing me.

Yeah, I thought that Deusovi had more solo closes then a lot of the other mods

I think this site is fine. Though I do wish Deusovi wasn't the only mod I could plausibly ping

cough come back, Rubio, I miss you:( cough

@Sciborg Hehe, you can know who you are and sometimes wish you were different

Hehe, while I'm gone there's some juicy discussion, now that I'm here it's silent

Good thing too, because I have Physics hw

I'm in a D&D session at the moment, sorry :p

do you need me in the room?

I don't think so. I'll ping you if I do

@Sciborg Lol, it's fine

@bobble Oh I just realized I;m doing that verticle circle problem you had to do a while back

hehe

I'm ahead of you!

I've known that for a while Bobble, no need to rub it in

sorry

Lol

@bobble or are you vsauce music