The Factory Floor

Hohmannfan

12:04 AM

@HDE226868 You could have cast that vote 30 seconds later, so I actually get some reputation from it :) 23.59

HDE 226868

@Hohmannfan I didn't know you had rep-capped. Congrats!

Oh, wow, you got a lot of upvotes!

Hohmannfan

I was honestly a bit surprised, I just found one number and divided it by another number, and people are just going crazy.

HDE 226868

You had a pretty brilliant idea.

Worldbuilding Meta

3:09 AM

0

Q: Do we really need an anatomically-correct tag?

The anatomically-correct tag was recently created, which I noticed when all the questions in that series were edited to add it. Do we need this tag? The questions also have the appropriate other tags like creature-design. anatomically-correct feels like a meta tag to me. If exactly the same q...

bilbo_pingouin

7:26 AM

sunlight? Really? Do we really need that?

DaaaahWhoosh

1:24 PM

@bilbo_pingouin Without sunlight we would all freeze to death, so I would say it's pretty important

bilbo_pingouin

@DaaaahWhoosh right. but I meant the tag ;-)

DaaaahWhoosh

yeah, I know :D

Hohmannfan

It is possible to use it for questions about solar insulation on fictional planets, so I say keep

bilbo_pingouin

I'm an expert of sunlight?

Tim B

1:43 PM

people can be experts in sunlight I guess

DaaaahWhoosh

2:17 PM

you could change it to 'solar radiation' and it sounds more useful

by the way, I love it when a question gets asked that is a possible duplicate of three or more other questions, all of which were not closed as duplicates of each other

bilbo_pingouin

3:09 PM

thre are a few thousands questions on the site. And duplicates are typically found when someone either remember the previous question, or has the feeling that somehow it was alread asked.

so it is partly luck.. ;-)

bowlturner

4:48 PM

Trying another attempt at the Necromancer badge!

DaaaahWhoosh

5:02 PM

@bowlturner your answer made me imagine a giant space blob that reproduces by slamming into a planet at a significant fraction of the speed of light, spreading eggs and chunks of planet for those eggs to eat as they try to accelerate back up to ramming speed

bowlturner

That is an interesting image, a true phoenix if you will, rising from it's own ashes

DaaaahWhoosh

yeah, plus I imagine it would be an interesting occurrence for an interstellar empire, every few dozen years one of these things shows up in an inhabited star system, and you have to figure out if it's aiming for anything with people on it

Tim B

Actually, those three questions were not really dupes of each other

the closed question was a dupe of two and partial dupe of the 3rd

DaaaahWhoosh

@TimB yeah, that's why I like it so much

Tim B

but the other 3 all had different aspects...it's just this one happened to hit where they all overlapped

DaaaahWhoosh

5:09 PM

it's just cool to me how we can ask so many questions about the same thing, but just different enough to illuminate different aspects of it

like we're building some sort of net

we have the answer, it just might be a bit spread out

Tim B

it reminds me of the weaponized unicorn that got closed as a dupe

DaaaahWhoosh

lol, yeah we have the best dupes

Tim B

2

Q: How can I explain a unicorn that shoots spinning horns?

I am designing a horse with a drill bit shank on top of its head that act as a projectile, my question is what mechanism(s) would be possible for a horse to evolve so it can snipe anything without relying on magic? How does it handle the recoil and can it be on semi or fully automatic if so how d...

science-based creature-design

the fact that that got closed as a duplicate :D

bowlturner

Yep, that's pretty funny

DaaaahWhoosh

to be fair, though, the original wasn't specifically about unicorns

Tim B

5:13 PM

nope

doesn't have to be to be a dupe, just has to answer the question

DaaaahWhoosh

5:29 PM

@TimB I wonder if that philosophy would factor into my answer on that meta 'challenging the frame' question

I'm worried, looking at all the other answers, that people don't agree with me, but I feel like the main point of answering questions is to answer the questions, regardless of the frame

I think I'm just generally outvoted on a lot of aspects of site policy, which I would be fine with if I wasn't as confident in being right

bowlturner

I try to answer a question how it is framed, but I will also point out flaws. Unless the question as framed just can't work. Then I'll answer that, giving alternatives that might work as a substitute, or changes to make it more possible. or at least logically consistant

DaaaahWhoosh

@bowlturner I agree with the first part, but I'm starting to think that answering only that the frame can't work really isn't providing an actual answer to the question

even if you build a new frame and answer based on it, that's no longer within the scope of the original question

it's like answering the question you think they're asking instead of making sure they're asking it

bowlturner

@DaaaahWhoosh I start with the assumption that people are building a world. So I feel giving them a reasonable alternative to get the results they want IS answering the question

DaaaahWhoosh

that might work for some questions, but not others

bowlturner

but yes, sometimes creating a 'new' question in your answer and answering it is the wrong approach.

I've done a couple wrong ones, and deleted them later.

Others, I've had marked as the answer they were looking for

DaaaahWhoosh

5:40 PM

yeah, I'm just worried that there is a very fine line, and it's blurred by the fact that some 'wrong' answers are actually quite good

bowlturner

Don't worry, be happy!

DaaaahWhoosh

@bowlturner I think that actually just solved the whole issue

I will now cease to worry

doesn't matter if I'm wrong, doesn't matter if I'm right and no one agrees, because at the end of the day people still get good answers regardless of the quality of their questions

bowlturner

It's also similar to questions that appear 'too broad'. Sometimes I answer them with very broad answers, which can let them understand more what they want and ask anew question with a better focus. Of course most 'too broad' questions this doesn't work but..

;)

DaaaahWhoosh

I guess I've just been vassalating between redeeming bad questions with good answers or just closing them. The former gets results, the latter seems to follow the rules more closely

I guess it's really more of a case-by-case basis, so as long as we self-regulate it should turn out fine

bowlturner

I take them each on a one by one basis. So, I'm probably not the one to emulate... :)

ha, great minds and all that

DaaaahWhoosh

5:47 PM

great minds indeed

@RileySantos I think it was only 16% last time I checked

but there is a difference between 'good' and 'on-topic'

yep, 15.6% of questions on WB have been closed. Not sure how many have been reopened, I think I lost that query

Worldbuilding Meta

0

Q: Idea for fun "flair" on the top bar

It would be cool if the score indicator at the top made a cute indication when it was a prime number.

feature-request

DaaaahWhoosh

data.stackexchange.com/worldbuilding/query/406201/…

bowlturner

6:03 PM

unclear what you are asking seems to be the most common one reopened, by far

by %

of closed

DaaaahWhoosh

makes sense, people edit and it gets reopened

the system works!

bowlturner

yep. and usually the easiest one to fix

DaaaahWhoosh

it is good to see that at least in that case, things do get reopened

a lot of people think that once a question is closed, it's over

DaaaahWhoosh

7:19 PM

I'm surprised this question hasn't gotten any close votes yet, to me it's clearly off-topic as is

(though the current answers seem to be answering a completely different question than the one I saw)

bowlturner

8:03 PM

@DaaaahWhoosh I suspect because it's so long, many aren't bothering to even read it.

DaaaahWhoosh

@bowlturner I just skipped to the end, but both the title and the 'actual question' portion are obviously about an individual's actions

bowlturner

I had only made it about half way when I had to go to a meeting. But it does take more effort to notice that just because it's long, doesn't mean it's on topic

bilbo_pingouin

8:47 PM

@DaaaahWhoosh I like when the "TL;DR" starts after like a third of the question...

the OP should add a "STL;DRN" further down

DaaaahWhoosh

what does the 'N' stand for?

bilbo_pingouin

neither

I was trying to find a simple way to make it, but remember I'm not a native speaker ;)

DaaaahWhoosh

I think STL;SDR would make more sense, 'didn't read neither' sounds like a southern dialect

by the way, what is your native tongue? You do good English

bilbo_pingouin

FRRRench, why do you think I have this outrageous accent? ;-)

DaaaahWhoosh

lol, I guess I never noticed the accent. I was thinking French though, votre pingouin est francais

bilbo_pingouin

8:55 PM

indeed, il l'est :)

DaaaahWhoosh

I wonder how many people on WB aren't native English speakers, I always seem surprised about it

bilbo_pingouin

well it's hard to say... there are a few. I think overactor and MikeL aren't English native

but the regular users of the chat are essentially living in the USA...

I you look the interviews on the blog, there are mostly US members

I know TimB and ArtofCode are from Britain

James

@bilbo_pingouin ...jerk, now I have to go watch Holy Grail tonight...

bilbo_pingouin

@James like that would be a sacrifice... ;)

James

@bilbo_pingouin just because you're right doesn't mean you're not a jerk

lol

bowlturner

9:05 PM

Look, that rabbit's got a vicious streak a mile wide! It's a killer!

James

Look at the bones!

bilbo_pingouin

What... is your quest ?

James

(...this could go on a while)

DaaaahWhoosh

@bilbo_pingouin I seek the Holy Grail

bilbo_pingouin

@James yes, but would "save" you the "effort" of watching it again

bowlturner

9:07 PM

I seek the golden Ale!

James

@bilbo_pingouin lol...each quote just reinforces the fact that I must go watch it.

bilbo_pingouin

What... is your favourite color?

(I know I skipped one, but we might spare James and get to the pun ;))

DaaaahWhoosh

Green!

No, blue, AAAAH

Also, next time you go on a quest, take Google

James

On second thought, let's not go to Camelot. It is a silly place

2

On second thought, let's not go to ~~Worldbuilding~~ Camelot. It is a silly place

DaaaahWhoosh

A duck!

bilbo_pingouin

9:26 PM

it's really been a while since I last watched it.... but I'm glad I still remember many quotes ;)

"Must be a King. - Why? - Hasn't got sh** all over" :)

but I'm not sure how to transcribe the "over"... "ova"?

DaaaahWhoosh

9:43 PM

well, if you're transcribing 'over', then "hasn't" should be "asn't"

those nasty Brits don't use their 'h's

bilbo_pingouin

still more than we do ;-)

DaaaahWhoosh

when I was learning French, I always tried to imagine I was pronouncing the silent letters. It made them feel more important

bilbo_pingouin

I suppose that's the limit of my English proficiency... I don't know how to transcribe properly imitated rural pronunciation of medieval British English...

DaaaahWhoosh

well, to do it right, you'd need a few more letters. English is pretty bad at writing down how things actually sound

I remember I once got really angry at island

bilbo_pingouin

ailand?

DaaaahWhoosh

9:48 PM

more like eyeland, but even that looks bad to someone who doesn't know better

maybe iLand, just assume it's an Apple product

bilbo_pingouin

well I was reading that French has something like 36 phonemes... whereas English (UK) has something like 52

and US English a bit less

DaaaahWhoosh

we have so many undocumented vowels

bilbo_pingouin

the problem is that you took many words from many origin... but kept somehow the original pronunciation... instead of filtering that with a heavy English sound filter

DaaaahWhoosh

there's that, then there's the Great Vowel Shift (or whatever it's called).

HDE 226868

@James I once set off a series of Holy Grail parody quotes in the Teachers Lounge to let off steam about a really, really, really, really, annoying problem in an SO chat room. It was surprising how much material's there.

bilbo_pingouin

9:54 PM

@DaaaahWhoosh never heard of that

DaaaahWhoosh

Great Vowel Shift

The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language that took place in England between 1350 and 1600. Through the Great Vowel Shift, all Middle English long vowels changed their pronunciation. English spelling was becoming standardized in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the Great Vowel Shift is responsible for many of the peculiarities of English spelling. == History of analysisEdit == The Great Vowel Shift was first studied by Otto Jespersen (1860–1943), a Danish linguist and Anglicist, who coined the term. == Overall changesEdit == The main difference between...

bilbo_pingouin

"took place in England between 1350 and 1600" I like the precision in the dates...

yes I got to that article in between

alright... that's when you decided to screw up, from common basis to some strange diphthongs...

interestingly, would be to know whether it would be related to the hundred years war and an attempt to distinguish from French pronunciation...

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