The Factory Floor - 2014-10-09 (page 1 of 2)

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3:16 AM

0

Q: Creating an ad for community promotion

One of the ideas for promoting the site was creating a Community Promotion Ad for another site. But if we want to do that we need a banner to post. This banner needs to advertise our site in visual manner. So, to decide on the best banner to represent a site, post the banner here. If you have mul...

discussion site-promotion

3 hours later…

6:25 AM

does anyone know if sketchtoy.com is susceptible to link rot?

no idea, but you can save the image separately

I would only rely on it for supplementary explanations

It would be a cool feature to have built in in se

I'm generally opposed to building things into each other that way - i already don't like stacksnippets

@ivy_lynx Well, at least to know that the link won't go anywhere

@overactor yeah but now you're dependent on SE's implementation and SE has a lot of other things to work on

@overactor if it isn't built-in you can use anything to the same effect - if it's used a lot, sites can create partnerships like SE has with imgur

7:03 AM

@ivy_lynx a partnership would be great

@overactor don't expect it any time soon - hardly anyone uses sketchtoy, while jsfiddle, which was mimicked, is used in nearly all javascript/web questions on SO - for years now.

Interestingly, I posted on meta suggesting jsfiddle integration and partnership instead, while using stacksnippets as a fallback and got downvoted to oblivion xD

7:19 AM

would this fall under fair use?

Well, isn't fair use about satirical, commentary and review purposes?

this isn't exactly commercial use, but it feels like it walks the line

I used a public domain pic I found on wikipedia, made by NASA so I'm clear

@ivy_lynx SE would be using rather commercially

Maybe you can find some drawing of the same thing on deviantart, where people usually upload stuff as CC-BY-SA

That's where my avatar comes from

before I modified it of course

if this is a well known poster or image, chances are you could find a line drawing or something - slap a bunch of filters and effects on it and it should work

githubphagocyte

11

Q: Should our default position be that answers should be science-/logic-based, rather than magic-based?

We are seeing some questions which receive answers that deal with magic. There isn't anything wrong in building worlds where magic exists, but there are two main issues that I can see: Magic systems differ from world to world. No two writers are likely to come up with exactly the same magic sys...

discussion answers

This has a new answer in favour of magic answers to non magic questions.

Personally I'm against it, but I'd like to see plenty of up and down votes on these answers so it's clear what the community consensus is.

githubphagocyte

7:43 AM

For use of images, you have to bear in mind that just because someone marks an image as CC-BY-SA doesn't mean it is. Not everything on deviantart is really the license it claims to be, as anyone can upload a near identical copy of a copyright image.

@githubphagocyte I check to see if it's actually custom made - this particular one was.

@githubphagocyte but yeah, checking is mandatory

I thought my worldbuilders image was rather pretty :(

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx my voting on your site ad posts was based on the wordings, but having looked at the images again and seen the subtle difference, I also prefer the image on the one I upvoted. The weave effect catches the eye so if someone doesn't click first time they see it they might look closer the second time and end up being intrigued.

@overactor it is pretty! But we're voting on whether it will bring people to the site.

@overactor I think that image would definitely get some people to click but, at least for me, it's hard to see what is going on and read the writing due to the size of the image. That's why I lean towards something simpler, that works well in a small size.

7:59 AM

@githubphagocyte It does suffer from the small size quite a bit

githubphagocyte

@overactor yes I think the images that appeal most in general will be too complex for a small image.

You might be able to fit an unfinished planet into that size better than something as detailed as a crane

@githubphagocyte you just gave me an idea involving an inage of earth and an image of the unfinished deathstar

githubphagocyte

Also it might need to be somewhat stylised to get the message across. A really detailed amazing image of a planet under construction might not be recognisable as such on that scale, but a stylised planet with a jigsaw shaped piece missing at the side would sink into the mind instantly

@overactor that would work nicely I think, if you can find a properly licensed pic of course

I added the weave for this reason, but I wanted a star trek reference because the intro sequence words are evocative

githubphagocyte

If there are places where you can acceptably post large images, then a separate meta post for a large advert might be worthwhile. Then the visibility restriction won't apply to such an extent

8:04 AM

I mean I added it to add a bit of style - the text is a bit simplistic but I couldn't work in a good effect on it

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx I think the simpler the better for the text - the weave in the background that doesn't affect the text works well

@ivy_lynx I would have opted for a font that's a bit less erm.. funky.

Yeah well I don't have a lot of fonts, just free-licensed ones on this computer

and while I love DejaVu fonts, they suck at this

the math fonts are too weird

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx the star trek reference is what put me off. We want to attract a wide range of different geeks rather than narrow it down...

I actually thought the font was a lucky catch, it's clear

@githubphagocyte But it works even if you don't know the reference

8:06 AM

@ivy_lynx Is there any reason why you didn't go for "To boldly build where no one has built before"?

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx I think it would work much better for people who don't know the reference

@overactor that's the first one I thought of, but I think it sucks

"To boldly build what no one has built before"?

@overactor It just feels a drop over too silly

it sounds better with man btw

"To boldly build where no man has built before"

8:08 AM

@overactor here's the thing, where's "world" in all of that?

That's why I got rid of it

githubphagocyte

It makes much more sense with man, since that is a species. "One" is odd since there are plenty of people wherever they go, they're just not human.

However, I'd be strongly against putting a gender in our ad...

@githubphagocyte exactly

Though to be fair, our target audience is likely primarily (misogynist) men.

Not that that's something we want to reflect in our ads.

Or something we want to keep that way.

githubphagocyte

@overactor I think the fact that we may be attractive to such a group is precisely why we should avoid advertising to them.

@overactor yes exactly

Similarly to SO, knowing that prejudice exists in the larger community from which the site draws means that extra effort should be made to avoid it.

I'm trying to think of a way to say that we help in worldbuilding, rather than being a place to worldbuild

Perhaps that distinction is not so important when advertising on SE where people will assume this anyway

@githubphagocyte This ad is for people already on the se network, no?

exactly

githubphagocyte

@overactor yes good point

I guess it might be relevant if we have a separate meta question seeking a large external ad

8:17 AM

absolutely

githubphagocyte

In fact I might make such a meta question now, and cross link to the in-site ad post

I was torn between "Create strange new worlds" and "Build strange new worlds", but I think "build" is terrible there.

githubphagocyte

I like create

we should make an image of the office assistant paperclip saying:
"I see you're trying to build a world, Would you like help?"

2

githubphagocyte

Brilliant

Maybe take out "trying to" to keep it short and snappy

8:30 AM

the office assistant paperclip? I'm culturally obliged to dislike that idea :P

Even that damn puppy is preferrable

githubphagocyte

I think the fact that it is universally hated is what makes that paperclip so eye catching and recognisable

yeah that might work in its favor xD

"Wow, I gotta see the site where they're using that annoying paperclip assistant as their mascot!"

people will be expecting it to actually pop up

@overactor nothing personal :P

githubphagocyte

I've made an initial post to gather opinions on a potential large ad rather than go straight for a competition post.

Mainly to settle on a size and shape that fits with external places, but also to see if there is anything I haven't considered.

0

Q: Creating a large external ad

We are already working on internal adverts to use with the Stack Exchange network of sites. This is limited to 220 by 250 pixels. Would there be interest in also creating a larger advert that people can post externally (outside the Stack Exchange network)? What we need to discuss: the size of ...

@githubphagocyte so this network ad is prescribed by SE, but the external ad is something we do arbitrarily ourselves?

githubphagocyte

8:46 AM

@ivy_lynx yes for a large external ad there wouldn't be any restrictions (already anyone could post an ad that isn't even from the large ad meta post) but it would be good to discuss what restrictions we would like to impose. What we do and don't want to see, what size would work best, what sites would be acceptable so we don't irritate people

0

Q: Creating a large external ad

We are already working on internal adverts to use with the Stack Exchange network of sites. This is limited to 220 by 250 pixels. Would there be interest in also creating a larger advert that people can post externally (outside the Stack Exchange network)? What we need to discuss: the size of ...

githubphagocyte

That answers my question - Feeds posts new meta posts here even if they have already been posted here by someone else.

9:08 AM

@ivy_lynx what was your reasoning for changing the title of this question back to starting with "Is there.."?

@overactor I think the wording is clearer that way - it's proper english, so to speak

@overactor the edit is registered on your account btw, it's just credited to me on the question page.

The idea of my phrasing was that it was purposfully ambiguous.

@overactor now that I remember, I changed it because there isn't necessarily such a term, thus "is there" is closer to that assumption, whereas "What is" implies the questioner knows that such a term exists and they're looking to be reminded of it

@overactor honestly, I'm not sure either way matters - the gist of your edit was the question body - if you feel the title is problematic, change it back and if I catch the edit I'll just approve it.

Nah, I'm just interested in your reasoning

I changed it to: "Can you think of a..."

githubphagocyte

It's such a long title I'd be inclined to start it with "Technical" and omit anything before.

9:18 AM

@githubphagocyte That's actually a good idea

maybe the title even needs a bigger rework?

I now have a post-war rep :P

1946 ftw

@overactor @githubphagocyte maybe it does need a title overhaul - I probably edited that just because I thought it was too long, as opposed to "Is there" :P

Cold-war rep

The events of Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" rep.

githubphagocyte

Plenty of other questions here and elsewhere have titles that aren't phrased as a question. A short title is useful

9:22 AM

@overactor xD

I mean, the games emporer Commodus hosted that the movie is based on was exactly in 185.

@overactor Nice one, remembering that

The way I see it, I've got you all beat.

I need to downvote someone so I can hit exact BTTF rep

any really bad answers you know of?

yes wait

9:24 AM

When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious shit!

-3

A: Is there a technical term for a civilization that "eats" others to gain their knowledge, powers, etc.?

Parasitic, perhaps? Or even aggressively parasitic?

Did you downvote that one already?

YES - BTTF REP

Now I can hit all the dates as my rep goes up

Unless my questions get upvoted an odd number of times so don't upvote my questions xxD

@overactor Have a star man, you earned it

Stars for everyone, on me!

After 3 stars, my browser crashed, is that a feature?

well I got Space Race rep now

or James Bond rep

Will you aim for moon rep?

1969

very fitting for this site I think

9:31 AM

Hmm, I can reverse a downvote, maybe I should check the review queue

MOON REP

Soon you'll be the fourth person with future rep

yep

When's internet rep?

um, isn't that in like 1961? or should it be 1993?

9:59 AM

did anything important happen in 1974?

10:16 AM

hello!

hi :P

Nice job on your rep ivy

moving up fast

I'm hitting dates today - massaging the rep

:D

Hi Liath

@ivy_lynx How do you have the time to answer all those questions?

@DonyorM My profile text has the answer to that right at the top, after the YAML header

10:25 AM

Sooo..., how's life?

@ivy_lynx just got your profile loaded and saw the answer to my question. :D

@ivy_lynx You have more monthly rep than me :)

@TimB Yeah, I gained a lot of distance after your bounty - it removed 50 from you and gave me 50 and you're the only one who caps as often as I do, so it builds up

get the other bounty and you'll really be sorted ;P

githubphagocyte

I'm curious why my answer has no votes (up or down) after over a week. Is it just because I posted late, or does it have problems?

So do I read your profile right as saying you're currently unemployed?

githubphagocyte

10:32 AM

@TimB whose profile?

ivy_lynx's

Oh CRAP - quick, get me 4 questions to downvote or give me 2 downvotes!

I missed 1985!

@githubphagocyte I didn't upvote just because it was talking about lungs and an underwater creature that would almost certainly not have lungs at all

Don't look at me, I'm not downvoting :)

@Liath Please? just two tiny downvotes

pick any answer, like my bad math one with the robots

10:35 AM

The problem is I've upvoted most of yours so you'll lose 12 not 2

crap

is there noone here who doesn't like my answers? :P

you're just too good

deal with it

githubphagocyte

@TimB I gave lungs as one example, and external branching as another. Creatures that don't have such a method of increasing surface area for gas exchange don't get anywhere near as large

retracted downvotes refund the rep right? i mean, to the downvoter

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx yes

10:36 AM

@githubphagocyte it's probably because you posted it late - the vote difference makes no sense otherwise

> Even if the creature's outer surface can withstand the pressure, its internal workings will have difficulty beyond a certain depth. Lungs cannot be inflated against immense pressure even if the rest of the creature can stand the pressure.

that's just flat wrong, it would have gills rather than lungs and even with a lung-like system it would be inflating it with water at the same pressure as external so it would work just fine.

here's two bad answers for downvoting: one and two

githubphagocyte

@TimB gills don't provide as much surface area as lungs, so the upper size limit is lower with gills.

@ivy_lynx downvoted 1

(I had upvoted the other)

@DonyorM ha! I knew it would be you

10:39 AM

lol

I'm easily persauded

I've got Thriller rep now

githubphagocyte

@TimB I don't see how water can be used to inflate a lung. Are you imagining a water-filled lung rather than a gas-filled lung?

@DonyorM one more plx here

that better?

why did you want 1985 again?

@DonyorM YOU ARE THE MAN

githubphagocyte

10:42 AM

2015 soon - we'll have hoverboards

@githubphagocyte +1e3

@githubphagocyte yes, why would an underwater creature have a gas-filled lung?

@DonyorM Because 88 mph dude

githubphagocyte

@TimB all underwater species (fish and mammal) that have lungs fill them with air

@DonyorM feel free to refund your downvotes at any time, so you're not sacrificing your rep

10:43 AM

two rep isn't really a big deal

but probably I will sometime, so as not to rig the system. :D

@DonyorM lol that's fine, it's downvotes - it isn't like we're rigging it for each other

githubphagocyte

a downvote ring? That's new...

they will lock in if you don't reverse them inside a time limit

true, doing it now

oops, already locked

@DonyorM aww sry man

10:46 AM

oh well, not really a big deal for me (if you want me to reverse you can edit the answers. But I really don't care. It's two rep, maybe I'll go edit a tag wiki or something :D)

@DonyorM if it makes you feel any better, I can now get BTTF2 rep :P

@DonyorM yeah once I hit 2015 and get a screenie I'll fix it

ok

:D

Now that ladies and gentlemen, is rep-shaping :P

I hate it when I have a program question with a title so long, that google become impratical

@DonyorM you mean this? worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/1345/…

10:56 AM

No, I'm programming now too as well as chatting

oh

and having problems with GUI and I wanted to vent my frustration :)

githubphagocyte

@DonyorM do you use + to specify essential words so you can include more words without getting them ignored?

no, didn't know that trick. Thanks

githubphagocyte

@DonyorM glad it helped. In that case you can also use - to exclude words, if something irrelevant comes up in the results

11:06 AM

can anyone think of a tagline for:

user image

??

githubphagocyte

Mmm, crunchy new world

World in progress

I like World In Progress

githubphagocyte

Under construction

Deathstars aren't the only spheres people build

?

githubphagocyte

Crowdbuilding new worlds

Missing something?

11:14 AM

Can someone add text to it for me, I can no longer use photoshop for the moment

as my lunchbreak is over

I like World In Progress

githubphagocyte

thanks :)

With large capitals for WIP

Possibly a tall, skinny font

And at the bottom:

worldbuilders.se

That's damn good

if someone does it: you can post it instead of me

githubphagocyte

worldbuilding.stackexchange.com?

11:16 AM

If I do it, it'll be full of filters :P

githubphagocyte

worldbuilders is the other site...

I can think of two ideas for that planet

I like World In Progress

@overactor why is there a chance you won't do it?

but also you could put like construction style hazard tape

2

and a message like builders use around building sites

that's a bit corny

no offense

githubphagocyte

11:17 AM

@TimB I love the hazard tape idea

maybe just the hazard tape without the builders' message. I think it works on its own.

I'm on the less-is-more kind of side, but perhaps adding a caption over the site title like "World in Progress - Help complete it at worldbuilding.SE"

and probably worldbuilding.stackexchange.com

githubphagocyte

Although we use SE as shorthand here, for an advert I'd avoid something that looks like a web address but isn't

pfft, had to restart vm

githubphagocyte

Having said that, it's internal advertising and there's a direct link, so it wouldn't matter too much...

11:24 AM

@ivy_lynx I might, but I don't think I have photoshop at home at the moment

And gimp still annoys me

@ivy_lynx Thanks

Keeping less is more in mind, maybe just a pseudo link to our site would be enough?

And World In Progress could be the hover text

Either way, whoever wants to can have a field day with it.

githubphagocyte

@overactor since the whole image is a link to the site by default I think it doesn't matter too much what we put as wording - I was mainly concerned by seeing "worldbuilders" instead of "worldbuilding" as that's a completely different site

Our ad should be the best we can do as a community, not as individuals.

@githubphagocyte Oh right, worldbuilding it is then ^^

githubphagocyte

Thinking of worldbuilders.org, I guess we could do with a meta discussion on whether they should be seen as competitors or partners or just neutral

@githubphagocyte I actually looked up how other sites make those ads and they do the .SE thing as well, which is why I used it

githubphagocyte

No wait - they are nothing to do with worldbuilding...

@ivy_lynx yes it doesn't seem so bad now that I remember that the image is a link

@ivy_lynx do they capitalise it to make it look less like an address?

11:33 AM

@githubphagocyte They don't? I remember @TimB posting a link to a thread there on meta for software recommendations, or do I remember wrong?

@githubphagocyte yeah

@githubphagocyte but I did search through google images because I was in a hurry - however, that's how I remember other ads I saw on SO - they either don't have .SE (usually non-beta sites) or they have it capitalized

Which reminds me, don't beta sites change their name after beta?

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx Sometimes, yes

@ivy_lynx it may have been world-building.com

There seem to be several variations - how confusing...

Can someone downvote me once? for a sec, I just need a screenie at 2015

oh crap, here's the link worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/1348/…

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx lol yet another address...

@githubphagocyte downvote plx? :P

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx just a temporary one :)

11:38 AM

@githubphagocyte ofc

githubphagocyte

too late someone's already upvoted one of your questions...

@githubphagocyte ah crap, reverse it, doesn't work

i lost 2015 lol, too fast!

@githubphagocyte Good, because otherwise I would've had to report you two

good luck in the future @ivy_lynx

@overactor breaking the system

@overactor it's gone man, it's over

@overactor no auto-strap shoes or hoverboards this year

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx braking the system...

11:41 AM

@ivy_lynx The former makes me especially sad

@overactor I won't miss the self-deflating jacket though

I don't understand how my worldship question, while being effectively terrible, got so many upvotes so fast yet the lightning arsenal one was treated as it deserved

I guess titles matter a lot

githubphagocyte

yup

I'd like to see a similar question at a significant proportion of light speed, rather than faster than light. Then you wouldn't have the bubble of stationary space around the planet and you'd get severe radiation on the leading face from blue-shifted background radiation

How do we feel about:

user image

githubphagocyte

@overactor It might just be intriguing enough without a tagline

Is the font too tacky?

githubphagocyte

11:54 AM

Maybe post it as two answers - with and without a tagline

the font is readable and not flourishy so it doesn't detract. I like it

I'm leaning more and more towards .SE so that it's immediately obvious that it isn't an external link, which might get ignored more often.

@githubphagocyte the font is perfect

and yes I agree it might be good enough without the tagline

The worldship question wasn't terrible

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx thanks I'll pass that on to @overactor :)

Is that Lucida Console?

the fact that it had a simple answer didn't make it a bad question

11:56 AM

@githubphagocyte oops :P

githubphagocyte

:)

@githubphagocyte Thanks for the input

githubphagocyte

@overactor says thanks, @ivy_lynx

and I'm rep-capped... :p

@TimB I missed the obvious though - that even with newtonian physics, it's still effectively traveling at light speed at all times, depending on where you're looking at it from

11:57 AM

user image

Maybe add ellipsis like "World in Progress..."

githubphagocyte

@overactor should the "World in Progress" be slightly brighter?

It crosses a brighter patch of background

Yeah I think a slight increase in the opacity would help, not the same shade as the planet but a bit closer to it

It's clear, but it should be easy to read at a glance

afk l8trz

githubphagocyte

@ivy_lynx indeed. It's easy to read if you choose to, but a bit brighter will make it easier for people to read who are not intending to

or maybe a halo around it

to pick it out a bit

outer glow or something

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