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00:16
@TimB I already want to both agree and disagree with your opinion on my closed question, so I'd say you're doing something right :)
 
10 hours later…
09:56
Lol, starting discussion if nothing else :)
I've been trying to think more and more about what makes something "too individual" and I just keep coming back to "can" vs "should" or "would"
"Is this possible", "what options does X have" are fine. "What will X do", "what should X do" is not
Is this possible has a T/F answer. Nice and clean
T/F + reason is a good answer
Yep, True/False makes things simpler :)
10:57
@TimB, simpler but not necessarily right! (which I'm sure you know :P)
Indeed
 
2 hours later…
12:48
Could someone with enough rep on SO tell me how many up and down votes my meta post has?
0
Q: Was my edit rightfully rejected?

overactorI made an edit to a question today, but it was rejected, stating that the edit deviates from the original intent. However, all I did was remove an edit which included the answer into the body of the question, as well as add a tag and remove some unnecessary fluff. (Thanks in advance guys) Was my...

You've just reminded me that I really need to get that last 80-odd rep I need on SO to get over 1k
@HDE226868 Did I miss anything here that makes it impossible?
0
A: Could it be possible for two planets to collide and not kill everything?

Tim BYou need to do everything you can to reduce the energy of the collisions. So lets start with a rocheworld pairing, two planets just outside the roche limit tidally locked with each other. One would be slightly larger. This is similar to the situation you already described so we've got a possibili...

13:21
there isn't any stats for protecting the questions, is there?
13:53
@bilbo_pingouin What do you mean?
how many question did I protect?
for me it's still quite fresh, and I can still remember... but I'm pretty sure people like you can't ;-)
yeah not a clue
a sede query could probably show
or I could search my activity history
14:09
@IStanley so the answer is... that there are no way to get it except with queries...
seems that way
hmm. next recommended badge...silver reality check...21 answers needed
mine is silver Society 57 upvotes needed.
lol, I just checked my progress on the generalist badge...it's scary
guess how many of the top 40 tags I have 15+ score in :D
I don't have a single tag badge yet... :-/
@TimB 39 ?
@TimB all 40?
I've been monitoring our progress tile the generalist badge is available. we are closing in on 40 tags with 100 questions each.
14:18
I have 12 myself...
I'm trying to get as close to 40 bronze tag badges as I can before the generalist is available. I've currently got 22 with 2 more waiting for the tag to reach 100 questions
whoa... those are a lot
@bilbo_pingouin Close. 38. Wasn't expecting that many tbh :)
I need 7 more upvotes in poltiics and alternate history
and I have all 40
@DaaaahWhoosh thanks
14:25
@bowlturner I've only got 13 or so I think, no idea how many are waiting
looks like James closed the question with the lowest score, at 2. I wonder why it needed protecting...
wow, it's got 12 answers
@TimB still I think with 13 you have the second most tag badges right now, or very very close
and right now only 9 silver tag badges have been awarded.
though I think a bunch more are getting close
I have science based silver, that's it for tag silvers
I'm fairly close to reality check and biology
realistically if I went for it I could get science based gold and reality check and biology silver in a week or so
I have both science based and reality check, but I think I'm the only one. and those are the only 2 that have been awarded so far
I have a bronze for society...
14:31
@TimB that seems like a LOT of work...
I didn't say I was going to do it, just that I could do it :)
but actually it wouldn't be too bad, 10 answers a day
could also get the 200 rep and get that epic badge at the same time
is it a problem that so many people have high scores for science-based and reality-check?
14:47
How many tag badges do people have... data.stackexchange.com/worldbuilding/query/438640/…
I'm starting to feel like I need to answer more questions
Looks like Cort Ammon has the second most bronze tag badges, 15
Jeez...I only have two
that's out of date for me, I have a couple this week
@DaaaahWhoosh not really, they're highly active tags
@TimB SEDE queries are typically updated on week ends
14:52
yep
@bowlturner and he also has 2 silver badges
@James I wish I had any... ;-)
@bilbo_pingouin I saw that!
here's one that has total tags by class
1
Q: What if Worldbuilding banned What If questions?

ArtOfCodeWorldbuilding, it seems, is not a What If site. So let's start making that happen. If we don't want these questions around, then I think the first step is with close reasons. We currently have an Idea Generation close reason, which there are mixed opinions about. Personally, I think it's actual...

@bowlturner you did not look who made it ;-)
I forked the one you had!
15:00
@bowlturner I learned how to use a power hammer last night...its awesome.
Okay, so there's the next part of the scope discussion. Weigh in, please, I'd like to see what we can do here.
That would be cool! we don't have one :(
I should start answering some questions round here again.
@bowlturner It makes tapering/drawing out insanely fast
and rounding
@James I would expect nothing less. I've watched videos of people making hammers with them. looks like the only way to go.
15:04
posted on February 18, 2016 by Monica Cellio

In the board game Eurorails, players build and use a railroad network. Continue reading on Medium »

I started a hatchet blade from a railroad spike...its already ready for grinding (though I still have to punch the hole for the haft)
15:16
I got 6 tag badges... that's kinda cool
black smithing is something I'd love to get into... if I ever got the time and money to get started
holistic is the right word...but I just can't bring myself to use it
integrated...comprehensive...I guess one of those will do it
@ArtOfCode, made a suggestion on your meta post
0
A: What if Worldbuilding banned What If questions?

Tim B1: Yes 2: No Or at least...not yet. There's a larger discussion to be had here about close reasons and how to handle what is and is not off topic. While IG/WI are an important part of that discussion they are only part of it and I'd prefer a more integrated approach rather than trying to patch...

@ArtOfCode I don't want to rain on your parade but I think it's the wrong approach, we need to be clear on what the scope is and then once we have that the correct set of close reasons should come out of that scope.
No, that makes sense.
I'm planning to write a meta post this evening starting that discussion in a more structured way
15:25
Sounds good.
My suggestion, still inchoate, is that What-If with the author showing work on the implications of the question is ok "What if X? Here's what I came up with -- anything I'm missing" should be ok
whereas, "Yo, WB, what if Sharks had LASER EYES, lol" is not ok
3
yeah. I don't think "what if" in of itself is a problem. I think it's that what if questions often have other problems (i.e. too broad, too opinion based, insufficient understanding, etc)
I would call it a "show your work" closing reason.
After all, SO overall is supposed to be about programmers/users hitting a problem, detailing why they could not solve it, what they tried, and asking for suggestions
@SerbanTanasa that reminds me a... what if a big tornado came in, took a lot of waters which was full of sharks... and then, and then... would come up on land and the shakrs would eat everyone. And they had to make a film about it ;)
@SerbanTanasa I kind of want to ask if a shark could evolve laser eyes now
like maybe their body acts as a sort of mirror, so they can blind their prey... then over time their heads evolve into perfect light-manipulating prisms that shoot lasers
I guess the main problem is that lasers wouldn't work as well underwater
15:31
depends on the wavelength, blue bends better
SHARKS with BLUE (LASER) EYES!
@UniverseFactory among my blog posts I'm particularly happy with this one (about worldbuilding process).
@SerbanTanasa agreed:
1
A: What if Worldbuilding banned What If questions?

Monica CellioThe problem isn't what-if questions per se, and I'm reluctant to use that phrase as the name of a close reason lest we mislead people. Many of our questions ask "what if?"; we're building new worlds and need to work out the details, after all. The problem isn't "what if?"; the problem is questi...

"Show your work" seems like a good characterization. Good idea, @SerbanTanasa.
2
Q: How do species with ability to project high energy beam from its eyes prevent overheating?

user6760I've a creature that can focus CO2 laser through the len of the unique eyeball as means of self defense mechanism via natural selection. Now using the same natural selection process how can such creature prevent the laser from overheating the eye? Kindly use magic sparingly else face the wrath of...

@MonicaCellio, thanks!
@DaaaahWhoosh Hey, as long as you show your work (tm) that's fine by me
@DaaaahWhoosh, nevermind, apparently I'd have to close it as a duplicate. #OnlyonWB
2
it's not exactly a dupe, that one assumes the laser eyes already exist
Yeah, it mostly has to do with cooling the organ.
15:42
I love this conversation, by the way
Lasers are so inefficient though for the purpose of cutting... you need a lot of power to cut through something thin and flammable like wood.
@AndyD273 I wasn't thinking cutting, I was thinking blinding/burning
Hmm, comment on this saynig it's off topic but I'm not convinced - thoughts?
@TimB deleted by user
@TimB This reminds me of yesterday's argument, I think it would be better on Physics
15:46
@TimB while I agree physics might be the more accurate SE site, it should be fine here.
people should stop closing questions because they would be on-topic somewhere else...
3
we don't have to take only what does not fit anywhere else...
well this was a (well meaning) comment which then caused the person posting it to delete it
The user deleted their own question
@bilbo_pingouin I agree completely
especially if the asker (or answerer) is new and doesn't know how things work.
A newbie should get a little more grace than someone that has a few K and been here for months.
@bilbo_pingouin yes. If something is on-topic here, then it doesn't matter if it would also be on-topic somewhere else. The asker chose to ask it here and we should hold onto the question.
15:53
We have enough active people here that we should be able to answer just about any question, so long as it can be answered.
so long as it's about worldbuidling :)
that ^^^
we are only responsible for our scope... not for other site's...
if a question is about WB, good if it doesn't close it.
I am tots cool with deletion but understand the concern about losing good questions the answer was on physics physics.stackexchange.com/questions/136486/…
no spoilers but it is about 3 hours and 38 minutes.
@TimB It seems to be okay, but it would have to be really gradual.
there's a moderator flag specifically aimed at you btw HDE so I left it for ya :)
15:57
Ooh, fun!
Dealt with.
yeah, it wasn't a challenging one :D
Was that mine?
@James I finally updated those numbers.
Ill take a look
16:16
I'm surprised that no one in that 'spaceships that don't have to escape the gravity well' question mentioned that most forms of locomotion don't work in space
@DaaaahWhoosh It wasn't required by the question.
that would have made it to broad anyway ;)
the question is specifically, "what would you need to know to survive in space"
@AndyD273 Well, the question asks 'what hurdles need to be overcome', I think 'not being able to move' is a pretty big hurdle
so maybe it is too broad
@DaaaahWhoosh Well, if you build up momenutum with your ascent, then you could go balistic no problem. needing to move is only a issue in geo stationary orbit
And with anti-gravity or whatever, moving around really isn't an issue
Maybe I should have said 'being able to maneuver'
and we can't assume that they can use whatever technology that got them up there, since that technology is not supposed to factor into the answers
i think it's fair to assume the unobtanium lets them manoeuvre
or just ask in a comment and let the asker be more specific :)
bit disappointed in the answers talking about the gravity well though :p
16:31
1
Q: Asking for/providing ways to make something believable and/or entertaining, rather than scientifically accurate

ToadfishThis is something that has been coming up while reading/answering questions, and as I'm fairly new to the site I'm unsure what's acceptable/encouraged. In particular, it tends to come up when addressing questions on topics such as FTL travel, e.g. this one: Interplanetary vs Interstellar travel. ...

[never mind] what does the community Twitter account on MY do for an icon?
@TimB See, I don't think that's a fair assumption. Especially since their last sentence states that they don't need to be too maneoueaverable (and it still looks like I spelled that word correctly)
Hey ho, never mind. I just found the account.
@TimB Yeah, people rushing to be first without taking time to comprehend the question?
0
Q: Case Study #6 - HDE 226868

HDE 226868Part of the case study series. Can stars exist that are not powered by nuclear fusion? About worldbuilding? I would say yes, because whether or not this is possible is the key to the premise of my world (an artificial star). It is certainly strongly based in science, but I think that's okay. Af...

16:42
@mi_yodeya
Mi Yodeya is the Judaism Q&A community on the Stack Exchange network. This account is run by people in the community.
7k tweets, 242 followers, following 355 users
I see you found it, but linking it here in case people want to see what kinds of things we tweet there.
@MonicaCellio Do you have off the top of your head a simple answer as to what 'Mi Yodeya' means?
@MonicaCellio So did someone ask SE if you could use the site logo?
@DaaaahWhoosh faith i think...but i could be way off on that one.
@James I would agree, but I guess we're both way off
16:59
Okay, suggestions for the Twitter account's username?
@DaaaahWhoosh I wonder if there isn't context involved?
Worldbuilding? :)
@ArtOfCode "Dragonfly" A reference to Rocheworld. A brilliant example of worldbuilding
@PavelJanicek Love to, if it wasn't taken.
Dragonfly's likely to be taken too
@Hohmannfan we should try to avoid directly referencing copyrighted work
or at least thats my opinion.
17:02
@James In a username, it's probably meh. It's certainly not big enough to cause any legal problems.
We could have wb_dragonfly, dragonfly_wb, wb_marvin.
"Dragonfly" should be ambiguous enough to avoid any kind of copyright issue
@ArtOfCode Oh I wasn't implying copyright infringement necessarily but I don't know we always tend toward using something from other people's works when I think we should create our own...thats just me.
2
@James That's a good point actually, which leads me to this idea: what did we end up calling that robot?
Quasirobo is winning atm :)
We can have quasirobo.
17:06
slartibotfast is in second.
He's our mascot, guess he can tweet too...doesn't really say "worldbuilding" by itself though
something like worldbuilding_se would probably best
boring but clear
There's also the issue that I'm trying to steer away from implying any official relationship.
SE typically ask for something like "the Worldbuilding Stack Exchange community", but we can't fit wb_se_community into a username.
yep, but worldbuilding_se as name then the description saying "community run twitter" should be ok I expect
or universe_factory to use the blog name
We can get universe_factor, there's not enough space for the y.
Same with worldbuilding_s
UniverseFactory
17:10
how about worldbuilders
taken
both
worldbuildingSE
We can have that
@TimB I like it. Nice, clean, simple.
camelCase > underscore
17:12
I'm a Python guy, so I'll debate that one
def method_name
C# camelCasing all the way
That said, I also do C# for PascalCase
There's still time to return to the light!
And Java[Script] for camelCase
And PHP for snake_case
17:13
so yeah
And SQL for SHOUTING AT EVERYONE
i dont know how your head does not explode, basically
SELECT THIS DATA OR ELSE
I don't remember an "OR ELSE" ...
Or a "THIS DATA", for that matter.
I like to half-shout in my SQL
17:15
sigh
I don't know SQL as well as I'd like. Long Live Entity Framework!
SQL is mad fun.
like that time when I wanted to update 2 records and changed 300+ user account config settings?
yea, that was mad fun
By that I mean I use it irregularly and have to look up everything again every time I need to hack our backend data around a bit
@AndreiROM you gotta try the select before you try the update
@DaaaahWhoosh lesson learned the hard way
I think I was a month out of college at the time. First "real" job
17:17
yeah, always do it as a select first then you can just swap the select for a delete :)
(although I had worked 3 co-ops, so I should have known better)
they let you on prod data a month out of college? they deserved to lose it then
anyway, the senior dev did not enjoy fixing that little snafu up
and I learned to be very careful with SQL
That's like always testing your dodgy command line script with an echo before you accidentally rm -rf /
now I'm basically paranoid and pray to the SQL Gods before I do anything
17:18
as an intern, I worked on the database team, then when they hired me I switched to Web. Now I get to be the one who 'knows' how to write queries
sometimes I offer a co-op student as sacrifice
OH SQL, TAKE THIS VIRGIN BRAIN THAT HAS NOT YET LEARNED THE PAIN OF DODGY INDEXING
I like SQL, and I can write a decent stored procedure .. but looking at the functions some of the guys on our team have written in the past I realize just how big of a noob I am
@IStanley basically, yes
@IStanley I've learned to deal with the blood
and no one misses the co-ops, which is always a plus
Haven't we all. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a programmer who doesn't have a mortal fear of one particular task due to a horrific incident in their budding career
on the day I made my mistake the error logs were pretty epic
several hundred user accounts running services with the wrong credentials
i basically never lived it down
17:22
Mine is pushing software to production on a Friday, after the time I pushed the wrong version of a piece of horrible VB I'd been refactoring to the line the evening I went on holiday and promptly shut down all server shipments to IBM for the weekend
Never did find out how much that cost
@IStanley deployment on a Friday, lol
I literally just laughed out loud
that must have cost a pretty penny
Yep! Never again, or I make someone else do it :P
They got them eventually... just a few days late
I once deployment some major changes to our Amazon service the day before I left for a 3 week vacation to Romania
with a 7 hour time difference
I actually told my boss that I did not want to do it
but in the end i had to, and my newbie team-mate had to fix all the issues while I was away
he did not talk to me for a while
:D I was the newbie team mate in one of those situations
also, I had left my FB account logged in and he took his revenge on me on a pretty epic proportion
yet another lesson learned there
17:26
lol your boss fraped you?
That time it was disk drive shipments to Dell that halted for a week as soon as this guy went on holiday
it's a miracle we're all employed, basically? :P
@TimB I both left my computer unlocked, and my FB logged in ... I was asking for it big time
Damn straight! I think it's more indicative of the fact that the wold teeters on the brink of calamity in panic stations every day and it's a miracle that there isn't a catastrophe every day
the senior dev and the new guy did horrible, horrible things to my FB account while I was flying across the ocean .. with no way to know what was going on
8 hr flight
do you know what a motivated individual can do to a FB account in 8 hours ?
I'm surprised the Fun-destroyer IT software allowed you to access FB at work
17:29
@IStanley that was bascially the only good thing about my old job .. no firewall !
I could sit on 9Gag all day long if I wanted to
or go on steam and browse game reviews
One of the guys I currently work with hasn't turned off his laptop in 2 years as it has to reboot for some IT browsing restrictions to take effect
but I also had to deliver, or the task tracking software would flag me .. so it all balanced out
@IStanley LOOOOOOLLLLLL
that is insane
Yep. He complains about it being slow.
@IStanley I was literally typing: "I can't believe it still runs"
a fun little windows update just wiped out my home pc this past friday
still haven't gotten around to fixing it
You're telling me! I'm actually impressed that windows hasn't died a blue screeny death
17:31
I have certainly contemplated never shutting it down again
Planning on finding an identical laptop and pretending I turned it off for April Fools
@IStanley the security implications of so many missing windows updates are terrifying.
The number of times Win X has killed my computer with an update... so glad I always take an image so I can restore it.
@IStanley you evil bastard
you just made me laugh out loud again
that is just ... brilliant.
What can I say :D I like a good practical joke
17:33
@IStanley the furthest I've gone is plastering our senior dev's cubicle with hello kitty, and princess pony stickers
he was still finding them MONTHS later
I developed a name for bad puns at my last workplace, so when I left I left a script that sent a pun a day to my old team for a month after
@IStanley I wanted to send a ... different sort of message to some of my old team mates
:P
@DaaaahWhoosh "Mi Yodeya" means "who knows?".
@IStanley if you get a laptop that matches, remove the hardrive before you set it on his desk, that way it won't even boot up!
@ArtOfCode I had images too, but Windows 8.1 will not go into recovery mode, even with the installation USB
17:35
Or install Ubuntu on it, and watch his confusion when he boots into the wrong OS.
@ArtOfCode it is 100% dead (the OS, not the HDD)
@AndreiROM If you've got a full image, in theory you can just nuke the disk and reset it from another PC. In theory.
@bowlturner that would spoil the look of dread on his face when he sees the boot screen
@ArtOfCode I assume so but don't know the details (the Twitter account predates me). If you want to drop into our chat room, I suspect Isaac Moses would be happy to answer any questions you have about that account and, more generally, how he uses Twitter to promote our site.
Something on SE that predates Monica? Wow.
17:36
well it will 'boot' and stop
@ArtOfCode the problem is that it's never the "latest" image, lol. I've recovered my files and I'm just gonna format it now. Maybe update to windows 10 and watch my computer explode on boot up
You've been around how long?
@bowlturner yes, but it's seeing "starting windows" rather than "resuming windows" that should have the greatest effect!
@IStanley maybe just have a fresh install of windows 98 on it
I don't know, not seeing it boot up at ALL would be terrifying I would think
just a little cursor blinking
"This is a linux system, I know this stuff"
17:38
@bowlturner yea, that's pretty frightening
Nah I think he'd suss it then.
HOWEVER.
You can go into BIOS and see that no HDD is detected so ...
maybe just have a blank HDD if anything
this is getting expensive, lol
I stick to the value village classics ... tape over the mouse laser. Missing batteries out of wireless keyboards ..
the point is that he hasn't Rebooted so anything will show that he is now having a fresh boot...
Well the thing is loads of people in the office have the same laptop so it's reasonably easy to get one that's off without having to go over the top!
@IStanley even better when he can't log in
17:40
@bowlturner ever done the Second Mouse one?
@IStanley no :'(
not sure what that one is
Plug in a second mouse, randomly screw with them over the day whenever they're trying to do something accurate
@IStanley a buddy of mine got a remote reset button off of amazon (I think)
the script runs right off the little plug-in thingy
Works best with a desktop up against a partition so they can't see it at all
17:42
@IStanley Lol I really need to do this, we have docking stations in my office so no one would be able to tell
you can also have fun changing default windows audio files...
@bowlturner I saw an epic video of that once
@ArtOfCode eh, lots of things on SE predate me. I only joined the network in late 2010, when I joined Area 51 so I could follow the Mi Yodeya proposal. I didn't even know that Mi Yodeya was at the time already a live site (SE 1.0) and I could have participated there! So my first real Q&A was when Mi Yodeya 2.0 entered beta in spring 2011.
@bowlturner thank God windows 8 did away with those
@MonicaCellio Blimey. That's still a fairly long time, given that SE launched in what, late '09?
SO was '08.
17:45
Yeah, SO was 2008. I knew about SO, even read questions (via Google :-) ) at times, but didn't know that SE had non-programming sites until I heard about Mi Yodeya.
You know you've been around a while when you have a 5-digit chat ID.
@MonicaCellio I had no idea other SE sites existed until this past November or so
Get naming, people.
0
Q: Naming our lady

ArtOfCodeAlong the lines of Naming our robot, we should also try thinking up names for the other character on the poster, the Lady of Worldbuilding. Same rule applies - one post, one name suggestion per person.

they're not gonna put a ring around the planet in "worldbuilding" ? :(
They might do, we don't know yet
17:49
I'm gonna leave naming the woman/robot to others
I would never be able to make up my mind
and probably just go with something from Terry Pratchett
Granny Weatherwax!
;)
@bowlturner That would be so funny. Just put some straws on the end of that staff
@AndreiROM we haven't seen the updated design yet.
Though being thin, what was the name of the young witch?
@bowlturner Granny Weatherwax is, I think, supposed to be quite a looker for her old age .. she complains about not having enough warts, and all kinds of other things, if I remember correctly. Ridcully certainly finds her attractive
@bowlturner as for the young one .. there's a couple of them. Magrat is one
can't see that name gaining popularity
the other one was Tiffany Aching
17:55
That's the name, but yes, Granny Weatherwax sounds much better
Magrat
1
Q: Naming our lady

ArtOfCodeAlong the lines of Naming our robot, we should also try thinking up names for the other character on the poster, the Lady of Worldbuilding. Same rule applies - one post, one name suggestion per person.

I think Pratchett was trying to break some stereotypes when he picked "Tiffany"
That's right, Granny's twin sister was a bit of a vixen
God, I love the Discworld novels
I was so sad when Pratchett passed away
I think I'm currently 7th on Discworld QuizUp ? (in Canada, in February)
No idea what that is.
17:58
It's a fun little android app
it has hundreds of quiz topics
7 questions, 4 multiple choice answers, paired with players from around the world
be back later
you get country and world rankings based on the experience you gain
ttyl
^^^ New user with half a dozen or so answers who could use a little help learning the ropes.
00:00 - 18:0018:00 - 00:00

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