The Junk Drawer

Zach Saucier

10:00 PM

ya

Matt S.

1

Q: How do I keep pots of water from boiling over?

Whenever I'm boiling water, say for ramen or spaghetti, I'll set a timer and come back to it later to stir it. Inevitably, the water will be bubbling over the top of the pot one of the times I come back. Is there a way I can prevent this from happening?

cooking

Zach Saucier

How about this updated definition of a lifehack?

> A lifehack is a technique that can be implemented quickly that is used to make one's physical life more efficient when a more standard approach in unavailable or not undesirable. Lifehacks are creative, meaning they use materials that are generally not used for this purpose and may be on hand, and are applicable to a wide range of people.

Matt S.

That question is not okay, because I listed a problem I was having, but not how I had previously tried to fix it.

Lifehacks don't solve new problems.

Zach Saucier

agreed, no effort

Matt S.

Actually that might be good to add. Questions can't be trying to solve new problems, they have to be looking for alternatives to old solutions.

Zach Saucier

10:04 PM

I think I address that in my definition when I say "when a more standard approach in unavailable or not undesirable"

Matt S.

I think people have different standards is the problem though.

One person's standard approach is different than another's.

Zach Saucier

sure

Matt S.

We have to be extremely nitpicky to stop these close wars.

Zach Saucier

but that's handled by our "quick solution" requirement either way

J. Musser

I'm back

Matt S.

10:07 PM

I'm not sure it's clear enough for someone who's just coming in for the first time and trying to figure out what's on topic.

Zach Saucier

@J.Musser welcome! Try reading through the transcript to see if what we're talking about makes sense :)

Matt S.

Let's summarize so we don't lose anything.

J. Musser

@ZachSaucier Not a problem, obvious to you doesn't mean obvious to everyone, and it's good to have things like that on-site for browsers.

sorry for replying to old

Zach Saucier

no problem

Matt S.

Questions that are in the scope for the site need:
1. To be about a problem with an existing solution.

Zach Saucier

10:10 PM

we just talk about that in more detail later @J.Musser, so you might read through more of it before replying. But I would love to hear more replies :)

Matt S.

2. To clearly state why that solution will not work for them.

Zach Saucier

@MattS. I'm not sure that can be determined by the question alone...?

Not a hack, but I'm a big fan of metal straws. — Geobits 2 hours ago

this user is already applying what we talked about before we talked about it :D

J. Musser

@MattS. I don't entirely agree. If there's an existing solution, why ask?

@ZachSaucier @MattS. Looks like you guys are finally starting to get somewhere.

Zach Saucier

32 mins ago, by Matt S.

So there needs to be a problem with an existing solution. But that solution can't be acceptable because:
a) There's not enough time to implement that solution.
b) It's not fiscally responsible to use that solution (as in a one-time solution).

Matt S.

@ZachSaucier That's what I was looking for.

Zach Saucier

10:14 PM

@J.Musser it's exciting :D

Matt S.

So can we tell that from a question?

Or are we going to require questions to list why they're asking here, and not on a specific site?

Zach Saucier

if there's an existing solution just for it

@MattS. that'd be silly

users can't be expected to know all SE sites

J. Musser

@ZachSaucier true.

I'm still getting tons of dv's.

Zach Saucier

hold out until we get this settled. Hopefully it'll be within a day or two

J. Musser

-2

Q: Is the lack a narrow scope problematic for this site?

There are a couple of existing Meta questions on scope, and lots of ideas about what should or should not be in scope. But as a group we seem to be far from defining scope limits. Is the over broadness of the current scope problematic for the Private Beta phase? Can we wait until public beta t...

discussion scope

Zach Saucier

10:22 PM

@MattS. if you're working on a big post and want it reviewed before posting, we can make a gist for it like I did for my big post

J. Musser

@ZachSaucier Or he can put it in pastebin for everyone to critique.

Zach Saucier

does pastebin do markdown formatting for the preview? I don't use it much

anyway, I'll be back in a few hours

J. Musser

@ZachSaucier It's just the blank text. I sometimes write up an SE post, and copy/paste it to pastebin.

Matt S.

Sorry, I had someone shouting at me. I haven't been working on a post yet.

So we don't want questions to have to be about existing problems?

Or about problems with existing solutions?

J. Musser

@MattS. I think yes it should be an existing problem

@MattS. I don't think it needs an existing solution. Thoughts?

Matt S.

10:31 PM

How would that work for incoming questions?

J. Musser

@MattS. Someone asks a question, has no idea what to do. Why doesn't that work?

Matt S.

Why wouldn't they ask on a specific site? Like DIY?

J. Musser

@MattS. Because they're asking for a hack.

Matt S.

I'm thinking that instead, someone asks a question about a solution that won't work for them. And we would provide them with alternative.

J. Musser

@MattS. That also could be on diy.

pastebin.com/Ax2UukHJ

Improvements^

?

Matt S.

10:34 PM

I'm thinking at this point the only way to save the site is to have a meta post saying "This is what we're going to do".

2

People can disagree and changes can be made. But nothing is going to happen if we just keep asking questions.

J. Musser

@MattS. I'll back that up.

iliveunderawesomerock

@MattS. 1+ This site is definitely in need of leadership.

Matt S.

There are people on the main site who are doing their own thing, and people on Meta trying to think about things. But nothing is meeting in the middle.

J. Musser

@MattS. What should the post encompass?

Matt S.

1. The problem is that we don't have a scope, period. A new user wouldn't know what questions could be asked here.
2. Not everyone is going to agree with each other (which is clear from the interaction between the groups on Meta and the groups on Main), so not everyone is going to be happy and that can't be helped.
3. Here is the new scope.
4. Here is why the new scope will fix our problems.

J. Musser

10:44 PM

I like Zach's definition:

> A lifehack is a technique that can be implemented quickly that is used to make one's physical life more efficient when a more standard approach in unavailable or not undesirable. Lifehacks are creative, meaning they use materials that are generally not used for this purpose and may be on hand, and are applicable to a wide range of people.

Use that?

Matt S.

We might need to define standard approach.

J. Musser

oh.

I see.

Matt S.

That's why I'm thinking we need to have "What have you tried" required.

Standard might be different. But we could just look for alternative.

> A lifehack is an alternative solution to an existing problem that is used to make one's physical life more efficient. Lifehacks are creative. Meaning they typically use materials because they are available, not for their made purpose.

I don't know how much better that is.

J. Musser

> A standard approach is a method used to accomplish a certain task, which method has been established by authority, custom, or general consensus. It is the normal way to get the task accomplished, using tools/materials/techniques especially designed for that purpose.

Whatever

Matt S.

> A lifehack is a technique that can be implemented quickly that is used to make one's physical life more efficient when a more standard approach as defined by that area's experts is unavailable or not undesirable. Lifehacks are creative, meaning they use materials that are generally not used for this purpose and may be on hand, and are applicable to a wide range of people.

I don't think I like that actually.

J. Musser

10:57 PM

@MattS. Nice!

@MattS. I do.

A little long.

What's wrong with it?

Matt S.

I'm trying to think of an example, but would that mean that I would have to ask on another site before asking here?

1

Q: How do I keep pots of water from boiling over?

Whenever I'm boiling water, say for ramen or spaghetti, I'll set a timer and come back to it later to stir it. Inevitably, the water will be bubbling over the top of the pot one of the times I come back. Is there a way I can prevent this from happening?

cooking

J. Musser

@MattS. What had you tried there?

Matt S.

So that should get closed because I hadn't tried anything.

2

Q: How can I efficiently plant seeds in my garden?

When planting seeds, you're supposed to put each seed with a certain amount of space in-between each seed. I have trouble with this a lot, because my handles are so big, and the seeds are so small, there usually ends up being clumps of seeds if I do it by hand. If I planted the seeds one by one,...

gardening garden

That should be okay because the most standard method is using your hand?

J. Musser

@MattS. Good question.

Matt S.

Would I have to ask that on Gardening first?

Or have to explain why I'm not asking it on gardening.

J. Musser

11:01 PM

@MattS. If you are looking for a common sense non-hack, yeah.

That question was good cause I answered it.

jk

Matt S.

Maybe we should just run with it.

It seems like the best solution.

I don't want to dismiss it because I'm overthinking it. It might not even be a problem.

J. Musser

@MattS. I'm good with that.

Matt S.

So with that, the gardening question is okay, because I'm looking for an alternative solution to planting with my hands.

J. Musser

We need a core group of folks to perfect and then post the meta post and start closely guiding the site.

Matt S.

The cooking question is off-topic because there was no explanation of what I was looking for an alternative to.

I would be asked what I tried, and if I said nothing, I'd be sent to cooking.

J. Musser

11:09 PM

After the post, i'll cv my questions that don't comply, and delete my answers like that.

@MattS. Yup.

Matt S.

We could almost have a close reason for not asking for an alternative.

J. Musser

Is this on the line, in your opinion? lifehacks.stackexchange.com/questions/114/…

I think it mentions another method, so would be fine.

Matt S.

The solution to a broken window is replacing the window.

But you can't do that immediately, so you're asking for an alternative until you replace it.

I think that works.

This is off topic because it's not a physical problem: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/questions/1584/…

This is on-topic because it's seeking an alternative to an existing solution: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/questions/1588/…

This is on-topic for the same reason: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/questions/1593/…

Mathematics isn't a physical problem so off topic: lifehacks.stackexchange.com/questions/1611/…

J. Musser

What do you think of a question that doesn't have an obvious standard approach? lifehacks.stackexchange.com/questions/114/…

Matt S.

That's the window link?

J. Musser

11:15 PM

@MattS. yeah.

Matt S.

> The solution to a broken window is replacing the window.
But you can't do that immediately, so you're asking for an alternative until you replace it.
I think that works.

J. Musser

@MattS. no, sorry. It's the book in the sink link.

my bad

Matt S.

book in the sink?

Do you have a link to that?

J. Musser

8

Q: A book fell in a sink full of water. How can I dry it?

How can I dry out a book that falls into a sink of water (or similar) and gets soaked? I've tried: using a hair dryer to blow the pages back and forth until dry It wasn't that great an idea, because it left the pages wrinkled/warped, and some stuck together.

home water

There we go, sorry.

Matt S.

I think that works because you explained that you tried to use a hair dryer and it caused more problems.

You included what you tried.

J. Musser

11:18 PM

@MattS. What about a similar question, that doesn't have a standard approach, and they don't know what to try?

Matt S.

So that question without the blow dryer bit?

J. Musser

@MattS. Yes, but stating that he didn't know what to try.

Matt S.

hmm...

We'd almost just have to close it for not including the "what have you tried" section.

Because if we allow that, then the pot boiling question would need to be on-topic.

It's too bad that we don't have another site for the question, but we can't handle that.

J. Musser

@MattS. I agree.

I'd close it.

Matt S.

The "What have you tried" section has to be required, because without it we're not providing anything different than other sites.

3

Q: How can I eat an apple without getting sticky fingers?

I really enjoy eating apples, however it is annoying when my hands are sticky afterwards. How can I eat an apple so that the juices do not make my hands sticky?

food

All these questions would be off-topic for that reason.

For them to be on-topic, they would have to explain how they're eating the apple and why it's not working.

Right?

J. Musser

11:28 PM

Correct.

We need to put that here and here (by posting in meta).

Then we can clean up the site.

Matt S.

Right. That sounds like a plan.

J. Musser

@MattS. Do you wanna write the post? You have a gift.

It could be a cw too, if that would help.

Matt S.

Yeah, I can put something together later tonight.

@J.Musser Think people would start to get into an editing war rather than discussing it though?

J. Musser

@MattS. Hmm, maybe so.

Matt S.

I don't know.

I'll just see if I remember to hit the checkbox when I write it tonight.

J. Musser

11:36 PM

@MattS. "I asked a question that could also fit on gardening. It was closed as being off-topic, then reopened for being off-topic." from your cake post.

Did you mean to say it was reopened for being off-topic?

Matt S.

Yeah. Too many edits.

I fixed it.

J. Musser

ok, just wanted to check before I changed it. Cool post btw.

Matt S.

Thanks. I would have liked for some discussion to spawn from it, but whatever. :P

J. Musser

@MattS. I was involved very little with most of the posts in that post.

I answered one.

Matt S.