I have a problem with this purported PhD entrance exam, and the upvoted answers. Hope it doesn't reach HNQ status.

If that is a PhD entrance exam, I weep for the quality of the students coming out of that program.

Other than the last question (which is a silly word game and not even really a question about mathematics), all of those questions should be answerable by a first or second year undergraduate mathematics major (in their sleep).

@XanderHenderson Exactly my thoughts! Sometimes I really get discouraged by some questions and those who answer them!

The meta post from a whiny asker managed to accomplish it's purpose of getting their closed question reopened, largely due to robjohn

Ugh... that question is nonsense...

And I will continue to insist that if the question is "How do I make #ProgrammingLanguage do #SomeTask?", then that is a question for SE or SO, and not MSE.

I don't care if that language is one commonly used by mathematicians

I'll concede that the question in question (heh) is not of that type---it has much deeper issues---but mathematics $\ne$ programming

Right... gotta go catch a train

Catch that train, @XanderHenderson :)

@amWhy Please tell me why you say that that question was reopened largely due to me. I did very little other than post a couple of comments to the question which outlined how to approach an answer. Then I responded to a comment by Phira, but in none of those did I advocate reopening the question. I did suggest paths along which the OP might improve the question.

I was very surprised when I came back later in the evening and saw that the question had gotten 4 votes to reopen. I thought that the additional work that the OP had done was good and so I added the fifth vote.

But adding the fifth vote is hardly masterminding the reopening of the question

@XanderHenderson @amWhy @AlexFrancisco: Terrible PSQ on the HNQ.

@amWhy @XanderHenderson @ZacharySelk @AlexFrancisco @Did: This and this are totally wrong due to basic logical errors.

@user170039 What you are missing is that giving such a 'proof' is nearly as bad as saying "It is obvious."; the amount of missing justification is more than the amount of provided justification. Almost everyone who gives such a proof is making an invalid quantifier switch.

I am talking about that proof, not your proof. Sorry it wasn't clear.

@user170039 @amWhy @XanderHenderson @ZacharySelk @AlexFrancisco @Did: Sorry I made a mistake; I thought it was about a finite segment of the tail, somehow. The question is not really about Cauchy sequences. So both answers I linked to are not making any error.

At least, not any serious error.

@user21820 It happens to the best of us. That being said, the first answer to which you linked puts my hackles up---I hate it when the answer is "Well, it's obvious."

@XanderHenderson Haha I got misled by not thinking after reading the accepted answer, and yes the "it's obvious" didn't bring me out of confusion.

@user21820, @XanderHenderson, @Did, @ZacharySelk, @AlexFrancisco, @anyone-interested. Does anyone recognize the user I speak of in the mod's office chatroom?

No, because it is not unique. Lol.

Anyway, got to go haha..

@user21820 Left with D,G.

@user21820 Please check my post in "logic", before you leave, if you haven't yet left the site.

@amWhy I know who you're talking about, lol

@ZacharySelk Great! It's not just me! Not sure how to hold the user accountable, short of posting links to many of the poor questions he's voted to close, and links to many poor questions he's answered, on meta.

@amWhy I do admit it's strange to see him answer PSQs and close questions of the same quality. I wonder if he closes questions he can't answer, and answers the ones he can

@ZacharySelk Perhaps, or else, on questions he votes to close, others have posted answers that mirror what he would post as an answer, had others not already posted the same. In any case, I find PSQ-answerer-and-closer to be acting in pretty bad faith, and not looking to maintain and improve this site, but rather to earn badges and lower-case rep.

@JyrkiLahtonen please note my comments here in the mod's office. I know you know who the user I refer to is, based on some earlier comments I've read from you. I'm sincerely wanting to figure out a way, to perhaps use peer pressure, or the spot-light, on the user I describe in my link above. I have informed said user about my concerns posted in the Mod's chat, inviting his input. But I've pointed out the same ...

...1-2 weeks ago, in a comment to the relevant user, who never responded. My fear, is that through his mad rush to earn rep and gold badges, and participation in reviewing, though in the end, self-contradictory, reveal someone who with the ambition to someday be a mod. That's what scares me most.

Hi, @dssknj ! Welcome!

@amWhy I prefer to use "XP" for "lowercase rep" :)

@XanderHenderson Dat good too!

Two to consider: math.stackexchange.com/questions/2829308/… and math.stackexchange.com/questions/2829652/…

I do feel some sympathy for people closing PSQs and occasionally answering them - I think I am also guilty sometimes of thinking there is more context in questions that are in familiar areas. I think this is one benefit of having others close them - if I see I answered a question that was later closed, I should reflect on whether I misjudged the question

@CarlMummert I empathize with the occasional answering of a PSQ. My concern with the user I speak of is that their answering of PSQ's is habitual and frequent (usually daily). I'm not discussing those who only occasionally answer what we might otherwise close. (I consider my few occasions to be a "slip", however). So I'm looking only at the general patterns, and persistent and frequent behavior.

And my concern today addresses not those who frequently or exclusively answer PSQs, but rather this particular user (likely others to) who have one foot in very active closing of PSQ's, and the other foot in very active answering of PSQ's, where the quality of those closed is no worse than the quality of those they answer.

@amWhy I am curious on this thing you bring up, so I will ask a question. Are you afraid that the user partaking in this behavior is purposefully discriminating on which posts they close? That's definitely my concern here.

I definitely have no idea who you refer to though. It certainly sucks if there is such a user doing this on purpose though. Hopefully the user simply suffers from a case of "bad judgement skills".

@TheGreatDuck I'm not entirely sure what thoughts the user I speak of thinks. But I know this user is trying to gain Rep by looking like a user, in the review cue, that holds standards for the quality of questions asked, and closes many questions that most see as poor quality, (and earning gold badges in the review queue, to boot), and also trying to gain rep/XP through answering questions, at least half of which don't meet the quality standards of questions on par with those he votes to close.

@amWhy so you know for a fact that they are rep farming?

Perhaps someone should take this to the moderators.

I mean in a more official sense.

I imagine there's a general report link somewhere.

He's been a frequent review queue participant. When I check in on the review queue (in the past few months, at least), they are always pictured in one or more of the review queues.

that doesn't prove they are actually trying to cause harm.

over-zealousness is a thing

@TheGreatDuck I'm trying to do that, but may have to post to meta.

math.stackexchange.com/contact

^I meant this

@TheGreatDuck I never said they are intent on causing harm. But the harm to the community and this site, based on their overzealous self-interest.

ah ok

well then in that case the only suggestion I'd have is to downvote their improper answers on the basis of them being harmful

on the other hand I wonder if them answering such questions is actually doing any harm. :-/

it doesnt stop other people from closing

How would you feel, as an asker, to see this answerer close a question you ask, for whatever reason, but then turn around and answer an identical question asked by a different user? It leaves incredibly confusing messages, to say the least.

@amWhy well yeah, but I thought the primary concern was answering bad questions because they attract an unsavory element to the site.

but yeah

it's definitely odd to say the least

is there any trend in what they close?

:-/

@TheGreatDuck I'll just wait to see if any mods want to weigh in. I have voted to close PSQ's he answers, and downvoted quite a few answers he gives to those PSQ's, over time. I have also addressed him one on one, twice, at which points he never responded. I also provided him with a link to my post in the mods' office chat, so he could weigh in. fIf I need to, I'll post to meta with my collection of posts he's voted to close, and posts he's answered, wrt poor quality posts.

But any further speculation at this point may be unwise to contemplate.

yeah

this is the crude chat though

@amWhy its likely worthwhile to leave a note in math mods linking to here

@TheGreatDuck The mods who frequent the mods' office chat also frequent this chatroom. I'd like to wait and see if they have any input or considerations on the matter. I'd also like to give the specific user in question time to respond, if he so desires.

ah ok

Anyway, @TheGreatDuck I was wondering where you've been. Good to see you 'round these parts!

yeah i was banned for a while

What an eventful day, thus far!

@amWhy indeed

The question is utterly unclear and impossible to answer, and yet... we have an answer.

Oh, and if the answer is correct, then the question is a duplicate (of a PSQ, but an oldie).

@XanderHenderson it's closed as a dupe. Nice find!

@amWhy Yay dupe-hammer!

@XanderHenderson It's a handy tool, all right!