Yeah, @Shaun, and so is the question I linked to.

Thanks, @Xander. Back at you!

@amWhy Boy, that question is pretty meagre... Why am I not surprised that it has several answers?

This question should probably be closed. There is actually a really interesting question buried in there somewhere, but I don't think that the OP has taken the time to articulate that question.

PSQ with a "helpful" End Question to denote the end of the question.

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Manually reported answer (batch report: post 1 out of 2): Curve on a basketball by OOF on math.SE

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Manually reported answer (batch report: post 2 out of 2): Exponential growth of cow populations in Minecraft by OOF on math.SE

@amWhy Gone.

@amWhy 1-22 are not clear cut cases and you need to read that yourself.

@XanderHenderson You seem to have linked a non-PSQ by a new user who has explained where they are stuck, with 4 close- and 2 down- votes but no coaching comments. How is this welcoming to new users?

From this question

@RobertFrost I don't have the time or energy to add a comment to every single terrible question that is posted by a low XP account. If it is that important to you, why don't you leave a comment? I mean, I put it on CRUDE so that others could put some effort into it, either in the form of coaching or votes. It is hypocritical of you to argue that I should have done more when you, yourself, are unwilling to do so.

I'll also note that I am not one of three downvoters on that question, so there are at least three other users that you should be chastising, as well. Not to mention the four other users who voted to close.

This question is a duplicate of this question.

Finally, I will once again express my opinion that a low reputation account is a new user.

@SimplyBeautifulArt Agreed.

On a side note, this question is open for deletion (related to the "new user")

@RobertFrost New users are those that are going to contribute to MSE into the future. Someone who creates an account to post a question in order to finish their homework is not a "new user". An account that posts three questions in the space of an hour then goes dormant is not "new user."

Such people deeply misunderstand the goals of MSE, and there is only so much effort I am willing to put into helping them understand what the underlying mission of MSE is (i.e. to create a repository of interesting questions with high-quality answers.

@SimplyBeautifulArt o/

o/

@XanderHenderson \o

@amWhy Good morning.

(or whatever is appropriate to your timezone)

It ought to be before noon I'd wager

@XanderHenderson Morning works well for me! I'm two hours ahead of you, and @SimplyBeautifulArt is one hour ahead of me, and so 3 hours ahead of you.

@SimplyBeautifulArt Indeed! lol

;P

1, 2, 3, 4

What about 1, 2, 3, 4, @JohnMa?

@JohnMa Any particular reason for linking your answers?

@SimplyBeautifulArt No, just that I find it in my profile. Changing now.

Clocks... how do they work? :\

Um, seem that I am too late. Sorry for the confusion

5, 6, 7, 8

9, 10, 11, 12

13, 14, 15, 16

17, 18, 19, 20

21, 22, 23, 24

25, 26, 27, 28

29, 30

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Bad keyword with email in answer: Multiplying in GF(128) by John W on math.SE

@XanderHenderson A user only here for two days, as in that particular example, most likely deeply understands very little about the site. The site's about GETTING ANSWERS first and foremost, and creating a repository is only an aim insofar as it facilitates GETTING ANSWERS.

@RobertFrost I disagree.

If the primary goal of MSE were to provide answers to any and all questions, then MSE would be no better than any of the other homework mills out there (such as Yahoo! Answers or Quora).

What distinguishes MSE from those sites is the quality and curation of questions (as well as answers).

Even then, if the primary goal is to GET ANSWERS, do note that the curation of high-quality questions and answers makes it more likely that a user will get an answer via searching.

The fewer low-quality and duplicate questions there are running about, the less crap there is to filter through in order to get a good answer.

Obviously, you are welcome to disagree, and to act in a manner that is in accordance with your beliefs about how the site should operate. And if a majority of active users agree with you, then MSE will likely change (in a negative manner, in my opinion, but that is what community moderation is all about).

However, it is unreasonable to demand that every other user on the website adhere to your vision of what MSE is. I voted to close that question because it was of poor quality. I did not have the time or energy to attempt to improve the question. I mentioned it on CRUDE, where any other user could (1) vote up or down; (2) vote to close; or (3) provide comments.

That includes you, @RobertFrost. You could have commented.

You complain a lot about MSE not being welcoming to new "users", but your most visible action is the complaining itself. If it is that important to you, act. Don't just complain.

→ 1 message moved to trash

This virtual PSQ needs two more close votes.

@Did o/

@XanderHenderson Are you dizzy yet, having seen all the stars floating around you? :P

@amWhy one of the few positive contributions I can make here is coach new users which I often do although I didn't in this case as they had their answer and the question was already closed. But do you class that a PSQ?

@XanderHenderson ^^ sorry pinged amwhy, fat fingers

I wonder, though, @RobertFrost, why I primarily encounter you after you post questions/comments with the central theme of complaining, or when you chastise other users for not agreeing with you? And cannot recall any example justifying your claim that you regularly "coach" "new" users regarding what they need to know about this site? Rather, you admonish users that aren't new.

So I would argue that before even you can be welcoming to new users, you need to learn how to respect current users; if you can't do that, there's no hope to effectively coach any "new" user. You also seem to not recognize the number of "new" users who are not in any way new. Sorry to say, but you enable some users to abuse this site.

@RobertFrost It would have been considerate if you had pinged me in that comment, too, to notify me that I was not the intended "target" of your comment addressed to me.

@RobertFrost That question essentially says "Here is my problem. PROBLEM. I don't know how to answer it."

It is also worth noting that this question is asked by a user who only has one other question to their name (barring any deleted questions which can't be seen through their profile). The other question, which is a little bit older, can be found here.

Note that there are three users that gave advice on the older question. The original asker does not appear to have made any effort to improve either question in the last day. I feel that that user has been given plenty of feedback. I don't feel bad for them.

@RobertFrost Replying specifically to the linked comment: (1) the point of putting a question on hold is to signal to the asker that the question has problems, and it should be improved before answers are given; giving advice after a question is put on hold is at least as helpful as giving advice prior to that. That is the entire point of putting questions on hold.

(2) You say that the asker already had an answer. So, basically, you don't care about the quality of the question, just about whether or not it has an answer. I infer from your statement that you don't really care about the general quality of questions, nor about training new users to improve the quality of the site.

"Please help!" PSQ

"Click here to open the question": a link, which is the entirety of the body of linked question, which takes one to an image of a PSQ with four questions.