And so our event comes to a close

Last Comment! :D

Yay us.

Thank you to everyone who showed up! Thank you to the candidates for answering, and thank you to everyone else who came to ask questions and give their candidates support.

Thanks @GraceNote. You were a wonderful host. Except next time, donuts, OK?

Let's continue in the English room!

> The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

@Cerberus Of course it is not so -- that's a rather stupid argument.

Candidates are free to stick around to continue answering any questions in the stars list they may have missed

@mootinator Churchill?

@EvanCarroll Why?

Good luck to all of the candidates in this round and the next!

@RegDwightАΑA Yep.

@GraceNote Thanks for staying up, Grace

Right! Good luck from me as well.

@EvanCarroll Come to the English room, then.

Thank you Detroit! Good Night!

@GraceNote I'm appreciative of, and humbled by, those who have supported me this far. I'm glad I wasn't laughed off the primary stage. And, for what it's worth, I'm not an "elitist crony," and I have no desire to "rule."

@mootinator Right, so let those average voters elect those with lots of money, and assume that the representatives that won't give you a five minute conversation are smarter!

Good luck to the deserving!

@J.R. Not even if I give you € 5?

Anyway, vegetable stock is cooking.

Oh, and if you want my vote, Free Minecraft Gift Code is always appreciated XD.

@J.R. You've made good contributions in your short tenure. You've got a place on the candidates list, and it's ahead of at least a few others.

Jk, but still...

If you want my vote, 50 reps would be appreciated. I'll have to post something first, of course.

@mootinator I think my form of bribery is more effective...

@KitFox: I almost didn't run. Thanks for your kind words. I enjoy EL&U, and plan to stay active no matter what happens. Cerberus won't talk me into leaving, even if he offers me € 5

@simchona With that said, I probably am going to call it a night

I'm afraid you misunderstood.

I was trying to buy you for my own purposes.

@GraceNote Good night!

@J.R. Well, you should pop into chat and hang. You'll see a lot of familiar faces there.

@GraceNote Good night!

This ^.

@Cerberus 5 euros won't make me eligible to vote.

@Cerberus tögrögs is the only valid bribery currency here.

How can I make me some of those?

Bribe me, duh.

@mootinator Why don't you just try? You have my account number.

@RegDwightАΑA I gave you half a faction, so no complaining.

whistles, and walks away slowly.

@RegDwightАΑA "I think I have some 60-odd of those. Not that hard to visit once a day._ I don't get to correct you very often, but I believe the Fanatic badge is only awarded once. :^)

Go visit my profile. And stand corrected.

There are other stars in the sky.

@KitFox, thanks for the invitation, but my two daughters just walked through the door about 15 minutes ago....

On ELU alone, it wouldn't be possible because we are not that old.

@J.R. Well, some other time.

@Reg: Do you think I'd be crazy enough to offer a good-natured "correction" without visiting your profile first? I'm looking at it right now....

stackexchange.com/users/23448/regdwight?tab=accounts

@J.R. Next time, arrive at baby-pictures time and compete with your fellow candidates in that arena.

Several have posted cute pictures of their children.

You don't want to get me started on my kids.... awfully proud of them

@J.R. Reg has a few accounts on SE.

Did I miss the swimsuit contest?

OHHHHHH....

Wait, why are we still here? We have a cozy room.

What is that?

The corrector stands corrected.

I don't think I have ever been there.

@RegDwightАΑA And I was just about to yell at everyone! ;)

@Cerberus I don't know. Stuff.

Odd.

@TimStone truth be told, I only just noticed myself. I was in blather mode already, getting to full steam.

hi everyone. Did I miss anything?

Not at all.

Only the sole purpose of this room.

@Mitch You're welcome to peruse the transcript; at this point, the event is over, but starred questions may be answered by candidates who missed them on the first pass or were unable to attend.

@Shog9 I was just funning...I watched the whole thing as it unfolded. Lots of nice serious answers, with only a few...um...outliers.

@Mitch Heh... Well, don't be too hard on @kit ;-)

Hey!

I said it depended on the nature of what I had uncovered.

:-P

@KitFox Shog9 said that, not me!

Yeah. I know. I can read.

I can type too.

I think I left all my cleverness somewhere though.

I should probably read the transcript. I paid no attention to anything except the questions.

And writing answers to them.

I didn't even see what other people wrote.

It looked very hectic for you people.

I was impressed with the cohrence of the responses, given the interleaving and other distractins.

also ability to spell and avoid typos.

Work the lock, don't look at the dogs.

Piece of pie.

Easy as cake.

@TimStone For new users I'd try to push them in the right direction. I would explain that closing a question isn't a mark against them and that down votes aren't punishment. They need to understand that there is every chance to adapt to the system in place here, and get a lot from the site.

@TimStone For problem users it depends on the nature of the problem and the user. If the problem is just a misunderstanding then most issues can be resolved in meta or chat, quite amicably. Obviously there will be problem users who are detrimental to the site and they will be dealt with the same way they are dealt with now.

@SonicTheHedgehog Yes

@EvanCarroll Depends on what I had uncovered. I probably wouldn't blow things out of all proportion or harass the founders or users of Stack Exchange. I mean, what likely conspiracy is there going to be found here? I don't think there's any blood diamond trading.

@TimStone I see new people asking question, but the number of questions is quite low. The people who answer questions tend to be the more active users of the site, which is hopefully the people who the site is catered to. In that light I would take meta in consideration when it comes to moderation. It's the best place to hear what the community thinks. It is not the only thing I would take into account, as I have my own impression of how the community is from the main site.

@Shog9 I'm not sure what tools are available. My first step would be to present the evidence to the user in question (via email or private chat). I would explain that the evidence suggests that the accounts in question are being used in an unfair manner, that is against the rules of the site. I would ask them to explain. If they cop to it then I would offer them the opportunity to prove they understand the rules. If they deny it I would explain that if we see the behaviour continue ...

... then all involved accounts would be terminated and the user would be banned from the site.

@SonicTheHedgehog factoid

Only joking. I don't have a favourite single word. It's the sentences I like.

@SonicTheHedgehog Raising the standard of questions.

@TimStone Discuss it and try to come to an understanding as to why it's been taken. We'll not always agree on everything.

someone is being quite busy I see

@RegDwightАΑA It's tough. I know it when I see it. If I think an answer is low quality then it's either a comment or irrelevant. Comments can be made into comments, with an explanation to the user about commenting, and irrelevant things can be deleted, again with an explanation (e.g. explaining about asking questions vs answering questions.)

@MattЭллен What is the purpose of this room?

@skullpatrol it was to question the EL&U moderator election candidates

I am now answering the questions, since I was asleep when this occurred.

@MattЭллен Thanks :)

no probs :)

May I ask a question?

@Carlo_R. Barrie's question is closed because it is subjective and argumentative. It is not a constructive question.

@skullpatrol yes, but the time for official questions is over.

@MattЭллен What do you consider inappropriate chat room behavior? (worthy of permanent suspension)

@SonicTheHedgehog My native language is English. British English, from The Cotswolds.

@skullpatrol racism, posting images of child abuse, sexual harassment, bullying of any variety

although I am hesitant to use permanent suspension

anyone can change

@MattЭллен I have already witnessed racism, without any suspension?

@skullpatrol that is wrong in my book

racist abuse should not be tolerated.

@MattЭллен Mine to. Also, I have seen sexual harassment.

"Bullying" on the other hand is a very hard one to define.

@GraceNote I'd bring it up with them, and try to come to an understanding of their actions. If I still disagree I'd bring it up in meta and abide by the community's feeling

@skullpatrol if someone feels bullied, say they feel bullied and the bullies know and don't stop - that is bullying

but yes, if the person being bullied doesn't speak up then it's very difficult to know.

@MattЭллен That is exactly my point, bullies usually pick on shy users who don't say much. So conclusive evidence of bullying would be: "STOP BULLYING ME!!!" answer: "no" , or does there need to be the answer "no"?

@skullpatrol the bully would either stop or not. they wouldn't necessarily say no. Although saying no would be in character for some bullies

@MattЭллен Would you agree that "STOP BULLYING ME!!!" is a cry for help?

Yes

@EvanCarroll No. I think both are faulty. What people want is not the same as what is good for them. And most people don't even know what they want, let alone what's good for them. Also voting on everything is time consuming. The hierarchy present in e.g. UK government is also a problem. What would be better is for people to trust each other and treat each other with respect, working autonomously and co-operatively. Voting should only be used when there is no other way of deciding.

@MattЭллен Thank you for your responses and good luck in the election.

@skullpatrol you're welcome. Thanks for asking :)

@Shog9 first step is to comment asking for clarification and explaining what I don't understand. The next step is patience, because askers take a while to respond. In the mean time the community will have probably acted. If they have then I would let the asker know that their question can still be edited and that that might lead to reopening. If a question remains in a poor state for a prolonged period then I'd close it. If it's already been closed for a while then I'd delete it.

@RegDwightАΑA I believe it is a step in the right direction. There are a lot of questions here that someone who is knowledgeable in English would not ask. I think they are detrimental to the site because they give the impression that we deal with really basic questions and other more interesting questions are unlikely. If we remove the basic question to their own space then we open up EL&U and give space for the interesting questions.

@RegDwightАΑA I'm afraid I don't. We get a number of poor questions a day. These get closed. I agree it can seem intimidating, but that doesn't seem to stop people asking poor questions, so it can't be that off putting. If we had somewhere to migrate some of the poor questions - poor as in asked by a learner rather than someone who understand the language, and so wouldn't ask - then the front page wouldn't look so intimidating.

@TimStone Because I know where I want the site to go (towards a higher academic standard) and I think I can help steer it there.

@SonicTheHedgehog I want to get meta working harder to define the direction the community wants to take the site, regardless of the direction I'm interested in. I want to present questions there I find dubious and get the community to discuss their merits. Of course, I'm in chat a lot and I will continue to be there a lot to help with immediate queries, and generally keep the incomprehensibility or the room at the high standard we expect.

@Shog9 I haven't used the brass knuckles yet. I prefer the feeling of flesh on flesh. I enjoy editing, strange as that may seem, because I like to get the questions looking smart. I've not cast a lot of reopen votes, but I know how to do it. I cast close, down votes and flags whenever I see fit.

@SonicTheHedgehog Not really. I haven't thought about it. I think cleaning up the basic questions should help help improve the site's profile and encourage the members to recommend it to their learned friends.

@Cerberus I don't know the philosophy of it. Sharing is nice. Centralised government is silly.

@RegDwightАΑA I am unsure about the Gen Ref close reason. I do not want basic question on the site - people should check dictionaries before asking here and provide explanations as to what they don't understand. I'm happy to close those question. We could even start to consider them off topic. Normally I judge Gen Ref by checking a dictionary, or by the answers. If the answers are just dictionary quotes, then really what are we adding to the web?

However, sometime I get it wrong and such questions should be reopened. But I guess that's OK, because my mistakes can be undone.

@Shog9 tell them not to phone me again and hang up. record the time and date of the phone call. If they call again, inform them that I am recording their call and will use it as evidence in an harassment suit. I will record each call until I believe I can take them to court for harassment.

@RegDwightАΑA There is no reason to delete it. It has useful information in it. I want people to get excited about the site again and want to blog about EL&U. We should keep it. Hopefully we'll be able to rouse people's interest in it again.

@RegDwightАΑA Yes, I am aware. I think I'm trying to be less snippy, and I think other are too, but that might be confirmation bias talking.

@SonicTheHedgehog British English is always better.

@RegDwightАΑA something that's low quality is something that doesn't answer the question or add to the existing answers. I'll comment on such answers and potentially delete them if they don't get improved.

@SonicTheHedgehog Douglas Adams (The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy)

@SonicTheHedgehog I want to be moderator! ;) Seriously though, I want to improve the interestingness of the questions, as I've explained above.

@RegDwightАΑA I think we have got our fair share of good new users, along with the bad. Over the last year, we don't seem to have increased the number of questions, it seems to have held steady, as has the quality.

I think the same can be said of answers

Thanks for all the questions. I we get the moderators we need.

@TimStone I am willing to help new users, but I cannot say when they are not worth anymore being helped; that depends from each singular case. If somebody doesn't show any willingness of being helped, the limit is probably very low; vice versa, if the user is willing to be helped, but there is a language barrier, then the limit is probably higher.

@EvanCarroll I would write a book about a spy story. Maybe I could involve aliens too, and write something similar to X-files. I was a fan of X-files.

@Shog9 I consult the other moderators. It's something a single moderator can decide alone.

@SonicTheHedgehog I would like to be remembered for doing my task, and being helpful.

@GraceNote I would ask him why it was closed, or I would re-open it if there are user who gives a good explanation about why they think it was closed for the wrong reason, and I agree with it.

@RegDwightАΑA The number of 10k users is a subjective measure. Without good questions, and good answers, users could not reach that reputation level.

@SonicTheHedgehog I cannot think to anything I would change, so far. It seems the community knows well how to handle bad questions, and we had an "call from TPTB" just once.

@TimStone I feel that there is enough participation on the meta site: Questions are asked, answers are given from different users (not just three/four users), and posts are voted. Community's thought is important when community can give its contribution, for example when asking what to do with questions asked from users who should not ask questions because they are blocked, but create new accounts to be able to ask questions.

@SonicTheHedgehog It is supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. It reminds me of Italian supercalifragilistichespiralidoso.

@TimStone I ask him/her the reasons behind his/her decision.

@SonicTheHedgehog My preferred author is Isaac Asimov.

@RegDwightАΑA The only way would be deleting the closed answers, but that should be done if the question is not duplicate of another question. In the other cases, I think the OP should notice his question has been closed, which means I would keep a closed question for at least a day, except the question is blatantly a very bad question such as rants, attacks to the community behind the site, etc.

@SonicTheHedgehog My native languages are Italian, and Eastern Lombard.

@Carlo_R. It has been closed because 5 users voted to close it, and I guess they closed it because the question has been asked basing on something that is not objectively noted.

@Shog9 I am already a moderator on a different Stack Exchange site. I am used to the new tool since the times I was a temporary moderator.

@RegDwightАΑA Yes, it makes sense to have a blog. I have read some posts in the past, and I found them interesting. The blog is a perfect complement to the main site, and the chat.

@Shog9 I just hang up.

@GraceNote Thank you for reading me. As usual, good luck to the candidates, and best wishes everybody.

@SonicTheHedgehog Yes, I do.

@TimStone It really depends, both on the user (how willing they seem to be to adjust their interactions) and on me (how busy I am at the moment). On a good day, I make sure to post a helpful comment on any question I vote to close, and if I see a good question underneath the crud, I will ruthlessly edit it into shape. But if the user starts getting personal, I will drop him like a hot potato and let community votes take care of it.

@GraceNote I would thwack him, naturally.

@RegDwightАΑA I see the interesting questions getting fewer and farther between, coupled with a tendency to close questions rather than improving them. But I may just be having a bad day at work.

@SonicTheHedgehog I don't think I know enough about how the site is run to go around changing it, willy-nilly. I mean, there must be more thwacking of puns, but that kind of goes without saying.

@TimStone Since meta is where we ask for feedback, I think we ought to take it into consideration. In other words, it doesn't really matter whether meta participation is representative. Yes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. This is a fact of life. Don't like it? Start squeaking.

@SonicTheHedgehog Thwack.

@RegDwightАΑA My definition of "very low quality" is something that doesn't belong on this site - doesn't answer the question, doesn't even acknowledge that there's a question being asked, just posting for the sake of posting. That said, if the flag brings something to my attention that I would not have otherwise noticed - an answer that should be a comment, for instance - I'd probably mark the flag as helpful.

@TimStone First, I'd go find something else to do. If I still felt strongly about it the next day, I'd post a meta topic.

@SonicTheHedgehog Oh, that's too easy. Book = The Curse of Chalion, author = Lois McMaster Bujold.

@RegDwightАΑA Yes, I think the general reference close reason is way overused. To be general reference, the answer must be found in a source that is (1) generally available (so the OED doesn't qualify), and (2) is specifically designed to answer that type of question. In practice, this means a dictionary or thesaurus, and in certain limited cases, an encyclopedia. It emphatically does not mean Google. A question that shows no research should be downvoted, not closed as general reference.

@SonicTheHedgehog British accents can be sexy, but their food sucks.

@TimStone Mods have tools that make it much easier to moderate the site. Or so I gather. Also, mods can undo community actions, which sounds like a terrible thing to do, but is sometimes necessary.

@SonicTheHedgehog Thwacking.

@Cerberus Hell no.

@Shog9 What @KitFox said.

@SonicTheHedgehog More thwacking.

@RegDwightАΑA My strengths are definitely not in the evangelism arena, but for the immediate problem of closed questions cluttering up the front page, perhaps that ought to be solved on the engine level by hiding closed questions on the active questions list (the page you get if you just go to english.stackexchange.com). Naturally, such questions should still appear on the Newest Questions list. The root problem will hopefully be reduced if the ELL site goes live.

@SonicTheHedgehog English, in terms of what language I use the most and have the most education in. Hungarian, in terms of what language I learned first.

@Shog9 Brass knuckles? There are brass knuckles? Where? Sheesh, nobody tells me anything. I use the other tools fairly extensively.

@RegDwightАΑA It's definitely a step in the right direction. It will probably reduce ELU's traffic, but I don't think it will kill us.

@EvanCarroll I'm really having trouble imagining what sort of worthwhile conspiracy Stackexchange could possibly be involved in. "Oh my god, this answer on ELU says 'already' is an adverb when it's clearly an adjective! And when I try to correct it, they revert the answer! Clearly, the world is going to end!"

@SonicTheHedgehog I think the best way to help this site along is to ask good questions and give good answers. I'm sure the added workload of site moderation can make this difficult, but it's what I plan to try to do.

@RegDwightАΑA mu?

@Shog9 Depends. If I see a salvageable question somewhere underneath the muck, and if I have the time, I'll edit it. If I vote to close, I do my best to post a helpful comment about why. As a mod, I imagine I'd do less of the former (for lack of time) and more of the latter.

@RegDwightАΑA Gah, the blog. I tried, I really did. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. In fact, it still seems like such a good idea - on paper. In practice, I really don't know whether it's worth the effort to try to continue it.

@EvanCarroll History proves that a representative democracy has an infinitely higher chance of actually working.

@Shog9 Hang up, note the caller ID info, and notify SE in the morning.

@RegDwightАΑA I assume this doesn't include books I've read to the niece? Timeless by Gail Carriger, finished oh, about three weeks ago.

@SonicTheHedgehog Yes, I do.