The Water Cooler

Q: For protected questions, require local reputation to comment

5:02 AM

@DarkCygnus For some users, Stack Exchange starts a timer as soon as they start reading the answer. If they don't post a comment by the time the timer expires, their device will explode and they will die. Hence the urge to comment without bothering to read the complete answer.

2

DarkCygnus

5:24 AM

Seems like Monica is ahead of us (again):

48

Questions are occasionally protected when they start attracting unwanted input -- because the question was on the Hot Network Questions list, because it hit Reddit, because it's about a hot-button topic that everybody wants to weigh in on... Protection allows a community to prevent some stuff tha...

feature-request comments protected-questions association-bonus

Oh, this would also be very useful:

129

Q: Can we get a comments only lock?

Currently moderators have the ability to lock posts, for any of the following reasons: Content dispute (~ edit wars), Historical significance (to prevent great but off topic questions from being deleted), and Offtopic comments The locks can be applied for an hour, a day, a week, or permanentl...

feature-request comments locked-questions

9:42 AM

I am tempted to recommend that we get rid of publicly visible comments altogether. The purpose of comments is to "suggest improvement" to the author, so a private notification to the author should be adequate.

And then the author gets spammed with multiple comments all asking the same questions. Or just gets spammed with nonsense/abuse/actual answers because people knows it's not visible and therefore can't be flagged until the author themselves flag it.

@Snow Good point.

And if people short-cut the whole "post an answer" thing and answer well in a comment, then you lose the value of that answer in favor of lesser "answers" that people on stack post. Additionally, question authors here aren't generally established users so won't know the flagging system - they'll just read the comments in their email and walk away when they get/don't get what they want.

9:58 AM

There are plenty of self moderation alternatives available, if they really want to do it. One suggestion I had made somewhere on meta a couple of years ago was to allow only one comment per user per author. (If you want to post another comment, you delete the old one first.) That should cut down the back and forth arguments by a lot. Although I agree there are some scenarios where that kind of back and forth would be useful, but those are less frequent.

And that would screw up places where a user responds to someone else's comment as a comment. When the first comment was deleted, the reply would then be out of context. You'd end up with an awful hopscotch of meaningless/disparate comments.

10:44 AM

@Snow No, you wouldn't respond to comments, you would just "mark as done" or "reject" the suggestion.

Additionally there could be a daily comment cap, as well as an overall comment cap.

A fundamental change to the platform and to the workflow that people have used for years just won't happen.

Besides, why do we care if the second comment goes out of context if the first comment is deleted? You are supposed to respond to the post, not to the previous comment.

Where there is a will, there is a way. The SE guys just don't want to fix the problem and keep making excuses.

Guys, I need some advice. This recruitment company has been ignoring my unsubscribe requests, both through the (concealed) link on their emails and through replies with subject "unsubscribe". Every time they send it from a different recruiter out of their small army. Is there anything I can do about this? I live in Belgium

Like, is there an equivalent of the ECC for employment-related matters? Can I report their emails to an antispam organization? can I go full on GDPR on them?

Just block the emails from that account.

gnat

10:50 AM

Sorry, that's not clear enough a message. I want them to feel it

gnat

^^^ simply collapsing all comments by default could work I think

@Nzall Why do you care? Just mark their mails as spam a couple of times, then their mails will automatically go to spam from there on. You can also set up a filtering rule.

also, it would require me to block their domain, and I'm not sure how to do that with my current provider

Auto forward the emails to their manager. But at the end of the day, it's easier just to block the emails and forget about it.

@Nzall What for?

What do you want to gain by making them "feel" it?

10:53 AM

It's less about making them feel it and more about setting some sort of example, in hopes that it also becomes clear to other companies that it's not an okay thing to do

but on my own I probably won't be able to do that

Being vindictive won't be at all helpful in the future if you end up needing their services at a later date, or you deal with a new agency where the agent used to work for the company you're now being vindictive against.

@Nzall How about just letting it go?

It's also possible that their email processing isn't working. So pick up the phone, call them and ask them personally to remove your email address from their distribution list.

And do it nicely. Don't yell at them.

@Nzall Why do you want to burn your life force to teach them a lesson? Why does this matter to you so much?

@Snow Trust me, I've worked with multiple recruitment companies in the past. In the end, they're worse than useless for someone in my situation. I have limited mobility so can only work nearby, and I have a disability that makes it harder for me to work at a company that doesn't implement proper project management

@Snow I'm concerned that giving them my phone number will only encourage them to bother me on that as well

@MaskedMan More out of principle. There are rules around the kind of mails they send, and if they don't follow those rules, they should feel the consequences

11:00 AM

@Nzall What sort of consequences?

@MaskedMan That's for the relevant organization for those rules to decide

even if it's just a slap on the wrists for them

@Nzall and what if they decide that there won't be any consequences? What do you want to do then?

Why should they follow your principles and your rules?

@MaskedMan because I do this not based on my principles and rules, but on that of the Belgium email marketing rules, described here (in Dutch) webkampioen.be/2016/05/email-marketing-wetgeving-belgie

and English

dlapiperdataprotection.com/…

especially notice the last part

@Nzall OK so complain to the authority who made those rules that those guys are not following the rules.

> Furthermore, all electronic messages must contain a clear reference to the recipient's right to opt out, including means to exercise this right electronically.

11:07 AM

If I see someone violating a rule (traffic rules, for example), I will complain to the relevant authority (traffic police in this case) and let them deal with it. I don't see any reason to personally chase the offender and teach them a lesson.

@MaskedMan Neither do I if I really think about it. The thing is, I just want them to fully unsubscribe me, and not this kind of "oh, you're only removed from a single list, but not the rest"

and if it takes me complaining to a relevant authority to do that, then so be it

and if that complaining leads to them getting fined for it, that's just the icing

@Nzall I suggest that you decide clearly what your actual goal is, whether that is to stop them spamming you or to teach them a lesson. Once you know what your actual goal is, it will be clear what you have to do do next.

@MaskedMan My main goal right now is to make it so they no longer send me recruitment mails

@Nzall What does that actually mean? Do you want to prevent them from sending mails, or do you just want to avoid having to deal with their mails? For the latter, just blocking their mails (and forwarding to their manager as Snow suggested) should be sufficient. For the former, you may have to complain to the authorities.

@MaskedMan I'd rather solve it rather than use technical solutions to ignore it

11:21 AM

OK so now that it is clear, I think you know what to do next.

@MaskedMan I think I found the site I need to report it at. I'll try and do this at home in the coming days

12:55 PM

Good day, Sir Richard of Snark. Dilly, Dilly.

@Snow Good day to you Sir.

I'm awaiting the bell that signals the end of the day.

Another day with some odd questions.

@Snow yeah.... been a strange crop as of late

1:13 PM

It was me late wife's birthday yesterday. I spoke with her parents on the phone yesterday (as I always do) and told them that she wasn't getting any older, which I guess is true in a way.

@Snow :( I haven't lost a wife, so I can't relate on that level, but I do know loss, so I can empathize. My condolences. One thing I know is that it gets easier, but it doesn't go away.

It's been 7 years now.

@Snow my mother passed away over 20 years ago (she was young) and I still get sad on her birthday.

Yep. I totally get that.

1:29 PM

Hello folks

greetings human.

Good day, Nofel. Hope you're well.

I just had to change my password today. I wonder how long it's going to be before I forget it three times in a row and lock my account.

@Snow I use this method so I don't forget. {PREFIX}{PASSWORD}{SUFFIX} I never change the {PASSWORD} section and just update either the prefix or the suffix.

Most people here generally just increment a number at the end.

Man, another odd question "Can I sub-let my company provided parking space?"

@Snow If I had answered that the way I wanted to, I'd get a month's vacation from TWP.

1:45 PM

Part of your answer would correctly spell "duckwit" by any chance?

Grr I am facing another situation where IPS is the right place to ask the question, but the coomunity there makes me more afraid of asking the question, than it should

@IDrinkandIKnowThings IPS has cleaned up it's act in a big way in recent weeks. Some of the people there who were harsh have quit.

And I will get warned about this probably. But I shouldnt I am not bashing IPS. I am pointing out a failure in the engine

Catija?

I have a couple irrational fears I need to overcome. I dont want to be lectured about how my fears are irrational. I know they are irrational. That does not solve the fact that I have the fear and the fear sends me into panic attacks

@IDrinkandIKnowThings well, you could ask us here.

And there's nothing to stop you from asking anonymously.

1:54 PM

I have a fear of letting my roots grow to deep in the ground. I subconsiously (or one of my personalities intentionally, and someone pseudo secretly) sabatoge efforts that would put deeper roots in the ground, and put my self in situations where the best option is to remove those deep roots.

aka "commitment issues"?

That self sabotage affects my entire life. And knowing that I am doing it is not enough to stop it. And its not that I dont want to stop it, it may be that I just dont want it to stop enough. '

Its more physical things

with unlimited money and unlimited space I would be a hoarder

I know that.

I think that this self sabotage is my method preventing that.

but the other side effects are more pain that my 45 year old mind and body can take

NM My problems are too much for an SE Question

Sigh. Everyone on the internet is younger than I am.

but it really shouldnt be if people would just answer the question asked

maybe physically I feel like an old person mentally

But I feel like I should be able to ask "What can i do, to force a change on myself with out having to increase the pain level to where I am willing to act, because it is less painful to act than to not.

You probably need to speak with someone face-to-face rather than try and ask on the internet - especially on a platform that you know intimately. Use a professional.

2:00 PM

they want money

@Snow use lastpass

no password worry

That's generally how it works, you're going to get better advice than here on the internet from people who don't really understand your issues.

I dont want advice

thats the thing

I want to have people suggest techniques they think might work because they have seen it applyed in similar ways.

@Snow I used to do that until some "smart" website saw through the trick and gave me an error message "your password is too similar to your previous password", so then I "increment" a letter and a special character in the password as well.

Someone here on SE Today knows the key for that... unless P != NP

2:04 PM

I don't believe that SE is the place for you to gain real answers on this kind of thing.

@MaskedMan If they website is tracking my password in a way they can compare it to previous passwords other than == comparison, then I am not satisfied that their security is sufficient to use

@Snow And I believe it should be the perfect place to get that answer

@IDrinkandIKnowThings I agree, but some websites are unavoidable. :(

@MaskedMan I use LastPass for every website I go to - each has a totally different and complex password. On my work laptop, I use a simpler password because I type it in 20 times a day (and it's never out of my sight).

@MaskedMan And yet we survived pre1995

@MaskedMan This is dead on how it feels sometimes. Especially if i feel condecended towards in the answer.

@IDrinkandIKnowThings I've dealt with many of the same issues. Let me think on it.

2:08 PM

When I get to that point i have to close the browser and walk away

Walking away from SE for a month is a good thing to do - I'd encourage any regular/addicted user to do it. It gets you back in the world again.

@IDrinkandIKnowThings IPS has not yet matured to the point where it's effective. Although, the virtue signaling has gone down considerably.

7

A: 2017 Year in Review

Irresponsible comments influencing voters on answers: You write an answer covering multiple aspects of the issue in reasonable detail. Minutes later, someone writes a comment, "Downvoting because you start by suggesting X, but it that would lead to issue Y." Now, you were aware of the issue Y w...

2:23 PM

@Snow The problem is its like a freaking hammer. it can be used to fix so many different situations :p

@MaskedMan Thats the thing about communication. If you communicate your message the wrong way the people who really need it most end up fixated on the choices addressing the problems, and the grammar used. Which is why comments should alway in every single case only be used to suggest improvements, not to criticize

Because as soon as you use a comment to criticize you remove its usefullness as a tool to communicate important information... like ways you could improve the answer.

Q: Why are double quotes shown only for the first element?

@IDrinkandIKnowThings I think SE could implement a badge for not logging in for 100 consecutive days. :)

@gnat Today is a special day. SO has hit HNQ! :P

15

I am wondering why the browser shows double open quotes only for the first element. The second element has single quotes instead. a::before { content: open-quote; } <a href="http://www.google.com">Google</a> <br> <a href="http://www.amazon.com">Amazon</a>

html css pseudo-element css-content

2:45 PM

@MaskedMan bronze for doing it, silver for getting it either immediately before or after a 100 day online badge

and gold for making a sandwich

gnat

@MaskedMan yeah, but these lucky folks will have their question moved by a system away from hot list in just a few hours. If only it worked similarly for our questions...

3:04 PM

@gnat and they're not plagued by all the rude comments either.

3:43 PM

Rep capped today.

4:08 PM

I hate when the guru guy speaks so loud

the whole office can hear him

scolding me

@Nofel that's unprofessional

well that is power of preivilleged

who knows way more than u

"Ur problem is u dont listen, what were u doing first month, ur doing it now"

he is know for his loud and directness

The IT support guy answer is now my 2nd top voted answer. I don't know what to make of this. :|

5:39 PM

What have we here? 'add a comment' on IPS is now replaced by 'suggest improvements'. Gotta check if sun will rise in the west tomorrow.

@MaskedMan oh yeah, things came to a head with the nastiness in the comments. we started flagging the hell out of things, and the powers that be got sick of it.

5:54 PM

@RichardU I am now going to start flagging unwanted comments there as well. Now it just got more "official" that useless comments are not welcome.

6:05 PM

@MaskedMan Good. They're finally taking things seriously over there.

Q: Apologies and parting notes

Hmm, all of those "interesting remarks" hurled at me for criticism of IPS look Hilarious in Hindsight when their regular users make a ragequit meta post, and people actually sympathize with the ragequit (including a couple of SE employees).

26

I've given this a lot of thought over the last month or so. Initially this was going to be a heated rant about how awful the minority experience on Interpersonal Skills is, and how that's the reason I'm leaving, but if I'm really honest with myself, there's a lot more to it than that. That's not...

discussion moderation deleted-answers deleted-comments

@MaskedMan I wouldn't count on all of those opinions being Entirely sincere

@MaskedMan and as the saying goes, "a man about to tell the truth should keep one foot in the stirrup". My motives, however remain As they have always been

@MaskedMan and to that end, I make sure I take care to post carefully

DarkCygnus

6:54 PM

Morning all

well, actually is noon over here so, good afternoon, lol

Cheers!

7:20 PM

whats up @RichardU

seems like its been a long time