The Water Cooler

@MisterPositive You could find out which new users voted, but not for whom. Voting gives you a badge, and if you correlate with badge award time, you can see who voted in this election

@avazula Good to hear. Lots of folks live paycheck to paycheck which makes the pressure GREAT.

12:17 PM

@avazula assoc is 101, voting is 150.

@Magisch I mean, that's so low!

@Magisch Good to know...

@MisterPositive Yeah. I've been freaked out by money my whole life. I admire them for being able not to stress too much.

:)

personally I think letting the assoc bonus count for the voting requirements is more than a little insane

@Magisch That's quite a lot of time to spend to find out who cast a vote :p

12:19 PM

@avazula I like a nice 6 month cash reserve

@motosubatsu I think the voting requirement is low, but I am sure its the same as it was for the last election, so....

@avazula also, you know if someone voted for you, but not the position

354 people have voted so far

+/- a couple

@MisterPositive yeah I think it's standardized

@Magisch link?

Over a week after the election ends you can collate this data in SEDE

@MisterPositive workplace.stackexchange.com/help/badges/81?page=6

12:20 PM

I think last year it was 480 somthing

@MisterPositive Our careers are too fresh to have saved that much money, but it sounds like a nice number

@MisterPositive Really? So few voters?

Check for badges awarded in the past 20 hours

@Magisch nice...

@avazula I think so.

If you still want to when this is over, ping me a week after election end and I'll write you a query finding all election voters by rep in aggregate

@Mag @Mis workplace.stackexchange.com/help/badges/81/constituent

So far there's a lot of voters with quite a low rep

@Magisch You're the SQL savior ;)

12:22 PM

@RichardU may be right. I have not even seen most of the folks that voted.

@MisterPositive it does seem to be a trend that for whatever reason elections bring a load of people out of the woodwork that you never see otherwis

haha

which feels rather counter productive to the goal of a community electing it's own moderators

that's true ...

@motosubatsu Everyone who is eligible to vote gets a network wide push notification asking them to vote

12:24 PM

@motosubatsu BINGO my main point - which is why this may be more of a popularity contest than an election.

There is literally a ping that reads "Please cast your vote in the 2019 The Workplace moderator election" that anyone who has >= 150 rep on TWP gets

BUT - that is how it was last year too, so whatever happens I can live with.

@Magisch Good point, I remember getting one for SO some time back

5826 +/- a couple users got that ping

@MisterPositive This didn't use to be the case, but back then elections were near solely decided by site regulars. That was deemed to be undemocratic

I'm curious, are you candidates, allowed to cast votes?

@avazula Yep

12:27 PM

ooh, okay

@Magisch oh I know.. which is how you get the weirdness of people whose only contributions on the site in the last 5 years have been to vote in the various elections

@avazula yes

@motosubatsu I'm that at some sites. When I get a ping to vote, I always do. I read a bit, read the candidates answers, if it's close sometimes examine their contrib a bit

@Magisch which is like saying it's undemocratic that I can't vote in the US Presidential elections

@Magisch I think anyone with a decent about of rep on a particular site should get to vote. 150 ain't it, but again it is what it is.

@motosubatsu Fair point.

To be honest, I am just happy that my Q and A has a positive rating ;-)

it'll be interesting to see the tally next tuesday

12:29 PM

@Magisch it will be indeed.

I am mainly active HERE. I don't think that helps me much.

I do use SO, but not active there.

@RichardU Sadly I did not get to watch the Expanse last night

That maths question really hurt my head

he already did the maths

what was the question

^I'm sure this user is a great person.. I just don't see how they can possibly have any concept of what this site needs in a moderator

@motosubatsu Moderator qualities are SE universal

@motosubatsu yep

@Magisch I don't agree with that at all LOL

there's a very specific kind of person you look for. A moderator on TWP could with some adjustment also moderate any other SE site

12:36 PM

@Magisch I disagree.. some are certainly but if they were just universal we wouldn't have stack-specific mods

not all mods task is universal, but somes are

@Magisch but there is some adjustment required, and in some cases that's decidedly non trivial

@motosubatsu agreed

I think you're doing our existing mods a serious disservice

(that was for @Magisch)

@motosubatsu if the questionnaire is any gage, he will be the next mod.

12:42 PM

@MisterPositive quite possibly.. and if that is the outcome then that's the outcome and I wish the successful candidate the best in doing the "job" whoever that may be

@motosubatsu Same here.

@motosubatsu I'm not. I think moderator qualities are quite universal

our existing mods are excellent at their jobs

@MisterPositive I would be honored of course, but I'm not confident it will be

@Magisch On this point, let's agree to disagree.

In any case, I'll be satisfied with the election results, as long as either you or dark cygnus make it instead

@Magisch With all due respect, if the other guy wins, I will literally crap a gold brick. Hey that isn't a bad thing, then I will be rich!

12:46 PM

@Magisch I don't think the fourth candidate has much chance ... they didn't even answer the moderation questions

Thats why I'd be unsatisfied with the results then

@avazula I think you are most likely correct.

I'm not confident in their ability to do the job (they might have it, I just have no way of knowing), but I know with you both that you could do it

@MisterPositive warning: Seeing the first episode of the expanse will both break your heart, and get you addicted

@Magisch I will agree to strongly disagree with your asessment

@RichardU Going to see Alita tonight, so there goes another one more day of me waiting for the expanse.

12:50 PM

Alita was good

I watched it Sunday I think?

@MisterPositive I'm going to try to go this weekend, if my SO lets me out of the house.

@RichardU no foul in that :P

@Twyxz The reviews were concerning, and they adjusted her eyes a bit to make her look not creepy. Whole family is going. On Tuesday at AMC tickets are 5 bucks.

:-)

@Twyxz beside awesome motion capture, is the movie worth it ?

@Magisch My disappointment is perhaps the worst kept secret on SE.

12:52 PM

I enjoyed it :P

@RichardU ROTFLMAO

@MisterPositive Alita seems to be another movie trashed by the critics and loved by the audience.

Actually now I think about it, probably could've been better but it was exciting I guess :/

@Twyxz I will share my thoughts tomorrow :-)

@Twyxz I think we have become far too critical and cynical these days. We shold start to allow ourselves the privilege of just sitting back and enjoying things.

12:54 PM

I'm going to be the first person in history to win National lottery and the Euromillions in the same week

That reminds me, I need to track down some G1 Transformers DVDs, along with GI Joe

@RichardU This line of thought is why I don't like dramas. Life is dramatic enough. I want some slap stick comedy or some good ole but whipppings

It could be this week, who knows

@Twyxz THUMBSS UP!

@Twyxz Fingers crossed!

12:55 PM

@MisterPositive When I saw my kids on Christmas, my eldest commented that "daddy doesn't laugh anymore." I took that to heart.

@RichardU :(

@RichardU life is too short.

Our children can be fonts of wisdom. this year, I'm going to lighten up. Both physically and mentally. I've already lost about 10 lbs. going to invest in some silliness as well.

@RichardU eh

Although, quoting the joker seems to be frowned upon here for some reason. I got a two day kickout with no explanation, just one post with that joker quote in my profile delted.

12:58 PM

Iirc suspensions always come with a mod message

unless it was a chat suspension

@Magisch it was a chat kickout

yeah then only the moderator who did it knows

So, so far the most interesting kickouts I've gotten for chat have been posting book titles, and quoting the joker.

@Magisch yes, and a two day kickout for no apparent reason adds to my disappointment

I can't say that it's unexpected though.

They say you can't argue with results, but what kind of defeatist attitude is that? If you stick with it, you can argue with ANYTHING.

@Kepotx as someone diagnosed with oppositional defiance, I can attest to that.

{sigh} I don't have issues, I have the whole freaking subscription!

@Twyxz if you want your answers to take off, bring them in with a good opening sentence, then tell a story, and use examples. An answer needs to be more than factually correct, it has to be interesting and have... for the lack of a better term, "moral of the story.

1:11 PM

It depends what you're optimizing for

if you're optimizing for HNQ upvotes, yes. Tell a interesting story that appeals to the common moral values of the audience, bring some snappyness into it, end with a strong statement.

1:24 PM

If it counts, since the euro's have been above 100 million. I've put in ten pound per draw and I have a second job

1:41 PM

@Magisch It's not optimizing. It's being heard. If you are 100% factually correct, but don't present it well, nobody listens.

@RichardU That is also very true

@Magisch and you do not have to appeal to the moralistic flavor of the day. Going against the grain, as Kilis does, also gets attention

@RichardU Yes, but Kilisi isn't optimizing for upvotes

Kilisi is optimizing for giving the best advice

@Magisch as am I

Never said you weren't

Never meant you weren't, either.

1:55 PM

@Magisch I was more or less just observing what seems to be well received. I think one thing that appeals to people in many posts is sincerity. The "I'm going to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear" is refreshing to many.

We now live in an age where the truth is buried so deep beneath efforts to be "inclusive" and "diverse" and to not offend that few people feel comfortable saying what they mean.

And if you cannot say what you mean, you cannot mean what you say.

Just look at the periodic pronoun rampages that go on.

4:44 PM

morning all

in 2019 The Workplace Moderator Election Chat, 2 mins ago, by IDrinkandIKnowThings

@enderland GM how goes things

@IDrinkandIKnowThings been a while :)

sup @enderland !!

How's the family going

@Magisch This isn't true, by the way; the workload on different sites is very different for a site like Workplace vs Stack Overflow

@enderland workloads, yes. But the same basic tenents apply

I know the workplace has more comments to deal with, and like other partly subjective sites needs more skill there, but a moderator still needs the same core qualities

I think anyways

How is she a colleague? This is seriously bad advice from someone whom I voted for as moderator :-( @rkeet the top 2 voted answers are correct to assume harassment and stalking. How else can you describe giving a present, no matter how small, to some whom you have never even said "good morning to"? sounds creepy to me. Start with "good morning" and see how that goes, but a gift?! Urgh! Just try & see it from her point of view. Imagine someone doing that to your sister (if you have one) - what would you think of her story? — Mawg 7 hours ago

ugh... it's really discouraging when users don't read the whole answer

4:52 PM

You would probably make a fine mod on SO or even bicycles.SE, given some time to learn and willingness @enderland

or <insert literally any other SE site>

@DarkCygnus welcome to SE :P

This one even suggested to "start with good morning"... something I actually wrote in the answer! :(

But, I learned from this one. I swapped the order of things mentioned in the answer so there is no room for misunderstanding

@DarkCygnus kiddo needs to learn to sleep better :-)

well... I think that is part of the first months/year

not a parent, though, but... it's what I've heard

Yeah. Our kiddo rarely cries though which is a huge blessing. So all things considered it's not that bad... and tbh I don't have the biology to feed him soo... I get off easy now that he's not in our room ;-)

@Magisch nah I value my sanity too much to be an SO mod. Plus for me, the community building aspects of moderating were way more enjoyable than "just" processing flags

5:04 PM

I mean SO has both kinds too

just that they have to navigate the sharkpit that is meta.SO

It's not really easy to build community on a site that large tbh

individually you don't make much impact (if any)

yvette has had a massive impact since her election

a lot of that by making cases to meta

@MisterPositive I just cast a VtC. "Well deserved" is obviously "primarily opinion based" :-) — enderland 1 min ago

is it trolling if I troll myself? :o

3

@enderland Its just borrowing someone elses bridge I think :)

5:28 PM

@enderland Its definitely funny regardless!

6:06 PM

@enderland good to see you around, I hope the family is doing well. If you need some daddy tips, just ask. The first one is always an adventure. The next one always throws you for a loop though, because you think the first one has tried every trick in the book, the next one writes her own book.

@Magisch if moderator qualities were universal, we wouldn't have cross-board conflicts. The different boards have very different tones to them. For example, I have not been dinged once at worldbuilding, but here, a simple quote from the joker can get me kicked for two days. Still wondering why...

@RichardU conflict always happens when a suffiicently big group of people intersects

It is perfectly possible to have heated conflict between two appropriately qualified people both acting in good faith. Diversity of opinions...

@Magisch Some of my best friends are radical feminists, a lesbian minister, two socialists, and numerous liberals. You can have diverse opinions and respect at the same time. Conflict is not inevitable.

So long as everyone feels respected, no problem

I didn't say it's inevitable, just possible

I've been a moderator on a few sites, and it's like herding cats on the best of days

kindergarten cop on some of the less than better days

@DarkCygnus It's frustrating when users put in the comments, a "whudabout" mentioning something you covered three times in your answer.

and people wonder why I am cranky.

what was worse is that the user even phrased it more like "And I voted voted for you as a mod..."

borderline rude

6:19 PM

@DarkCygnus yeah, I flagged that as unkind

no need for that. I went through that nonsense last year, and I'm not going to stand for it happening to anyone else.

@DarkCygnus Thats a shitty lever to use at someone

@Magisch I flagged it, can we burninate it?

thanks for the support guys

We may be competitors in the election, but I still really like both of you

I actually flagged my whole post for mod, as it is getting chatty, not to mention the rudeness

@Magisch I appreciate that :)

6:31 PM

@DarkCygnus The bright side is you get practice dealing with the joys of moderation regardless of what happens in the election ;-)

@enderland yayy

@enderland sticking around to see that your shoes are filled by a worthy soul?

:D

Big shoes to fill I'm afraid

@RichardU Hah no, happened to see the meta post ;-)

Decided I should log in and acknowledge it

@enderland we really miss you, but what a wonderful reason to be away :D

6:53 PM

Can someone please help with these comments on a post? They're getting a bit out of hand.....workplace.stackexchange.com/a/129372/47407

I feel like me trying to help there is just contributing to the issue....

hello @Anoplexian do you mean about some comments specifically? (If so, can you share the link to them?)... I'll check the post

only 42 more comments? pffft not even 100 yet! :P

Uh

How?

I shared the answer? xD

click the "x minutes ago" besides the comment

then copy link on your browser

it's a link to the comment

but yeah, lots of comments!

@DarkCygnus which of the 42 comments should we link to you?

6:55 PM

I think that what should be done is to move them to chat

Yes please.

@Anoplexian damn good answer, BTW.

@IDrinkandIKnowThings I was asking Anoplexian if there was a specific comment that was problematic, or if it was all the comments themselves

@DarkCygnus 42 comments is a problem by itself

@DarkCygnus it's an avalanche of comments, that many should never styay

6:56 PM

@Anoplexian well, that is something only a Mod can do, so I'll try help by flagging for mod

stay

Specifically, a few by Demonblack saying he's just there to argue (um...) and then the replies aren't really needed past that.

I have.

ROFLMAO!

2

@IDrinkandIKnowThings true Mr. Tyrion

6:57 PM

@IDrinkandIKnowThings Yes...this has evolved into chat, or Enders approach works too LOL

Order 66

@Anoplexian If you poke at Lightness....

yes

Execute order 66 now!

( I cannot do it )

Yeah, that user Lightness is a high rep from SO, but likes to come here to stir things...

has some good answers though

7:00 PM

but I've notice an attitude that tends to lean towards just arguing

@DarkCygnus yes, LRIO despises me. Good answers though

@DarkCygnus BOOOM!! This too

So, which super villain do you most identify with?

Lex Luthor

or Thanos

how is that for range baby!

7:03 PM

@MisterPositive I've always had an affinity for Sinestro. I even have a Sinestro corps ring that my SO bought for me.

@RichardU Edward Nigma

Dr. Evil ... heh jk

@IDrinkandIKnowThings Yes sir.

@DarkCygnus you are not evil enough. You are semi-evil. You are quasi-evil. You are the margarine of evil. You are the diet Coke of evil. Just one calorie.

@RichardU Dont hold back, tell him how you really feel :p

7:05 PM

@RichardU He also said NUKE it from orbit....

I saw that in the theatres, and I literally fell out of my seat from laughing so hard.

@RichardU seems like someone wants to pay a visit to my sharks....

Perhaps the quote I'll never forget is: "Oh, Dr. Evil... I always knew you were crazy... but now, I can see your nuts"

@DarkCygnus My favorite was his speech to the family therapy group. "He claimed to have invented the question mark. Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy"

"Oh.. I thought you said A lot of..... never mind :) "

damn, now I want to see the moves!

9:45 PM

@enderland welcome back and congratulations on the family addition, hopefully everyone is happy and healthy

@Kilisi ah, you missed all the fun

@RichardU what fun?

@Kilisi of enderland being here, but at least Joe dropped in. Hi @JoeStrazzere

It is always an honor and a privilege to see you here

Joe Strazzere

Hi, Just passing through. No need to get all mushy... ;)

hehe, we can swap baby stories.... mine is 5 weeks old now

I've installed an aircon in his room and built him a crib, both fun little DIY projects

9:51 PM

@Kilisi ah, Gratz to you Sir, if I didn't say it before. I can't think of a better father to teach a young life how to get out into the world and fight.

ahaha... I got lots of kids, they practice against each other... this is just the latest

@Kilisi ah, then you know, all the older ones teach them their tricks, so that the youngest is always a master trickster.

My brother was even more mischievous than I

yep, some truth in that... trickster or general scapegoat for the rest

@Kilisi we got repeatedly pantsed by both our girls.

The oldest is smart in her own way, but not very sneaky. The youngest isn't nearly as smart in terms of raw intelligence, but she can scheme like a grandmaster chess player.

My youngest brother could get away with anything.

My kids are all well behaved... but there are no no-smacking laws in this country

and we keep them busy with chores, it's not that hard

9:58 PM

@Kilisi my eldest fears a daddy lecture more than anything else. I make her tell me EXACTLY what she did and what was wrong with it.

Daddy loses his temper much less frequently than mom, but when he does....