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6:00 PM
@bwarner You don't have to refuse to answer; you can nudge people in the right direction with comments.
"Here's one example: http://..."
Now, if the answer is "No, it just can't possibly be done" I can see the argument for that
 
FWIW, the question only needs 2 more reopen votes.
 
I understand that not everyone will be happy just knowing a single example, and will want to know all of them, but we've at least been able to satisfy a few more users without causing chaos by allowing list answers.
 
I don't see what the point is of allowing questions if they have to be closed.
2
 
@bwarner "Are the awesome games with awesome physics?" "Yes! Try Portal." "Obviously! Go get Half Life 2" "Naturally. Have you tried Crayon Physics?"
 
That's my point, say "Yes, they exist. Here's an example. Here's how to find other examples". And then close the question before everyone starts adding their own examples and voting on how cool they are.
 
6:02 PM
We're back to one item per answer.
 
So I guess the question is, can we be flexible enough to allow or disallow questions based on the number of actual answers that exist.
 
Let's not get too distracted by general cases, we already had a few months of that last year, remember?
 
58
A: What should be done with questions asking for game recommendations?

Bruce Connor This policy has been withdrawn from the running Due to the overwhelming quantity of flaws that outweigh the positives of the policy Allow game-rec as Community Wiki if they are specific enough to only have a few answers, it is now withdrawn as an option. These flaws include but are not li...

 
@bwarner Again, I just don't get it. That doesn't make sense. Sure, I suppose it's somewhat helpful to the asker, but it: 1) requires lots of moderation on a tag that definitely grew out of control and 2) reflects poorly and inconsistently on our site.
 
@Mana You're going to close them anyway, why not wait until they at least get one answer? And if that answer is "No such thing exists" then what is the need to close it?
 
6:06 PM
@bwarner Can you authoritatively say that "no such thing exists"?
 
I'm not arguing for game-rec, I followed that whole discussion and agreed with the final result. I just don't equate game-rec with "How can I add spies to Civ 5?"
Yes I can. Until someone proves me wrong. ;-)
 
That only means you haven't found any ;)
So is the plan to accept either "No, there's none" and the first "Yes, there's X for example", then deleting the rest and close afterwards?
 
@bwarner His question was less "How can I add spies to Civ 5" and more "What mods will give me spies for Civ 5"
 
"How can I add spies to Civ5" is GameDev btw, so if your question is in between off-topic and, well, off-topic...
 
user30
Time to play BF:BC2, first time in aaages.
 
6:09 PM
I can't believe I just wrote 'you're' for 'your'
Goodbye cruel world
 
@badp nooooooo
we'll do it together
 
OK, he wasn't asking how to create the mod, he was asking for an existing mod.
 
@Mana Can't the question be rewritten to the former, though, not unlike the livestreaming one?
 
no, you must get your gold badge yet!
 
@badp If the question is really just "Does X exist" I think that would be reasonable. If the asker clearly knows that X exists and is just looking for a list, I'm fine with closing the question from the start.
 
6:11 PM
@Grace True, but I'm just afraid that if we did that he would either a) not get mods suggested to him as an answer or b) get told that mods would be how but not be given any specific examples
 
I don't know, closing an accepted, answered question sounds like... nonsense.
 
Hey @grace, thanks for joining in.
 
in which case he wouldn't really be getting what he asked for in the first place
 
@badp: I'm hunting wabbits... huhuhuhuh.
 
@Mana That's just a bad answer though. I find it unlikely that anyone would answer such a question without giving any example to back it up.
 
6:12 PM
@bwarner True.
 
@Mana We've gone over this. A question that asks to solve a problem, if the answer is an existing program/website/mod, it will naturally come as a good answer.
 
So we'd trade one answer per item with one comment per item
 
That would be like answering a question about how something works in a game without listing any source for your answer.
 
@Grace Sorry.
 
This raises the question, do we need an answer at all?
 
6:13 PM
No need to say sorry.
 
We can already 'answer' game-recs via commenting. Just saying.
 
Avoid the whole "does X exist" angle. All game rec are "does X exist".
 
I sometimes try to when closing.
 
Well, I always feel bad when I retread over previously covered ground
 
Bob
0
Q: "Strikethough" on reputation in the user page, when hovering

OakWhen hovering the cursor over someone's reputation number in the user page, instead of an underline appearing below the number like with usual links, the line appears much higher and looks like a strike-through line: (cursor doesn't appear in the screenshot, but it's there, hovering ove...

 
6:14 PM
What matters is what X is. If you're asking for a list of games or game-like items, against our policy. If you're asking for how to solve or alter something, then it's more acceptable barring whatever other modifiers it may run afoul of.
 
Even if that were so, isn't the biggest argument against one answer per item that it screws up reputation and voting? One comment per item seems to have neither of those issues.
 
@bwarner It screws up voting, navigation and the homepage
 
2
Q: What happened to "One 'object' per answer?"

F OakI recently asked this question and I got downvoted and hated and closed into oblivion. I dident even use the 'B' word! I simply asked for people to give one recommendation per answer so people could upvote and talk about each recommendation easier. What gives? An update: I am more confused the...

 
I can live with one comment per answer, but then we don't need an answer to attach the comments to at all. Just comment on the question itself.
 
Remember - the key point about acceptable versus unacceptable list is whether it is itemized or not!
 
6:17 PM
Alternatively, we can try with much discipline etc. to make a list the CW answer way
 
"List of gameplay recording software", answers don't individually solve it. "How do I record gameplay", answers individually solve it.
 
as I'm trying here:
11
Q: What are the small details Windows and Linux users will trip on when using OSX for the first time?

badpLike any other Apple product, OS X prides itself on the little details. When, earlier last week, I used my professor's Mac briefly to give a quick project presentation (mine decided to do a chkdsk at the wrong time, heh), I got the distinct feeling some were put intentionally to make the uninitia...

 
@GraceNote I can live with this policy. I think it makes more sense than equating them all with game-rec
 
still, it requires a lot of discipline. A lot of people don't get CW means "please edit me" and instead comment on the answer etc.; the answer needs a lot of cleaning from unrelated items...
 
wow this channel is active
 
6:18 PM
@bwarner This is why I hate the term mod. It's too overloaded. In other news, I'm going to update the "What is a game rec anyway" posting with a note about lists, and specifically the kind of list that game-rec makes undesirable.
 
@badp I think Grace is right in earlier meta postings that this never seems to work out well
 
basically you might as well be using wikipedia/mediawiki
 
@everyone ...what about... work?
 
@instanceofTom shush you, don't interrupt our meta holy wars with silly stuff such as the real world :P
 
@instanceofTom I'm on lunch break!
 
6:19 PM
I'm enjoying my post-degree break myself
 
Reading week break from university. So chill of my school.
yay!
Firefox fixed its performance issues!
 
@Mana Does everything take a negative time to run now?
 
@Mana All of them? Just like that?
 
well
okay so that was a dumb thing to say geez
 
aww, I did hope for a breakthrough
a computer that truly prevents your every desire!
 
6:21 PM
lol
 
FF4 Beta 7 was practically unusable on my computer
 
who wouldn't want that.
 
Beta 11 is really fast though, I'm impressed
 
all betas of FF4 so far were horrible on Windows and okay on Linux.
and I mean horrible. Two minutes clean startup time with no add ons horrible.
 
OK, so if we're deciding gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/17145/… is OK, can I get 2 more reopen votes?
 
6:22 PM
It'd be our only one open game-rec
Tread carefully.
 
Its NOT a game-rec. I'd edit that tag out.
 
Oh wait. There's 4.
 
@bwarner Propose an edit then
 
turns out it's not 'open:1' but 'closed:0'
 
Oh man, it's @FOAK!!!
hi-fives
 
6:24 PM
suddenly sees the room description Bad @badp slaps
 
@bwarner Wait, wasn't it that we'd make it like "How do I add spies to Civ 5 or something"?
 
@bwarner, man I am seriously becoming disenfranchised with SE sites, they need to stop closing question like the one you linked
 
I can phrase it like that, but then guys all thought that meant how do I create the mod
 
oh okay
 
@instanceofTom it's not out of lack of trying that we deny those questions
we'd love to have more discussiony stuff; it just doesn't work
 
6:26 PM
@instance It was a borderline question, don't take it the wrong way
 
And if you think it does -- "What's your favourite programmers joke?"
 
Well, reopened.
 
I think all of the SE sites (the ones i frequent) have overeager closing issues
@badp whats wrong with that question?
 
@instanceofTom Except the fact that it's not a real question, it's off-topic, it's noise and pointless, it's subjective and argumentative (and badly so), it's open-ended, it was opened and closed countless times, it (probably, I don't have 10k) needed protection and locking because it just couldn't die and now has been deleted?
 
@badp, the following are issues that stem from the overeager closing complex that SE has: it was opened and closed countless times, it (probably, I don't have 10k) needed protection and locking because it just couldn't die and now has been deleted?
 
6:31 PM
"There used to be a really good list of programmer cartoons on stackoverflow but it was deleted."
 
I welcome subjective questions; they must have answers, though, not items or ideas or opinions.
 
as for: it's off-topic, it's noise and pointless, it's subjective and argumentative, if you were on StackOverflow id agree, but the version on Programmers seemed quite fitting to me
 
It's network policy and it just makes sense.
 
if not, what the hell is programmers for besides Stackoverflow lite
 
Yah, sorry, I don't agree that there is a broad overeager closing issue. This was a borderline question, we had a healthy discussion about it, and now it is reopened. That says to me that the system is working how it should.
 
6:32 PM
@instanceofTom here, there's a Programmers mod here that can answer your question better than I can ever hope to
 
@bwarner He's talking about the programmer's joke question
 
@badp, its not a question its an expression of dissatisfaction
 
I was just saying I don't think the question I brought up should be used as an example of some over-closing conspiracy.
 
@instanceofTom StackExchange is not a forum software, it was tried to be abused as one and it didn't work so it was shut down
For discussiony stuff chat works great though!
with enough chatting people
 
lol
i was about to say its delusional to say chat is a valid alternative
audience of <10 most of the time = way less conent/brains/etc
 
6:36 PM
I always thought "just do it in chat" was kind of a rug-under-sweeping stance to take
 
@instance It's admittedly a pretty bad alternative but that doesn't mean the content should be put on sites like programmers.
 
OK, so now I really do have to get to work. Thanks for the discussion everyone
 
Peace @bwarner
 
@bwarner Later
 
waves
 
6:37 PM
instead it we should just pretend the content and desire for it doesnt exist!
 
@instance I'm not saying that either. But that content doesn't belong on programmers either way.
 
@instanceofTom if you don't fight the catch22 problem it will never be solved
if you want more people on chat, chat more
 
Hey all. There's a lot more to Programmers than being SO Lite. We are trying to build a site where questions about software design and subjective issues can be answers in a thoughtful and meaningful way. Picking a "best" programmer cartoon or naming a programmer's cat aren't useful questions, although they may be entertaining.
 
If someone like Joel and Jeff comes along and decides to make a Q&A system that actually works with all of the subjective stuff, power to them. But all I've ever seen on that front is Yahoo Answers.
 
Programmers started out as a place for "stuff that's off-topic on SO" and it evolved out of that during beta precisely because it wasn't a sustainable model for a quality site.
 
6:38 PM
I understand 'whats your favorite programmer blog' not belonging on Stackoverflow, however that question on a traditional forum wouldn't produce nearly as valuable of content as when its in a Q&A rep based site (people need motivation to post)
@Anna, you and i have been back and fourth on this several times
lol
 
@instanceofTom StackOverflow has the right audience to answer that, but it's the same kind of audience that gets alienated by those questions in the first place.
People come on SO (and by extension SE) for a noise-free Q&A, we can't just put the noise in the format of a question and hope they'll then like it.
 
@instanceofTom Yeah, we have. :) I'm just here to state my take on it for future reference.
 
oh really? because post count indicates quite the opposite
 
There is a difference between "subjective" as in "has no right answer" and "subjective" as in "based on different experiences". We try to focus on the latter.
 
Chat puts the noise on a separate place, so that we can share jokes if we really want to, but we don't clutter it up for everybody else in the process.
If your site doesn't chat enough, take it up on meta.
 
6:42 PM
What could make a SE subjective Q&A site not become crap like yahoo answers? Proper execution, and proper community mindset. I don't think that the SE sites are too far technically from being a great execution for it, so whats holding it back is the communities attitude- which is built and reinforced by the scars of a few flubs early in the process
 
The proper community mindset includes keeping the noise down, all together.
 
@instanceofTom That's a great point.
 
@badp agreed for sites like SO, and SO lite
so we should have an alternative then
 
If you don't want to go through the pains of forming the alternative, a chatting community, join one
I and my gaming fellows invested time into our own channel and it's SE's most active now, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Sure, we're "gamers" so we "have" plenty of time on our hands. (not really)
YMMV.
now let's look at those flags.
 
Building a community mindset that's focused on the level of quality sufficient to appease Jeff & Co is non-trivial, though. Many people would rather go for the sheer entertainment value.
 
6:46 PM
I have plenty of time! :D Kind of. Although it's really plenty of time that would be better spent elsewhere, as with most things in life.
 
honestly, would it be too much skin off anyone's back if we had a place where 'whats your favorite programmers blog' had a place to live? If you dont want to see that then stay away from that SE site. Or let them exist on the regular SE sites, and lets make a special tag that automatically hides questions from showing up unless you specifically search for that tag. Noise problem solved!
 
@instanceofTom So after Programming SE, Programmers SE you want Watercooler SE?
 
@badp not a bad name acutally
 
Go ahead, propose it on Area51, I don't think it'll fly with Robert Cartaino but best of luck. ↓
 
@badp @instanceofTom That's made it into area 51 at least twice that I know of and proposals were summarily rejected outright.
 
6:48 PM
@instance I think one of the points here is that places like that already exist: Discussion forums, which are inherently better for handling those types of "questions."
 
@FallenAngelEyes Not really. I feel like StackExchange is better in one sense for handling those types of questions, but that both are pretty horrible for them
 
oh, hey @Mana
 
Ok people stop suggesting discussion forms, if you honestly think about what i am suggesting you will see that a discussion form, which is strictly linear, doesnt have per post rating systems, and allows responses responses, is not the proper avenue for this type of stuff
 
I got bored with die2nite so I havent been on much
 
@Foak I understand how it is, I stopped playing Die2Nite as well.
 
6:50 PM
@instanceofTom A discussion forum with non-linear answers... where have I seen that... oh right! Reddit!
@FOak Heh, I just can't login anymore
 
it was right when I had four characters prepped to go into a 100+ town
 
@badp not quite what i meant but reddit is a better example
 
@badp what happened?
 
@FOak No idea.
 
@Anna i suspect the reason it flopped in area-51 is the highly reiterated stigma against this concept in the first place, more so than the idea itself being flawed
 
6:51 PM
I'd ask on Gaming, but we aren't that hot on troubleshooting.
 
@instanceofTom They were rejected by the SOIS team, far as I know, not the Area 51 community.
Oh, on a gaming-related topic... Fable 3 screwed me over. Apparently if you make all the "evil" decisions, you still won't get enough money to save everybody and the game will jump 3 months in the future and screw you out of an achievement. >.<
 
@Anna even better
 
@AnnaLear There's no way the Area51 "community" can reject proposals really... getting rep on Area51 is really difficult.
 
@badp, whats with the new picture?
 
@FOak Suddenly, I had a very bad case of the blues :)
 
6:56 PM
@FOak He held his breath too long
 
oh, ok
 
It is probably linked to the shower of lazers I was bathed into for ~6 hours
and turned me into a living piece of diamond, more or less.
 
oh, diamond @badp, cool!
why were you in a shower of lazers anyways?
 
Huh, there's a separate proposal for an EvE Online SE on Area 51
 
@FallenAngelEyes flag it to oblivion
@FOak I won the elections :)
Well, second place
still.
 
7:02 PM
I believe they've voted to close it and merge with us
 
next up we need to close MSO and merge it with us
 
Kind of active actually.
 
And non mergeable really
They use an incompatible content license
 
Eh? It's CC-BY-SA.
 
@Brant Yep, and we have CC-BY
Hence, we cannot SA, because we do not have SA.
 
7:05 PM
No we don't.
The link in the footer on gaming.SE leads here: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5
Gaming.SE is BY-SA 2.5, STC is BY-SA 3.0
 
2
A: Should we close the Eve Online proposal?

thelsdjI've fought long and hard for the EVE Online proposal. So I won't try to claim that it may still pass, I agree that it looks dead. I would like to point out though that there really is no chance that the community surrounding it will move to the Gaming SE because we already have Skill Training C...

 
Oh yay, they're merging all the Music proposals \o/
 
Speaking of proposals, I wonder if Board and Card Games is going to be axed.
It's been in public beta for months and is in "worrying" status for two of five criteria.
 
Personally, Area51 gives me nausea; I'm just happy to have this site
 
@Powerlord: I hope not, I really like that site
 
7:13 PM
All other proposals have been made, all Precognitive badges given, and I don't think I can pour as much activity into a second new site as well.
 
128
Board and Card Gamesboardgames.stackexchange.com

Beta Q&A site for people who like playing board games, designing board games or modifying the rules of existing board games. Card games, too, because some games really can be classified as both.

Currently in public beta.

 
@Powerlord by Wel "SE is dumb" bog? :)
 
Bob
7:41 PM
0
Q: How to play Burnout Paradise on two screens without "unifying" the desktop?

romkynsI have two screens and use them heavily for work; I absolutely require the ability to maximize an application to take just one screen. Burnout Paradise has a dual-screen mode which works fine if I "unify" my screens (can't remember the term for that). This means that a maximized window spans bot...

0
Q: Leaving minecarts without moving them

fjdumontWhen getting out of a free standing minecart (not on a rail), is it possible to do so without moving (pushing) it at all?

 
@badp: You need Team Fortress 2! ;)
 
@Powerlord is it the winning choice?
unless some amazing sale happens I'll gladly sit it out :)
 
@badp Yeah, apparently two newcomers votes pushed it into first.
I'm actually surprised.
 
Hmm, I thought I had TF2 installed...But that was a lie. >_>
 
7:56 PM
I wish TF2 would go on sale for the prices it did on the Halloween sale.
I mean, $1.99 was a really good price, but it was a short sale even for Steam... lasting less than 6 hours.
er... Halloween 2009 that is, not 2010.
Blah, more meetings to attend. BBL.
 
8:17 PM
@Powerlord eh, I only have been able to spend money on the internet for 20 hours now
Closes "today"
 
user30
8:36 PM
Ooh, if we're playing TF2 I might join in for a bit
 
8:54 PM
@Bob This question asks for a way to unify displays without unifying them?
 
@ThomasMcDonald We are. Well, you are.
 
Bob
0
Q: How do I parachute down high places in Bad Company 2?

BoraI sometimes see people comfortably parachuting down high places like buildings or hilltops. How do I do this?

 
Hrm, what causes a Windows 7 computer to have a latency about 10 times that of the other nodes in the network?
 
@ArdaXi What do the other nodes run?
 
Approx 50 ms
 
9:04 PM
I meant, OS wise
 
Also 7
I should probably boot a live CD and see whether it has the same problem to see if it's hw or sw.
I don't really feel like reinstalling :/
What is it about Windows that makes it require annual reinstalls?
 
eh, Ubuntu also gets slower and slower.
 
Still. It sucks.
 
Hell if I knew, I think it's HDD fragmentation and ever embiggening file caches
 
Well, I'll reinstall soon.
Fragmentation isn't really the issue here. It's slow in reaction time. UI updates and such.
I doubt selecting a tab involves file I/O.
 
9:15 PM
Memory being paged in and out of the cache, then
Usually though I only see increasing trouble with the startup time
 
I usually have 1 GB of RAM free at all times.
 
Yeah, that meeting turned into an hour and a half meeting.
 

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