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12:41 AM
@Jenayah And it just got you a badge:
 
 
1 hour later…
1:47 AM
0
Q: Harry Potter FanFiction ID - Harry meets Rowena Ravenclaws familiar, has to wait for the rest of the founders familiars to find him.

Kieran McWhirterlooking for a certain Harry Potter fic that’s been bugging me for months now. I can’t remember a great deal and what I can is so similar to so many other fics that google is no help. I’ll bullet point what I can remember below. Harry meets Rowena Ravenclaws familiar this was either a female ea...

0
Q: What fantasy TV miniseries had immortality as the ultimate punishment?

Mark RogersI vaguely remember this fantasy-esque miniseries (or was it a made for TV movie?) that featured a society where some of the worst criminals were punished with immortality along with imprisonment as a form of ultimate punishment. Basically, if I recall correctly, being immortal was seen as a curs...

 
 
1 hour later…
3:09 AM
0
Q: Did Cobb have this item in every dream scene in Inception?

RichSEvery dream-maker in the movie, Inception, uses a totem to tell if they are in a dream or the real world. The totem is a small object they carry with them and is supposed to have certain properties (Cobb's top always spins, Arthur's loaded die always lands on right number, etc...) that makes it e...

 
3:58 AM
0
Q: Does Jon Snow ever bring his direwolf, Ghost, into battle?

RichSRobb Stark's direwolf, Grey Wind, accompanies Robb on his campaign against the Lannisters and often fights alongside him in the War of the Five Kings. This implies direwolves are useful in battle. Did Jon Snow ever bring his direwolf, Ghost, into battle? Jon Snow fought in several battles and s...

 
4:11 AM
 
4:31 AM
0
Q: Was Brienne of Tarth a better swords fighter than Ser Jaime Lannister?

NoOneI have not read the books. In one of the episodes of season 2 of the TV series two guards are discussing who among Ser Loras, Ser Jaime and The Mountain is a better fighter. One of them claims Ser Loras to be better to which the other one replies "He's been stabbing Renly Baratheon for years but...

 
SQB
4:54 AM
So it is Rayquaza, but we know nothing more about the why, where, what, how. Unsatisfactory.
 
5:27 AM
@SQB indeed. Damn.
@b_jonas no but I mean, at least those three haves quotes, text, and a bit of analysis
The Rayquaza answer is "this is Rayquaza. [Image] bye!"
@Alex the info is useless, but as of now, if you take my number of gold badges and multiply it will my number of silver badges, you get my number of bronze badges.
And for what it's worth @SQB, it's just that OP thought it was Rayquaza - but the user who commented about same mould being used for different toys had a point!
 
SQB
5:43 AM
Yeah, something like that seems most likely. That's why I wanted more info. Was it packaged as Dragon Ball? Or was it a yard sale?
Or was it a knock-off? Dragon Bowl X?
 
0
Q: Story identification: Discovering Undersea Life during a Long Journey

fastmultiplicationLooking for a story which I read in the 2010s - it felt fairly recent, probably that decade. It starts off in an underwater station on a mostly unpopulated water planet. There are only hints at most of any life on the planet but it is described beautifully. A man and woman are setting off on a...

 
6:04 AM
@SQB ahahah
Well, I don't know if pinging the user again would be bad etiquette
 
0
Q: Seeking ID of a Zanti Misfit-like Movie or TV Show from Late 1950s to Early 1960s

hrhI just finished up my own search of The Outer Limits and found the old Zanti Misfits episode which was on of the shows I have been looking for. After viewing ZM several times it occurred to me that there is another show/movie I had seen that had similar elements in it to ZM but I had no clue as t...

0
Q: How does Dolores avoid being "retrieved" in her solo journey?

LevenTrekIn Westworld S01E04, there's a scene in the control room where a staff member tells Ashley Stubbs (head of security) that Dolores is off her loop. STAFF: We've got a host making a pretty big deviation from her loop. ASHLEY: Which one? STAFF: The rancher's daughter from Sweetwater. ...

 
SQB
7:01 AM
I started three 100-point bounties yesterday, yet I'm almost back at site-analytics level again.
 
I feel your pain :p
 
You don't like analytics?
 
7:21 AM
@Jenayah Perhaps, but note that the third quote is from half a page after the the second quote, and both of those are exactly in the scene the OP asks about: “In the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville ride the thestrals to rescue Sirius. They do this after they were caught by Dolores Umbridge in her office.”
So if you've read the books, rather than only seen the films, then only the first quote needs any extra search to locate.
 
@Jenayah I think my stats beat that – if you multiply my number of gold badges by my number of silver badges you get my number of silver badges.
 
SQB
@Mithrandir nah, I'm just kidding.
Hey, I was wondering, should SE change the wording of the "it's not an answer, it's a comment" deletion reason of the VLQ-queue?
As it stand, I find myself often going back to the post to delete the auto-comment and leave a more welcoming message for the n00b new contributor.
Before I throw this on a meta, can I have your opinions?
> This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have sufficient reputation you will be able to comment on any post; instead, provide answers that don't require clarification from the asker. - From Review
That reads a bit too much like "no, bad user!" to me.
 
3
Q: Explaining the difference between an answer and a comment

Alex(It may be useful to read the comments to this answer before reading my question.) Often times new users post answers when the content is really just a comment. This is understandable, as new users do not have the 50 reputation necessary to comment on someone's question and if they have somethin...

 
Welcome to $SiteName! Unfortunately, this does not provide an answer to the question. You can [search for similar questions]($SiteURL/search), or refer to the related and linked questions on the right-hand side of the page to find an answer. If you have a related but different question, [ask a new question]($SiteURL/questions/ask), and include a link to this one to help provide context. See: [Ask questions, get answers, no distractions]($SiteURL/tour).
 
SQB
@Alex exactly! Glad to see I'm not the only one.
 
7:30 AM
^I use that in a script sometimes; it's a modified version of an autocomment Shog wrote
 
SQB
@Mith yeah, something like that.
 
@SQB Though we might be objecting for different reasons.
 
SQB
Ah, it's on Mi Yodeya. Should be on Meta Stack Exchange.
 
@SQB I probably didn't even know what Meta Stack Exchange was when I wrote that.
 
SQB
Or it may not even have existed back then.
 
7:41 AM
MSE has existed since the very beginning; it was just called MSO until SO got its own meta
 
@SQB It did. This was only six months ago.
 
SQB
Ah okay. I'm on mobile, didn't check.
 
SQB
8:21 AM
@Alex no, I think our reasons pretty much overlap.
I'm thinking about asking on Meta Stack Exchange, referencing your question on Mi Yodeya Meta.
 
8:35 AM
0
Q: 1970s or early 1980s book on travelling through portal rings to other realms done by young girl held at an institution

Sheleen WilliamsonChris changes shape to fit into each realm. The guards follow her each time. She later finds she is a clone of the scientist Christine, who went through a double ring.

 
SQB
8:54 AM
@Mithrandir mind if I copy this into my question on Meta Stack Exchange?
 
@SQB go ahead
 
SQB
Thanks.
 
@Mith does SD not go after R/A posts?
 
@TheLethalCarrot it does
 
SQB
8:55 AM
Flagged R/A.
Gone.
Good job, everyone.
 
@Mithrandir Was that manually reported then after I mentioned it?
 
I manually initiated a scan, but it would have been picked up soon anyway - once another post was in the queue for SFF. Smokey queues up the posts for a site to preserve API quota
If it wouldn't have been picked up by any other reason, it would have said "manually reported answer", not "offensive answer detected"
 
Rightho
 
it is annoying at times, yes
 
Does it only scan after a buffer is filled though? Or is there like a timeout where it will scan even if it only has 1 post ready?
 
9:02 AM
only after the queue hits or a scan is manually initiated. that might be a good idea, though
 
Especially for low traffic sites, you don't want to have to wait an hour because nothing else has come in
 
Yeah I don't have a GH account haha
I mean low traffic sites you're unlikely to fill the quota anyway
Is the buffer configurable per site?
 
Yes
it's very low on low-traffic sites
 
What's SFFs?
 
9:06 AM
*shrugs*
2 or 3 I think? that's what it is for most sites. probably 2
 
I'd imagine we'd be fine with it at one but I don't suppose it matters too much
 
yeah, that's also something that i don't think the site gets to decide :P API quota is a limited resource, even if Smokey gets a double quota
 
Not saying we should decide, just saying it seems like we might be fine with it lowered
Though to be honest I think a site should be able to decide what automatic community processes are run there
 
@SQB That comment sounds sufficiently neutral, explains what the user did wrong (and he did use the system the wrong way, there's no way to say he didn't) and what to do instead. What would you propose as a friendlier way to say "you did something wrong"?
Or rather, what part of the message is it that comes across inappropriate to you?
 
Yeah I don't see anything wrong with it
And changing an automatic comment to be more welcoming feels weird
 
9:12 AM
@NapoleonWilson It is rather brusque, although not rude per se
@TheLethalCarrot Why? It still comes attached to your name
 
@Mithrandir Suppose
The site isn't meant to be a chat forum though, the whole "welcoming thing" is forcing people to think twice about things that are perfectly fine
 
I'd say brief rather than "brusque". And SE is (or at least was) all about briefness and no-nonsense.
 
And on a side note, I think this was brought up on SO meta
@NapoleonWilson Exactly that, we should be about briefness and non-nonsense, all this welcoming stuff is moving away from what attracted most people to the network in the first place
 
True. I'd not go all aout and say the whole welcoming mess is necessarily a bad thing (apart from the entirely chaotic and disastrous circumstances it arose from), but second (and third and fourth...) thoughts about things like those are what really gets the true detractors of this initiative.
 
I agree with the idea of being more welcoming as some users were using the "briefness" to be rude but lets not go to far eh?
Saying being more polite and respectful, that's fine, changing it so all comments have to be 10 times as long just so the language is less likely to be offensive is daft
 
9:19 AM
At the very least be prepared really well when dragging this proposal to Meta Stack Exchange right now. ;-)
 
I'm sure I saw something like it on SO meta, might have been for a different auto comment though
People did not like the idea of changing it
I may have been thinking of this post, especially this comment.
Personally, I'm very much against the Thanks at the end of messages, especially auto-generated ones. We don't appreciate it in questions/answers, and I think comments also don't need it, especially when the user hasn't acted on the comment yet. — Erik von Asmuth Aug 20 at 11:32
 
Hmm, where's that Harry Potter question about why most students take the Hogwarts Express rather than faster routes to Hogwarts? It had a nice answer I want to link.
Ah, probably scifi.stackexchange.com/q/10275/4918 "Why was a regular train used to transport students to Hogwarts?"
25
A: What stories and characters are referenced in this painting of a Science Fiction and Fantasy Lounge?

b_jonasI'll add a rough coordinate grid drawn on top of the image so it's easier to name which parts of the image we're talking about. (There's so many objects and characters in this image and it's hard to tell which ones are significant that I don't dare to number them individually: I'd surely leave s...

^ I'd like to thank everyone who helped in this multi-identification question. I just got a silver "good answer" badge for your work. But it's not just my answer. Good answer, team.
 
9:42 AM
Oh, CWs award badges too?
Today I learned ^^
 
SQB
10:03 AM
@TheLethalCarrot no, I'm trying to find a middle ground. Preferably something that explains why to a new user.
Instead of telling a new user, "Hey, that thing you just did? Don't do it again."
Without explaining why.
The model most new users have for interaction online is probably a message board, a comment section, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, something like that.
And Stack Exchange is not like that.
The sooner we convey that message to new users, the better.
 
Got an example of the more welcoming comment you've been using?
Though to be honest I see nothing wrong with what is auto generated
Explaining why is fine, but the why isn't always the easiest thing to convey in a short comment
And Mith's example you like doesn't appear to explain the why either
 
SQB
Well, I'm probably a bit on the other end of the window, welcoming a new user and thanking them for their question or answer, then explaining why it is not what we're looking for (usually something like "we're a Q&A-site, not a forum") and encouraging them to take the [tour].
 
The latter half is fine, I do that too
The former, well that sends the wrong message in my eyes
We aren't a discussion forum so welcoming and thanking them in a discussion forum style isn't right
(I used to do the "Hi and welcome" thing but it does send the wrong message so I stopped)
 
Are we asking ourselves how to make an auto comment welcoming?
 
Auto comment attached to a users name as if they said it
Though we've gone to the broader scope of manual comments now
 
SQB
10:16 AM
Well, the manual comments are what I replace the auto-comments in my name with.
 
Autocomments will never be welcoming.
If you want to welcome someone, you have to show them that you read what they wrote, either by quoting it or something.
An autocomment can't do that.
 
Exactly
 
SQB
Well, not necessarily welcoming, but at least better at explaining why we're about to delete their post.
 
And with that goes why adding welcome/hi/thanks isn't needed
 
@TheLethalCarrot needed, no. But even if we're not a forum blahblahblah (which I agree with, sure)... I mean the very basic form of "first, nice interaction" you can have with someone, no matter the language, will always be hello (and the like)
 
10:27 AM
Doesn't mean you should add it, I've seen more users get the wrong impression of what we are just because someone said "hello" at the start of a comment
 
I mean that for the first comment on the first post of a new user to the network.
 
Gut feeling though, no hard facts of course
 
If they have the wrong impression of what we are, it's not the hello which was the problem, it was the following explanation.
 
I've used the same comment with/without the hello, it has certainly made a difference removing it
 
If you've got examples handy I'll take 'em
(don't want to sound rude but didn't know how to phrase that ahah)
 
10:31 AM
Well nothing recent cos it was a while ago I stopped including them
Though for the same reason we don't want hi/bye/thanks/help appreciated/hope this helped/etc in questions and answers, we don't want it in comments
 
There's a difference: Questions and answers are meant to be a permanent repository of useful information, sort of like Wikipedia. Comments are not permanent, and they don't serve that same purpose.
 
Whilst true, they're still held to the same regard in terms of quality and what not
I just don't think they should include hi/thanks/etc in them, it sends the wrong message and doesn't really fit in with what SE is
 
Not... really. Comments can't be downvoted, which is one of the primary quality measures, or edited, which is just as important as voting.
 
Also if all you're doing to a comment to be more welcoming is surrounding it with hi and thanks you're doing something wrong anyway
 
That's a bit of a side point, though...
 
10:40 AM
How? That's literally what we're discussing
 
No, there's a difference between only including salutations and also including salutations.
 
True but also including salutations isn't needed, it sends the wrong message and isn't what SE is
 
"Hi! You shouldn't have posted this here. Do better next time. Thanks!" isn't good, but "Hi, welcome to SFF! Please note that this site is not a standard discussion forum, but a question and answer site, without extra discussion. For more on how the site works, please see the [tour]. In the meantime, this answer will unfortunately have to be deleted, as it doesn't address the question as asked. Sorry." is better.
 
Sure but that's unnecessarily long and again the hi/welcome/sorry stuff isn't needed
Also why are you sorry?
That's weird to put that in
 
That's... a normal way of speaking
 
10:45 AM
Both of those comments are bad in my mind, they're at either end of the spectrum, you want something in the middle
 
@TheLethalCarrot I'll disagree on that; giving a kind, detailed explanation of what the user did incorrectly gives the user a much better first impression of the site and makes them more willing to take your advice.
 
@Mithrandir I agree with that I just think how the second one is worded is a lot longer than it needs to be
 
How would you reword it, while still retaining the information and maintaining the tone?
 
And maintaining the tone? I wouldn't because I think the tone is too over the top
 
Why?
 
10:48 AM
Because you're going the long way round and including information that isn't needed just to be welcoming
 
Look at it from the user's standpoint for a minute. Which would you rather receive?
 
"Unfortunately, this does not answer the question. Here we are a question and answer site and not a discussion forum, please see the [tour] for more information on how this site works"
Says the same thing, friendly and straight to the point
 
I kinda doubt that a user who gets that as their first impression of the site would really appreciate it.
 
And that's the problem, if they're coming into this expecting the same old forum we don't want to be backing up that assumption with over the top friendliness
 
No? Being friendly doesn't exclude enforcing the policies or diminish from the message you're giving.
 
10:52 AM
@Mithrandir FWIW I was initially question banned on SO when I joined the network, I had no idea how stuff worked and I only received terse comments. Yet I learned why my assumptions of the site were wrong because of how I was spoken to
Going to the extreme to be friendly means that learning process takes longer
@Mithrandir Of course it does, it implicitly sends the impression that yes actually we are like a discussion forum because we speak like one
 
I don't think so, based on responses I've gotten to actual comments like that.
 
Well maybe our experiences differ but I've personally seen more users think we're more "discussiony" that we are just because of the over the top "welcomingness" of the first comments they receive
 
Maybe it's the example of the answers in comments and the like that we leave around... ;)
 
I know you're being slightly sarcastic but that has no bearing on this discussion :)
 
Sure it does. If you're complaining about giving the wrong impression, the abundance of chatty content that we leave around gives a much stronger impression that this is okay than being friendly in a comment on a new user's post.
2
 
10:58 AM
Well you've added a new dynamic in there but then chatty content and answers in comments are two different things
 
@TheLethalCarrot says the same thing - check; straight to the point - check; friendly - eh? How is that friendly? It's not rude, but that doesn't make it friendly
 
Answers in comments help blur the lines between answers and comments for new users. We leave chatty comments around. New users can't comment, only answer, and they don't get the distinction anyway yet. So... that leads to them thinking that chatty answers are allowed.
 
@Jenayah Well neutral between the two, slightly into friendly territory but that's the point. We don't need to go over the top with friendliness
 
For what it's worth, while a native English user might overlook the lack of hello, I think it strikes out a bit more when it's not your first language, and you actually have to proceed what is being said to you
Given the internationality here, it's something worth thinking about IMO
 
If you really want to avoid discussion-y answers, cleaning up comments and using them like they were intended to be used on Stack Exchange might help with that.
 
11:01 AM
Well now you are going into a different discussion
@Jenayah Why? As a native English speaker I obviously can't tell the difference. In real life I'll always say hello but on SE, no because that isn't what the platform is
 
@TheLethalCarrot let's assume you've never been in some French association, site or whatever. You go there, ask a question/answer, well it's a poor one but it happens, you're new. First guy who ever replies to you doesn't even bother to say bonjour or salut - how is that welcoming?
 
Hmm. Nice dilemma.
 
Once again, you're new, unknowing of the network stance etc.
 
@Jenayah Yes, but you can overdo that. May I repeat my cautionary tale about certain Wikimedia sites?
 
@Jenayah I had that exact same thing on every site across the network here I don't see how it is different. I felt welcomed because of the contents of the comments not because someone said hi to me
 
11:10 AM
@TheLethalCarrot you did. There are around 7 billion other people out there :)
@b_jonas which one?
 
Most Wikimedia sites now have a shared login system, so you only create one account, just like on SE. (A few special sites are exempt, just like how Area51 seems to be exempt here, but you won't meet those first.) ...
 
@Jenayah Right, and catering to every single one will never work so that argument is kind of pointless
 
Now the shared login on Wikimedia network works differently from that on the SE network. You don't have to confirm creating an account on a new site now. (I'm telling the current state, not all the past state they went through, with renaming colliding usernames.) If you visit any site, even just by clicking an link from an external site, and you don't yet have an account on there but are logged in to another site, you get your account automatically created. ...
 
@TheLethalCarrot Yeah that'd be a lot of food
 
b'dum tss
 
11:13 AM
Now on some sites, people send welcome messages to new users when they first edit. On some sites, this is automated. And on some sites, they thought, why have the problem when a new user does his first edit, and immediately gets a warning message about what he's done wrong? Let's send him a welcome message with some helpful tips and further links for help about your first edit as soon as he registers, so he gets that before they log in? So they automated that. ...
 
To be honest, @TheLethalCarrot, I think the problem is that you (well not only you and it's not an attack, you get my point) want people to get "it" right just after one reply comment linking to a Help Center, a tour and stuff... It's okay to stumble a bit at the beginning. You learn afterwards and it gets better.
 
I really don't expect people to know straight away
 
But sites are also set up so that if someone sends you a private message, they automatically get an email. (This is similar to how if anyone leaves a comment to you on any SE site, you get an inbox notification.) You can disable that on any site, but when your account is created on a site, it generally defaults to on.
 
If I did I'd be a hypocrite anyway
 
@TheLethalCarrot :p
 
11:15 AM
So the end result is this: you click on a random link, end up on a wikimedia site you've never visited (there are hundreds of them), and two minutes later get a fully automated email in a language you can't read, and you have no idea what any of that email says.
 
But your stance against "hello" is it sends the wrong message right?
 
And, like I said, I still can't figure out which individual decision of those is the wrong one. They all seemed good intentioned separately, but togetther they're a disaster.
 
@b_jonas wait - it's an auto thing and nobody thought of translating it in the user's primary language?
 
@Jenayah There's no easy way to tell what "the primary language" of a user is. There are ways people can tell, but it's not mandatory. We don't require you to fill long forms about stuff like your native language when you register, because we want to make it easy to register.
 
@b_jonas sure, but that could be an option you fill in later
 
11:18 AM
You can also set up interface languages, and your gender to tell how certain interface messages should refer to you, and all other stuff, but we don't make it mandatory to fill in, just like how you don't have to fill in anything much here.
 
Or you know, one just assumes that if you first logged in through the Hungarian one, you might be Hungarian (it has obvious flaws though)
 
@Jenayah Great. What if I first logged in through one of the multilingual sites (Commons, Wikispecies, Wikidata, Meta-Wiki, Oldwikisource, Incubator, BetaWikiversity)? I currently contribute the most to Commons, and meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAuth/B_jonas says that's where my edit count is the highest. How do I change where I "first logged in from" after the fact?
The shared log in knows which one is my "home site", but for older contributors like me, the shared account got created by an automatic merge process from existing accounts on multiple sites.
 
@b_jonas aye but you'd expect older contributors to have fiddled with their settings already
 
Note: link above doesn't list all sites with shared login. It only lists the ones where I have an account.
@Jenayah Sure, but these emails are more confusing for a new contributor, not an old one.
As an old contributor, I recognize the domains in the from address.
Even if the entire language is in an unfamiliar language, the domain part of the email address in the From header of the email is "@wikimedia.org".
That's like if you got an email from an address with "@stackexchange.com" even though you never heard of the new beta site you're emailed from.
You would know it's associated with some SE site.
 
This is a very well reasoned first answer, be sure to join us in The Quill and Tankard chat room when you reach 15 rep. It's a bit quiet at the moment but we talk ASOIAF/GoT related content in there. — TheLethalCarrot 9 mins ago
@TheLethalCarrot isn't it 20?
 
11:31 AM
Might be
 
@b_jonas what are the proposed solutions? If there are some?
 
I forgot exactly what it was
 
@Jenayah Yes, 20.
 
@Jenayah I haven't heard of any.
 
11:32 AM
dang
 
I didn't look deep into this.
 
SQB
@TheLethalCarrot that might differ from person to person.
 
There might be something, I just didn't research it, because it's not a problem I care much about.
It's a problem I want to learn from, to avoid such a thing, but not one I personally feel I should try to solve.
 
@SQB True but I think being less over the top with welcoming stuff is better for the site
If someone needs all that welcoming stuff to use a site they're in the wrong place anyway
 
SQB
Not necessarily. People have different styles of communication.
 
11:37 AM
Doesn't SE also automatically add annoying banners about how you should read the Tour?
 
SQB
None of those styles is wrong. They're just different.
 
You know, that tour that says "Ask questions, get answers, no distractions. This site is all about getting answers. It's not a discussion forum. There's no chit-chat."
 
SQB
Some people prefer you cut to the chase, while others clam up if you don't at the very least say hello.
 
Right and saying hello isn't the style of the site
 
I come from the world of IRC, where I don't say hello before someone contributes something useful, because there's no point encouraging the chatbots with a hello.
 
11:39 AM
We shouldn't change style just because someone doesn't like that "any help appreciated" was removed from their question
 
(Ok, technically I don't really come from the world of IRC, but still, I've spent lots of time there.)
 
Then again, it'd be contradictory to both want to treat everyone the same way, but force commenters to behave the same.
 
That doesn't mean you can't say a short "hello" when yuo ask, but there's no point to just say "hello" without anything on topic, because that's also what some of the spambots try.
 
I mean, if some people don't want to include hello, then don't. Others will. Sometime it won't bother the new user, sometimes it will... It's SFF, no big deal.
People should be able to move on.
Should.
 
SQB
Exactly. I don't go around saying hello to every new user, but when I type a comment to a new user, I do include a greeting.
But more importantly (and that's where I'm focusing my (still to be asked) question on meta on) is telling a user why.
"Bad user! Don't do that!" is not nearly as useful as "Hey user, that's not what this site is about, because we're a Q&A site, not a forum."
Some of the auto-comments are IMHO more like the former than the latter.
 
11:43 AM
@SQB Right. So a "hello" is fine if there's already something useful you say at the same time.
 
SQB
@b_jonas exactly.
 
I had a recent example, but the post was deleted :/
Can 10k+ see comments under deleted posts?
 
@Jenayah If it's a deleted answer or a recently deleted question, then usually yes, but there are exceptions.
 
If I'm not mistaken, it was in there:
39
Q: Why does Agent Smith call the Oracle "Mom"?

TenthJusticeIn The Matrix Revolutions, Agent Smith and the Oracle finally meet. Before he assimilates her, they have this conversation: ORACLE: You are a bastard. SMITH: You would know, Mom. But earlier in the scene, Smith says the following: The great and powerful Oracle. We meet at last. ....

Someone attempting to reply to Tristan's answer and Null's comment
 
11:47 AM
Hi there! That seems more of a comment on Tristan's answer (and Null's ensuing comment) rather than an answer of its own. Once you get 50 reputation, you'll be able to comment everywhere. As for your new question about Smith, you should rather ask it in a "proper" new question (see How to Ask). However, make sure your question is not a duplicate of an existing one (Why is Agent Smith okay with becoming a virus? for instance). Don't hesitate to browse the help center to see how stuff works!
 
Yeah
There was another, rather expeditive comment
"bad user don't do that"
is it still around?
because the new user replied to both
 
This appears to be an attempt to comment on an existing answer rather than an answer in its own right
Reply:
Well yes Valorum, but as Jenayah points out, I don't have the requisite reputation to reply to another's post as yet. I appreciate you pointing that out though... a most informative reply, thank you. My question is rhetorical. The answer is the Oracle
 
Well let's debate live on how we should approach this too broad one:
0
Q: List of all Magics - classifying magic

JannisDo you know or can you create a list of all known magics? It would be cool to know how many types of magic exist :) Here's a list of all i know until now (please add to this list) 1. Magic with words (see Eragon) 2. Magic with thoughts (see Eragon) 3. Magic with signs (see Kane Chronics) 4. ...

 
Well it's too broad
:P
 
Yeah, thanks, dummy :p
 
11:50 AM
and off-topic
 
@Jenayah Close it with too broad, yes.
 
-1
Q: List of all Magics - classifying magic

JannisDo you know or can you create a list of all known magics? It would be cool to know how many types of magic exist :) Here's a list of all i know until now (please add to this list) 1. Magic with words (see Eragon) 2. Magic with thoughts (see Eragon) 3. Magic with signs (see Kane Chronics) 4. ...

 
Now how do you say that to new user?
"Noupe, too broad, see ya"?
oh wait
 
@Jenayah Let me find the relevant explanatino from the help.
 
Not a good fit for the site blah blah blah
 
11:51 AM
"Noupe, too broad, see ya"
 
To be honest the close reason is pretty good in this case
 
> too broad - if your question could be answered by an entire book, or has many valid answers (but no way to determine which - if any - are correct), then it is probably too broad for our format

Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question.
well ok, granted
that's indeed a good explanation
dem
bad example
 
We can't just say "we don't like such broad open-ended questions beacuse they invite twenty different answers each contributing just a few new items to an open-ended list, and look how those questions have harmed MathOverflow."
 
Quite ironic that the too broad close reason covers 2 or 3 different reasons
 
@Jenayah Thanks.
 
11:55 AM
@TheLethalCarrot 2 or 3 isn't too broad
it's a finite number
@b_jonas you're welcome
 
Just a joke, I wouldn't think about it too hard :P
 
SQB
Hmm... This seems a bit broad, to the point of being unanswerable. I think you could create another entry for each new work of fiction. We're a Q&A site and prefer answerable questions. May I invite you to take the tour? — SQB 29 secs ago
 
@TheLethalCarrot Rand and Alex aren't there right now, someone has to be the pedantic one
@SQB ok, I've put a word in what I don't like in those comments.
It's the "we".
 
@Jenayah To be pedantic then I never said the too broad close reason is too broad
 
@TheLethalCarrot hush
The "we" sounds like "you'll be a part of us, but... do that first"
Not yet welcomed
 
SQB
11:57 AM
@Jenayah ah. Why is that? I see.
 
Granted, grammatically speaking you could have included NU in the "we", but it's ambiguous.
Especially if NU is a bit lost/angry after their Q was closed, and then prone to read too fast.
"this site is Q/A" is more neutral than "we're a Q/A site", I reckon.
Just my opinion though.
 
Whilst I prefer this is over we are I've never read into the we are excluding the OP
 
@TheLethalCarrot yeah but you were on the other end than the OP
 
It might surprise you but I have been on both ends :P
 
@TheLethalCarrot that was on SO though was it?
 
12:02 PM
Well I initially joined there yes but I was new here too once upon a time
 
'k
then again
it's a case-by-case thing for sure
but it's waaay less debate-y than the previous one (about hello etc)
Unrelated
Quand t'hésites entre Jack Sparow Harry Potter et Crocodile Dundee pour ton cosplay et qu'au final tu mélanges tout
> "When you can't decide if you either want to cosplay Jack Sparrow, Harry Potter or Crocodile Dundee and you end up mixing them all"
 
SQB
0
Q: Can we have more explanatory auto-comments when voting to close from review?

SQBRight now, the delete-reasons and accompanying auto-comments on the VLQ-queue are as follows. No comment needed This is commentary on another post, not an answer "This does not provide an answer to the question. To critique or request clarification from an author, leave a comment below...

Well, there it is, for better or for worse.
 
@SQB I like the general idea but the "Hello there." at the start of all of them... ugh. Don't want to put the first comment down though so I won't say anything on the post yet
 
SQB
@TheLethalCarrot Cool.
I find it difficult to devise a greeting that is short but friendly.
 
12:17 PM
I would comment but I like the general idea so I don't want to draw the negativity straight away
 
@SQB well you know my take on the "we"
 
SQB
Yes.
 
Partially related - could you remove your suggestion from the Q?
And add it as an answer
Because I'd upvote the "change the autocomments" suggestion, but not necessarily the proposed new ones
 
It wouldn't be much of a FR if the feature was in the answers
Also something to consider @SQB those auto comments are for everyone not just new users
 
SQB
Yeah, I always find that difficult on FRs.
@TheLethalCarrot That's why I kept the the reference to the [tour] shorter than would for an actual new user.
 
12:20 PM
Fair enough, just thought it was worth mentioning because the whole post seems to be aimed at new users so you may not have thought of that is all
 
There are different autocomments for users with over 50 rep and those with under.
 
@Mithrandir oh?
Never noticed, but it's nice
 
SQB
@Mithrandir that's cool, but conflicts with the new "new user" metric.
 
@SQB SE needs a new "new "new user" " metric then :p
well it's not much less broad now
 
1:24 PM
Came along with the Dragon Ball's Cell character. I'm Brazilian and I bought at a newsstand ... — LCarvalho 1 hour ago
@SQB
 
3
Q: Book set on an alien planet with a symbiotic plantlife

UnityI'm trying to find the name of a science-fiction book I read at least 20 years ago (late 1990s), though it was most likely a second hand book so I can't say how much older than that it might be. I can only remember a few details though some are quite specific: It was mostly (possibly completely...

 
1:42 PM
Greetings, Earthlings.
 
Greetings, Hubble guy!
 
SQB
> Hubble-Man, Hubble-Man, does whatever a Hubble can!
 
0
Q: If Smaug was stabbed with a Morgul-blade would he have turned into a wraith and been under the control of Sauron?

FanofCometsAlthough no normal blade could pierce Smaug's skin, I believe a Morgul-blade would have been able to pierce it because it was magical. So, if it could pierce Smaug's skin, would Smaug have turned into a wraith and then been under the control of Sauron? The Witch-king could have sneaked into the ...

 
1:55 PM
@SQB Not even close. I'll just hit the highlights: No digital recording and forwarding, no UV or IR, no spectroscopic or coronographic modes, no parallel imaging capabilities.
Forgot - no 2.4m aperture - that's a big one, require an atmosphere - also a big limitation.
However, I have a larger field of view and I can do real-time in-wetware interferometry.
 
SQB
2:18 PM
Grab a Google Glass™ and hold your breath really long?
 
3:04 PM
@Jenayah I'm honored to be in the same league of pedantry as Rand. (I also always thought that the close reason for Primarily Opinion Based was primarily opinion based.)
 
@Alex ...you know what would be really meta? Asking "is the close reason for Primarily Opinion Based primarily opinion based?" on English.SE, and the question getting closed as Primarily Opinion-Based :-)
 
@Jenayah My one question on English hasn't done so well. I feel unwelcome there. Maybe if someone had said "Hello there" to me...
 
@Alex wasn't it following a HP question we discussed in this room?
 
@Jenayah It was about a Harry Potter question, but I don't think we had ever discussed it.
More accurately, it was a bout a potential Harry Potter answer.
 
yeah "question" as "post" I meant
(now that you're here I dropped the pedantry :p )
 
3:12 PM
1
Q: Does the phrase "not nearly as many as" imply some level of similarity?

AlexIf a sentence would say: X has nearly as many Ys as Z. I think it would be understood that it means that X has fewer Ys than Z has, but it is not that much fewer. I.e. X has almost as many as Z. When you put a negative in front of the sentence the meaning changes. The question is how much. ...

@Jenayah Rand's still not here. There should always be two pedants.
@Alex And I didn't really like the answer I got there.
 
Edit it in a meaningful way and bump it
 
@Jenayah I'm not really expecting anything better.
 
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
0
Q: Little maneuvering took Cooper 51 earth years and time on water planet took 23 earth years. How can Murph looked pretty young?

SHASHANK MittalLittle maneuvering around blackhole took Cooper 51 earth years and time on water planet took 23 earth years. So, after almost 90 years Cooper reached inside the black hole. When he was transmitting Morse code to Murph she was looking pretty young. How is this possible? Explain.

 
@Jenayah I stand corrected (sort of). We did discuss it, but I thought you meant that we discussed a Harry Potter question and that prompted me to ask an English question about something we discussed. What actually happened was that I asked the question there and then linked it here where people discussed it.
 
3:17 PM
@Alex ok! It sounded familiar
 
Aug 19 at 19:45, by Alex
Any Harry Potter experts who are also experts at English feel free to check out this question:
 
3:39 PM
2
Q: Lore of Magic the Gathering: Teferi's second staff

SumNeuronMy question is What happened to Teferi's second staff? (and is the crystal in it Memory Crystal?) To clarify my question I will be using some card art. However, the answer to this question likely lies in the lore of MtG rather than the art. Teferi is/was/is a planeswalker that has been featur...

 
3:55 PM
-2
Q: Is Star Wars prequel trilogy inspired by Augustus and Roman politics of his time?

user931Star Wars prequel trilogy introduced The Galactic Republic and to make it compatible with the original trilogy, Lucas showed how Galactic Empire was established replacing The Galactic Republic. This thing looks similar to how Roman Empire replaced Roman Republic in 27 BC. Did Lucas ever told tha...

0
Q: If Yondu had been in the Battle of Wakanda, would he have been able to kill most of the Outriders with his arrow?

FanofCometsIf Yondu would have been present at the Battle of Wakanda, would he have been able to kill most of the attacking Outriders with his arrow? I don't think he could have killed all of them because of their vast numbers, but I think he would have taken out at least 75% of them before they got to him...

 
 
1 hour later…
5:02 PM
1
Q: Late 80s book with a militaristic space faring civilization where protagonist is an alien entity possessing a commander of the civilization

Ron OTrying to find the name/author of a book I've read a while ago. As far as I recall, this was a single book published in the late 80s. Setting is in space with a civilization/empire known for its militaristic conquest. The protagonist is an alien/cosmic entity who possesses the body of a ruthless...

 
 
2 hours later…
7:24 PM
c'mon that answer needs love :p
0
A: Cartoon about an alien that came to Earth, and is helped back to his home planet by a boy

JenayahThat's probably Linus et Boom (2009), a French-Korean 3D-animated cartoon, known in English as My Giant Friend. From TvTropes: When a big red alien named Boom crashes on his balcony, the 12-year-old Linus has to hide him from the Space Development Center (SDC). Thanks to the Dr. K, Linus acq...

I did not suffer this kid's unbearable voice for it to go to waste ahah
<---- completely assumes the attention vampirism
 
 
1 hour later…
8:35 PM
@Jenayah good answer, would be improved by adding how you found it
 
@Mithrandir ah, the comment isn't self-explanatory
I stumbled across the linked one some days ago and, as always when I see someone else identifying French stuff, it stayed in the back of my mind xD
I somehow got to the Q I answered and was like "eh, aliens, kids, might as well try"
So in one word: LUCK
:p
 
@Jenayah Love given.
 
\o/
 
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