@tchrist You around?

Yeah.

Read CR's comment on my Meta answer.

k

Ok, this is clearly a drug problem.

He needs to be on some.

I just needed the validation.

I don't...get him.

Do we have any data on his real age?

Hi.

Not that I'm aware of.

I'm in the middle of cooking supper, but I want to think more about all this.

Hi @Cerberus!

You missed a rousing debate earlier.

Oh?

I'm pretty sure that you're right, and that this whole freedom-of-expression thing doesn't apply in the way they think it does on SE.

@Cerberus And now this

CR's comment also supports my point. He just doesn't want to agree with me, ever.

I think you're talking to the wrong crowd here.

You know how offended I am by censorship.

I'm also a bit tipsy.

If I ever had to agree with Carlo, this would be it.

I'm not trying to reopen the debate.

I have voted Robusto's comment up, and I don't think I have anything else to add.

Again, not trying to rehash the argument. Was more put off by CR's tone.

He is just offended by your opinion on censorship.

He might edit your answer to remove the "God" removal you propose.

He is offended by the fact I live and breath.

It is, after all, offensive.

Questions and answers aren't the place for soapboxy stuff. We edit out congratulatory meta bits all the time. The user profile is the place for personalized breastbeating. There was something on metameta about this a year or so ago, with founders (hate that word) making the point.

@simchona How do you know he is not genuinely offended?

And yes, he is a person who once he puts you in his badbin, everything you say or do is evil and wrong. He will never ever agree or support anything you say, no matter what.

@Cerberus Because he starts off on a bias of disliking me, and no matter what he wanted to say he'd say it in that tone

This is the way it is in the US Congress right now, too.

It doesn't matter whether you're truly right or wrong, good or bad, about anything at all. You're from the evil other side, and so you are ipso facto wicked, and must be fought against no matter what the issue is.

@tchrist You didn't have to bring up politics, did you?

But it's the same phenomenon, Luke.

@Cerberus In addition, I took out a line that was EC calling God supernatural. If anything, that would have pleased CR, who is from a mostly Christian country.

It’s a part of human nature to be that way. It is within the compass of all of us. So is murder. But we can rise above it.

@simchona And is the question whether or not he is genuinely offended one that you think should be investigated at all? Exactly because offence is completely subjective and personal, it should not be a criterion at all. Such is my opinion. Of course in this case I know that Carlo does hold some kind of vendetta against you, but that is besides the point of the Meta question and your answer.

@Cerberus I tried to tease out why it offended him. I was cordial, and wanted to know why he was objecting to the actual post Luke found offensive.

@simchona Evan Caroll was calling God supernatural? Why did you remove that? How can anyone disagree with that?

@Cerberus Talk to @Luke.

@Cerberus Also, see all posts from 2 hours ago.

@simchona Again, I don't think it should matter at all whether a certain individual is "offended", whatever that means.

It wasn't that.

@Cerberus He said God was nonexistent.

@simchona Haha, I'd rather not.

It was the way he said what he said about nonexistent.

Which is of course a matter of faith, not fact.

@Luke Oh. Well, why would you delete that? As long as it isn't shocking or a personal attack, surely religious people can just ignore that?

Either way, it was irrelevant to the question.

It just seemed to be there to try to make people upset.

Every question is chock full with irrelevant stuff...

@Cerberus Doesn't mean it shouldn't be edited out

Irrelevant stuff that's designed to sow discord?

Well, I haven't seen the question, and it's probably not a good idea to debate this again.

As long as my position is clear.

@simchona Indeed not.

@Cerberus When you have time and clearer mind, I would read the debate.

@tchrist We are not children. We should have fairly thick skins.

@simchona It doesn't sound like fun!

@Cerberus It was actually quite civil

Good, but even so.

But long...

@Cerberus Yes, I know. But I think you might be making a teeny supposition here that doesn’t actually apply. @Luke how old are you?

I'm a sophomore.

I don’t think he’s old enough to have a thick skin.

At least, I hope not.

@tchrist If people are children, then that is their problem.

He's not a child.

@Cerberus I think that's a problematic opinion.

I understand why it bothered him.

He is still alive, so the God think didn't kill him!

You're saying the community shouldn't be nice, because people should be able to handle it.

@simchona I don't.

@Cerberus If you did I think you wouldn't have it.

I do think people should strive to be kind.

I do not believe EC was doing so.

@simchona I am saying everyone should be nice, but it isn't up to the community to enforce it—unless, as I said, it is shocking or a personal insult/attack/etc.

I believe he was being intentionally and needlessly incendiary.

I wouldn't be surprised at all.

@Cerberus The information was irrelevant to the question. As a Q&A site, it still didn't belong.

I disagree.

So questions should be full of noise?

They always are, and you know that is not the problem.

What time is it for you @Cerberus ?

EC’s original read: “It's not merely supernatural which has a connotation of being non-existent, like God.” Luke removed the “, like God” from the end. It didn’t add anything. It distracted, and thus subtracted.

@Luke 2:26 am. You?

6:26pm

7.26pm

7:27 pm

Ah OK.

@Luke Central Time too, I see

So you are in a wonderful sub-zone where it's 1 minute later than in Sim's zone.

@tchrist I know what he's like.

@simchona Are you in Chicago?

@Luke For now, yes.

@Cerberus If you know what he's like, why would you allow him to be offensive?

@simchona EC?

@Luke Evan Carroll, the OP on that question

@Cerberus Take a few brownie points for giving up sleep for EL&U SE!

@simchona Because I don't think "offensive" as such is objective enough. And I think removing stuff causes more trouble than it solves.

@Luke Yay, thanks!

She doesn’t have to ‘allow’ him to be offensive. She could vote to close/delete, or flag.

If she cared that much.

He could have said the Tooth Fairy. He didn’t. Someone could have edited to say the Tooth Fairy, and they haven’t.

Why do some starred messages have hollow stars?

White stars are by mods/owners.

@Luke Those are "sticky" posts

That are sticky.

@tchrist I normally down-vote when the answer contains something I strongly disagree with or find impolite.

I do, too.

Only the most egregious cases deserve censorship in my view.

Why are the many down-votes that EC no doubt receives not enough to deal with this issue?

+4/–2

It is so hard adjusting to not being able to view vote counts

Aww.

We can tell you when you need it.

@Luke That won’t last long. You’re doing well.

@Robusto: I completely agree about the (counter-productive) desire to cleanse the site.

@simchona: And those flags would have been wrong.

@SonicTheHedgehog Not sure what you're getting at.

There is nothing offensive about having a different opinion.

This is the essence of freedom and tolerance.

I don't see why we can't have those on our site.

Okay, now I'll shut up.

It doesn’t actually matter whether homosexuals exist by choice; so too do people’s religious affiliations and indeed professional exist solely by choice alone. If religious people are allowed that choice, so too would these allegedly by-choice homosexuals. (I don’t believe the premise, mind you.)

What is your point?

@SpareOom Nice name.

That some people expect to be allowed to make what choices they will, yet at the same time expect that others be prevented from the same freedom.

Where I come from, we have a word for that sort of thing.

Thanks @Luke

That is true; but...

@Luke Yeah, I wonder what it signifies? It has always puzzled me...

Rheumatic spas leave something to be desired.

And hello Oom, or Spare!

@tchrist Rheumatoid spazzes leave something to be desired? I find that offensive.

@Cerberus It's a line from a movie.

You can all me either, but personally I think Oom sounds better.

I find it offensive because it is not a word but a sentence.

What about bowling?

@Robusto haz you been readin the wrong blogz agin?

And you can't say that I am not offended when I say I am!

@tchrist Are we negotiating?

@SpareOom But what does it mean? It means uncle in Dutch.

@Robusto Of course not. I’ve already declared myself exempt from mediator proficiencies, or duties.

@Cerberus It doesn't apply here. The question doesn't deserve a downvote but the irrelevant fact he added intentionally to hurt people.

@Luke Ohh...

Or at least that's what I think he's referring to...

It's a reference to the land beyond the Wardrobe in the first Narnia book. But you might also think of it as spare room in my head, I suppose... mostly empty. The Narnians misunderstood that the children were from the wardrobe in the spare room as opposed to from the land of War Drobe in Spare Oom.

@Gigili That is part of the question, so you can vote it down for that reason. And if people are hurt because a stranger says God does not exist, they should not be on the internet!

@SpareOom Exactly what I was thinking, and that's the second book mind you

@SpareOom Don’t worry, you have plenty of years to fill it up. It gets quite cluttered after a while.

@SpareOom Ohh...so when is it used exactly? I only read it in Dutch.

Here's what I don't like about recent developments: We used to be a fairly collegial group, but now we are polarizing into those who are in favor of one viewpoint vs. another: clique vs. clique. It's feeling very 7th grade in here all of a sudden. What will emerge will be the group that has the "correct line" vs. everyone else. Call me crazy, but I calls 'em like I sees 'em.

@tchrist I don't have as many years left as you might suppose.

@SpareOom I’m sorry to hear that.

@tchrist You are In Media Rex and you love it.

@Robusto I don't feel like one is correct and one isn't. I felt like we were disagreeing, yes, but the debate was civil.

pretends to be a monoglot

@tchrist I'm not sick, just getting older.

@SpareOom Why yes, and so are we all.

@Cerberus They are on the internet anyway. If people don't care about things that are complete nonsense they should not be on the internet!

@Luke I have to look it up now. I used to read the series every summer when I was a child. I've apparently forgotten some.

@Robusto I'm not so sure that will happen. I can live with the majority disagreeing with me—Hell, I have done so for the past year.

The way children reread things, or rewatch movies, again and again and again and again and again, is somewhat interesting.

@Gigili On the contrary! Thin skins are deadly on the internet.

@Luke By the way, which book do you call the second? I've seen two different numbering systems.

@Cerberus I agree with you. We disagree with each other, but I don't feel an impending schism.

@simchona Same here.

@SpareOom The order I'm going by is the chronological order, which is more common where I come from. The other order is the order of publication, where the "lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" comes first.

@Cerberus Umm.

The only thing it does is it makes me want to keep some distance between myself and the management of the website, which is perhaps also how it works for Rob.

@Gigili Booo.

@Robusto Rob, I really don’t thing it’s getting that way. I certainly hope not. Long will I tarry, ere I begin this war for gold.

@Cerberus If I were mod, I wouldn't go through editing the posts unless it were egregious. But I can understand how Luke might have felt.

I still think regulars shouldn't do so either.

But of course you are free to disagree.

Except with that statement.

@Cerberus I'm afraid I don't follow what this meant

@Luke en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spare_oom#W @Cerberus

@simchona Oops, I only forgot the "not" that negates the entire sentence.

@Cerberus I didn't edit it. I approved the edit, though. In hindsight, I would have let other people approve or reject it.

@SpareOom Ahh, nice.

I had no idea.

@SpareOom How old are you?

Now you do...

I do remember A Neevil.

@simchona OK, but anyway you mentioned it as a good example.

@tchrist Do you ask everyone that?

@Cerberus I mentioned it because it was the example that came up today. The only reason I referenced it in Meta was that Luke had commented on it earlier.

OK.

@Luke No, I already knew how old you were, Luke. I didn’t think @Cerberus knew.

Was I supposed to know?

@Luke Ok, I go by the order of publication. So we were both correct about which book.

@simchona Frankly, I want to like you and accept you — and I even voted for you — but I have to confess that you scare the hell out of me. I wonder if you aren't a polarizing force. You seem to be constantly at battle with someone, and enlisting others to your cause. Check out your profile: you have more than twice as many profile views as anyone else on this site, and you've been here only a year.

Why do you think that is? It's not what I would have thought — that you're a young woman on a nerdy male site — because other women I checked aren't getting the same kind of attention.