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Tonepoet
Tonepoet
02:15
@Cerberus Hmm, you could retract the vote after the poster makes an edit, or rest comfortably in the knowledge that individual votes for a post are relatively insignificant. I think there is a human bias to rate things positively more often than not, and the Stack Exchange system only has restrictions in place to facilitate that bias (rep. penalties for down votes, and a proportional restriction on how many votes against a post you have made, based on how many posts you have voted for.
So basically, answers have a natural tendency to be overrated anyway, so what you have done is merely a matter of degree.
tchrist
tchrist
@Tonepoet It may be “human” bias, but the contrary proposition applies for some people or some situations. In those cases, a “negative-first” bias dominates instead.
Feeds
Feeds
02:31
0
Q: What is a word for trying to figure out how something was built ?

user1068636Is there a word for trying to figure out how something complicated was built? Trying to first figure out what the building blocks are and then see how those building blocks are used to construct other more complicated things. Is there a word that encapsulates all this?

single-word-requests
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
02:59
@tchrist That is true: I never meant to imply otherwise. However, for what it's worth, my observation isn't strictly, or even mostly based in the Stack Exchange system. I most particularly pay attention to the fact that a review score of 50% is typically considered bad, rather than typical, based upon my experience with Newgrounds, Amazon and various video game related publications.
If I recall correctly, the average review system at Game Informer considered 7/10 average, with anything lower than that not really being worth your time. Similarly, fans of The Legend of Zelda series have expressed disdain for reviews below a 9, which gives relatively little value to having a score at all. There is at least this instance, where there were major complaints about a score of 7.
 
1 hour later…
SmokeDetector
SmokeDetector
04:34
[ SmokeDetector | MS ] URL in title, bad keyword in body, bad keyword in title, blacklisted website in body, blacklisted website in title, +3 more: testosteronesboosterweb.com/copula-male-enhancement/ by jamwoxd on english.SE
 
4 hours later…
Feeds
Feeds
08:06
0
Q: Want to know term for a professional who is over-educated and working menial jobs while waiting for the job market to improve

hemant jainWhat is the term for a professional who is over-educated and working menial jobs while waiting for the job market to improve?

single-word-requests
 
2 hours later…
Jonas
Jonas
10:21
"Finding decent food can prove to be problematic seeing how there's a lack of good restaurants in said city. So we're considering hosting a lunch party."
vs
"Finding decent food can prove to be problematic, thus we're considering hosting a lunch party seeing how there's a lack of good restaurants in said city."
in the 1st one I feel as if the last sentence is week and overwhelmed by the first
Feeds
Feeds
0
Q: Antonym for Hypochondriac or another word completely?

Jason BellamySample sentence: Some people think that Veronica is a workaholic but what they don't know about her is that she actually suffers from a very debilitating and un-diagnosed chronic illness-- she's really the opposite of a hypochondriac. I am not satisfied with previous answers to this question. ...

single-word-requests
 
3 hours later…
CowperKettle
CowperKettle
13:03
> Qualitative and quantitative composition of the drug product.
Does this look okay?
It's a direct translation from Russian. I'm not sure whether qualitative composition looks at all good in English.
 
1 hour later…
Feeds
Feeds
14:30
0
Q: What word describes answering an unspoken question?

Zolly ClamanI am looking for an English word that describes the action of understanding a question that is about to be asked and answering it before it is verbalized. For example: this whould be without 'it': Person 1: I love dogs. Person 2: Which breed of dogs are your favorite? Person 1: Golden retrievers...

single-word-requests
 
2 hours later…
Sayros
Sayros
16:09
Hi All
whats the meaning of Skynet ?
AndyT
AndyT
@Sayros - Did you try 1. Google. 2. Wikipedia?
Skynet (Terminator)
Skynet is a fictional neural net-based conscious group mind and artificial general intelligence (see also superintelligence) system that features centrally in the Terminator franchise and serves as the franchise's main and true antagonist. Rarely depicted visually in any of the Terminator media, Skynet gained self-awareness after it had spread into millions of computer servers all across the world; realizing the extent of its abilities, its creators tried to deactivate it. In the interest of self-preservation, Skynet concluded that all of humanity would attempt to destroy it and impede its capability...
Sayros
Sayros
Be sure before I ask a question means I tried in google
but why (Terminator) ?
is the word skynet born for that Terminator ?
AndyT
AndyT
As far as I know, the first "Skynet" to exist was in the film Terminator. Whenever I hear "skynet" the first thing I think of is Terminator
It has, apparently, been used for other things: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet
Sayros
Sayros
Oh thats okay then... in this case I will read that wiki many thanks :)
MetaEd
MetaEd
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
AndyT
AndyT
16:17
Cold @MetaEd?
MetaEd
MetaEd
It's chilly in the office.
AndyT
AndyT
I find turning off the aircon helps. :)
(Seriously. My office has an HVAC system. I think the cleaner turns it on first thing to heat up the room, but at some point in the day it starts blowing cold air at me so I have to turn it off.)
(I realise this is likely of no help to you.)
MetaEd
MetaEd
In my case, I get to set the thermostat. But I do turn it down overnight.
AndyT
AndyT
7
Q: Actor, motor, tutor, ... mentor?

MitchThere is a very productive suffix in English coming from Latin: '-or': doctor, actor, aviator, etc. meaning 'the person that does the thing'. It is spelled '-or' but is pronounced to rhyme with the English Native spelling of the similar meaning '-er' or in IPA for American English as from the NU...

american-english british-english pronunciation-vs-spelling
Strange, I could have sworn it was pronounced "Ment-oh"
As in "I'm a ment-oh for kids" ;)
MetaEd
MetaEd
Mentos
Mentos is a brand of prepackaged scotch mints sold in stores and vending machines. First produced in the Netherlands in 1948, it is currently sold in more than 130 countries worldwide by the Italian corporation Perfetti Van Melle. The mints are small oblate spheroids, with a slightly hard exterior and a soft, chewy interior. They are typically sold in rolls which contain 14 mint discs, although the "Sour Mix" variety contains only 11 discs per roll. Smaller versions also exist, typically containing 4 to 6 discs per roll. Certain flavors are sold in boxes in Australia, the United States, Malaysia...
AndyT
AndyT
16:31
Yes, I'm aware... It was a Friends quote, I posted it as a joke.
 
1 hour later…
Feeds
Feeds
17:35
0
Q: What is the correct way to say "several, but few" in a single word?

Sean PiankaWhat can transform this: "to group items into several (but few) categories, ..." into: "to group items into {word} categories, ..." while still conveying the same meaning? I'd like to condense this information into one shorter word.

single-word-requests
Cerberus
Cerberus
@Tonepoet Quite so.
Mitch
Mitch
17:49
@AndyT Oh really? I'm not aware of a Friends connection. Any link to the episode or the quote itself?
In my research for that question, most of the dictionaries give an audio recording to go a long with the IPA pronunciation. And one of them, though it wrote /'men ter/ pronounced it out loud as ... /'men tow/, 'men toh', like how you wrote it above.
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
18:10
in The Periodic Table, 4 mins ago, by M.A.R.
Confirmed, I will be away for at least two weeks starting tomorrow, guys.
Mitch
Mitch
@M.A.R. Congratulations?
Bon voyage?
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Bon transplant
Mitch
Mitch
Oh. Good luck?
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Thanks
terdon
terdon
@M.A.R. What, really?
Break a leg, if so! Or good luck, or whatever you prefer!
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
18:16
@terdon I haven't tried it before, so I don't know what others would say
Cerberus
Cerberus
Don't break a leg!
Nor any other body part nor organ.
terdon
terdon
@M.A.R. I hope you never try it again either!
M.A.R.
M.A.R.
Haha thanks guys. Love the support.
Not that I needed it anyway. Kidney problems are serious and not serious at the same time
So you keep receiving support and luxury, but nothing about your body sounds different from when you were healthy.
Well, except the dizziness which is a natural side effect of low blood pressure which is a natural side effect of dialysis
Cerberus
Cerberus
Hmm.
I'm glad to hear that you don't suffer from any other (side-)effects.
Feeds
Feeds
0
Q: A word to describe something being large, beyond comprehension?

DavidI'm looking for a word or even scientific term to describe something being so large it is beyond rational comprehension?

single-word-requests
Færd
Færd
18:50
@M.A.R. Good luck man. Get three kidneys while you're at it, just in case.
.
Mehrdad is an Iranian name which I hear has a bad meaning in Italian.
I wonder what that meaning is.
It's /mehrdɑ:d/, prolly meaning "a gift from the sun".
So are Roya and Mostafa (or Mustafa), both Arabic names but very common among other Muslim communities.
I don't know the Italian significance of any of these names.
Cerberus
Cerberus
@Færd Because it sounds like merda?
Færd
Færd
19:10
@Cerberus Hah! Quite possibly!
Feeds
Feeds
19:28
0
Q: Is There a Name for the Lines of an Arrowhead?

Jonathan MeeGiven an arrow head symbol, formed by two lines, is there a name for these lines? If not, perhaps a term that could be used to clearly convey that idea? For example: "Arrowhead edges"?

single-word-requests nouns image-identification
 
1 hour later…
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
20:56
user image
Tonepoet
Tonepoet
21:31
I was trying to see what you would call a group of foxes to try and determine the context for something, and then I see that Oxford Dictionaries online dashed my hopes with the weird choice of skulk.
I thought it was a weird choice of words, so I checked the ngrams as seen above. Although it seems like it reached parity with pack, I'm assuming that skulk is over-represented in print these days, and that pack is the more nominal form in actual speech.
 
1 hour later…
Xanne
Xanne
22:42
A skulk of foxes (earth, lead, leash, troop)
From badns.org/Funnies/Collective%20Nouns.htm
Why is this "incomprehensible" stuff labelling the EL&U chat room? Just to discourage visitors? Some kind of in-joke?
Cerberus
Cerberus
Oh, it's just an old nickname of the room.
Written in IPA.
MetaEd
MetaEd
23:24
@Xanne "The incomprehensible room."
Mitch
Mitch
23:45
@MetaEd In a question of mine, a user, user5768790, deleted their answer.
It is a very reasonable answer (and one I was inclined to check as 'most useful'.
I have voted to undelete (as is allowed). But I'd like to convince the user to just undelete themselves. How can I do that? Well, not convince, but contact them to convince. Since the answer is deleted, I can't comment there to explain.

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