Glad we have two more mods here to back up a fellow mod! Or here to swoop down on any user having trouble understanding one mod's actions, and make them disappear.

Do you mean me @amWhy

Spectacular failure. Giving more information and context on my simple, fundamental question led to gang-closure and some serial downvoting and closure of previous questions. (Even on question that had legit answers with upvotes.)

Still good information--suggests what I'm working on is indeed original, but sort of confirms the stack is not a good place to get advice on new problems. :(

@Duke I don't think that what you've experienced provides you with "good information--suggests what I'm working on is indeed original". But believe as you wish, or as you need to believe.

@amWhy the model is certainly original. The community is quite unfriendly (but this is something I was warned about at the outset of the project, regarding the math world in general :) Irony is, my involvement across the rest of the Stack was based on becoming a trusted contributor so that I could get some help on the math stuff. Faulty assumption.

But I will say the closure of question that had legitimate answers which were subsequently upvoted, for entirely subjective reasons, is shameful.

Why is it so threatening to ask for a Set Theory definition of a Latin square? Why must an answer be suppressed?

I'm not here to criticize your hopes in developing the model you hope to develop. I will just share what I witnessed. Your posts resurfaces, time and time again in the low quality and/or close review queue, and they all (and there were many of them) seemed to try to argue the same thing. Had you posted one of two questions, payed attention to feedback, backed off to find a way to better communicate your question, using input received from feedback you received, and say, came back three weeks

The model is developed, and vetted. Now I just need to establish definitions. Normally, I would have waited, but in this case, I have an event coming up and there was time pressure.

But why is a trusted contributor having their answer trashed because other contributors don't like the OP or the line of questioning?

or four weeks later having revised your question, your presentation of your model, at least acted sincerely interested in what others had to say in response, we all would have or could have had a more agreeable experience. Instead, it struck me that you were dead set on the correctness of you project, and simply demeaned users here for not "having the sense" to recognized good quality "original work." So you did a lot to lose the very people you ostentatiously sought help from.

Not the correctness of the project, but the legitimacy of the line of thinking (which usually one or two contributors feel is legit.)

But when you bring up "agreeableness" in term of experience, that is subjective.

I know I'm not liked on this stack, and, in general, I try to avoid asking questions.

@DukeZhou very well, it struck me that you were dead set on the legitimacy of your project. But any time you plan to present a model, your ideas, and your believe in there legitimacy, The responsibility is yours to convince others of those features. You've got to be strong enough to not get defensive or to not acting like you're a victim. You need to put yourself into the shoes of those you are seeking help/support from,

The project is indeed legitimate. Anyone can play the game, and if they think about it a little, they will recognize some of the new questions it asks. I've had to do a tremendous amount of basic research just to identify some of the most basic questions.

And it's true that, when I feel I'm being attacked unfairly, my responses aren't always the best.

"Why should anyone spend time apart from their work, their studies, their teaching, and their time on MSE to take me seriously?" I don't mean you must always be agreeable. But you must be respectful (just as users on this site ought also be respectful to you. I am not here to criticize you. I am trying to given you additional perspective, what if might feel like for some users reading your work, what you did that helped your goals, and what you did that may have hurt your goals.

@DukeZhou That's true for most of us, @DukeZhou (Welcome to the human race!!) So it's entirely understandable.

What I usually hear is people telling me not to think about it that way.

such is life

@DukeZhou Without, probably, anyone adding why it might not be able to think "that" way. Frustrating...

but with some who feel it is useful to think that way...

I don't have a formal grounding in the field, and it's definitely problematic. (but that's partly why I try to utilize this stack)

What I really need is an academic advisor, but don't have the luxury of going back to school. We've had a few PhD look at the model, and all agree it is promising, just that nobody want to get involved unless the game achieves some notoriety. I get it, but it's faintly disappointing.

because Latin squares and Sudoku have proven useful

but nothing worthwhile is easy!

I'll just keep soldiering on. Kids get the game, so at least there's that. :)

@DukeZhou That's a good thing. Perhaps you want to consider inviting users who seem to warm up to your ideas to a chatroom, You can title they chatroom as "DukeZhou's Chat room", or you can entitle it according to a topic or a key idea. Exchanges in chats are much less formal, more cooperative, patient, and progress at a pace those participating are able to contribute.

That is good advice. I'm Mr. TMI and tend to overwhelm people pretty quickly. (Plus, I definitely come off as arrogant, and I'm working on that.)

There is a small cadre, but they have very limited time.

Chatroom is also a great idea as the place for these discussions. I can see why proposing new ideas is problematic on the main stack.

Thanks for this conversation! Helpful.

@DukeZhou My pleasure!

@AlexanderGruber Perhaps yes. But I have often clicked on CW when answering expressly and primarily for the purpose of answering, and indicating absolutely in no way do I want to earn any rep for it, but rather, to count a question as answered, or to summarize and give credit to answers in comments, or to answer to elaborate on a "hint" offered in an answer, and occasionally, to CMA against those who might read into the answer the worst of intentions.

@AlexanderGruber You see, I've always operated, automatically, and perhaps for reasons of gender, to always be aware of the fact that, just as I'm answering, behaving, speaking spontaneously, I am also acutely aware of how others are responding, their expressions (face to face), any pauses (non-response, or pauses), and it has been crucial to my success in academia, and professionally in general, to be keenly, even acutely, aware of how my words, actions, lack of actions, everything I do,

might, though perhaps incomprehensible, but nonetheless, just might be seen and interpreted by others. But I understand if you've never felt the need to worry about what others think of you and your actions and decisions. Just recognize far more people than you're likely aware of spend double the energy you do to move forward. So I hope you don't take it as an insult that I, perhaps needlessly, tried to protect you from the consequesnce I would suffer, had I been in your position.

Silly me, I realized too late that, Hah, you've never had to be self-conscious much about anything. Contrats.

@amWhy I will repeat almost the same thing I commented to Mariano in a post: You have valid inquiries. One should contest when they see something they find unfair. In this instance, you have some evidence to suggest a decision could have been made under conflict of interest. Why contaminate a valid and pertinent inquiry with irrelevant and arguably insulting commentary such as this last one?

@AloizioMacedo I'm sorry, @AloizioMacedo, I do not understand what you are asking, or addressing, and I fail to see how I have contaminated anything. You're in no position to call my concerns, nor what I've learned from experience, as irrelevant. I never asked for a lecture from you. Once you've lived life and pursued math from the standpoint of a genderless person, then we can talk.

Not genderless, that would be absurd. But until you are willing to acknowledge that others know things that you don't know, just as you have experienced things I don't know, you're not in a position to pass judgment as to who or what is relevant.

@Vogel612 Hello! Of course! I have spoken (err written) nothing non-civil. But it is good to see you stop in. It never hurts to read such a reminder. (Vogel was my grandmother's maiden name!).

@amWhy I advise you to not throw accusations like that.

Hmmm, and it seems Vogel612 has taken sides. Please delete Aloizio's demeaning comment to mean.

@amWhy I am not taking sides. not yet.

@Vogel612 Yes, your majesty! How may I serve you?

@BalarkaSen I've popped and buttered some yummy popcorn! You're welcome to join me in "spectating" and share my popcorn! (Sorry, though, the popcorn isn't spicy, but it is covered with yummy parmesan cheese!)

I carry around instant popcorn with me 365/24/7 for precisely these situations but I am afraid my IQ is too low to understand the condensed drama here

@BalarkaSen No worries. There was, in fact, no drama. I didn't flag. I simply find it hilarious that the one who was rude hasn't been touched. Only my attempt to courteously and calmly reply to the provacative accusations was deleted. So I sit here waiting, after bowing and placating myself to the temporary lord who took command of the site. While munching my popcorn.

Sounds like some strong drama to me

Hello @BalarkaSen You came to my office How can I help? :-)

Lol I was lurking around and saw this was active and there were lots of fiery keyboard fights so I came to have a look

I am afraid there wasn't any worthwhile commentary I had on my part

There I thought I could be of help. Oh well.

Hahah sorry to disappoint

Maybe another time.

@amWhy It seems a misunderstanding happened. I did not refer to your whole last comment (your response seems to assume that). I refered to your literal last comment: "Silly me, I realized too late that, Hah, you've never had to be self-conscious much about anything. Contrats."

@AloizioMacedo I appreciate your explanation, and your identification of what specifically you were upset about. I'm sure I could have stopped short of that.