Incivility on Stack Overflow is not a new topic. But apparently it's been given new life. So here's your chance to sound off on what we, as a community, can do about it.
But first, some of my own observations and opinions.
As a diamond moderator, I have cleared thousands of flags on Stack Ove...
I hate how a chance to addressing the root problem got lost in debates of finding out who's on which side
95 percent of the discussion was polluted with emotions, whose net result would just be an "us vs. them" stance for people on all sides involved
I'm saying because that's how I feel, and I didn't even engage
Helping users who post crap not post crap can help the situation greatly, and the possible solutions are much more quantifiable and workable than trying to help regulars not have bad days and post snarky comments
SO is not sexist or racist. Okay, that's controversial. But what we all agree on is learning the ropes of how to ask is a very tough curve and people usually just don't bother climbing.
There's lots of potential to work on here. The only reason work hasn't been done is procrastination.
And we already have some ideas how. I've seen loads of meta.
@M.A.R.ಠ_ಠ Either Stack Overflow is the first group of humans in recorded history to have solved all the issues of race and gender, or... There's room for improvement.
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Discrimination and bigotry aren't just a Stack Overflow problem, or a Stack Exchange problem, they're human problems. Where ever you have large groups of humans together, you're going to have to deal with these problems sooner or later... Or not.
My girlfriend and I have been together for about 5 months. She tends to be more left leaning in her beliefs and I tend to be more centered.
Every now and then she'll ask me something related to something she agrees with politically (often to do with feminism/race etc), and I would end up disagr...
I have a crush on my collegue friend and want to take her out to cinemas or other places. When I ask her out, she always tell me if her friend could go along with her. I know it's not a date just hang out together. But, I really only want the two of us.
How do I politely tell her about it?
It seems clear that the OP's crush is female.: agreed. my point was that she could bring a MALE friend to the date: agreed. as a message she's not interested: agreed (but then, why not just say "no" to the "date"?). IMO, be it a female or a male friend, it's exactly the same: I bring them to feel safe before going any further. My advice isn't misleading at all in either case I believe :) — OldPadawan47 secs ago
I want to invite my in-laws, who live in another country, to visit me and my wife. However, we do not have enough space in our apartment for so many people, so I would like to accommodate them in a nearby hotel instead.
Unfortunately, given their financial situation my in-laws lack the money to ...
I also noticed back when I was going to a university and while I lived in that city afterward (between 2004 and 2011) that college students (those I didn't know) would rarely wave back or say hi if I said hi or waved to them as we crossed paths (while walking to and from campus)—I said 'hi' and/or waved a lot. That was a new to me (I was used to people responding in my home town, then). That was in Utah, but the students were from all over, but for people I knew, they would normally respond. (But people over a certain age where I live now usually respond, while the younger ones, not so much.) — Shule1 min ago
I have been friends with this Amy for 3-4 years, since college.
Recently we have started going on one on one dates couple of times a month.
When we are out we really seem to connect, as we have been friends for long and have a somewhat common friend’s circle, field of work, play the same sports s...
@apaul the opposing side's argument is not that these problems are non-existent. It's that they're not the main issue, and if we want to be making SO a better place, they're not our primary concern
And damn right.
Most of the SO user-mods, meaning, people who do the regular janitorial work, are NOT racist or sexist, at least most of the time.
And please don't bring up the "you are sexist and you don't know it" argument. I hate that
TL;DR: I want to give my brother some money with a few conditions on how it is spent but believe he is unlikely to realise that I seriously plan to enforce those conditions. How can I convey my seriousness to him?
I have an older brother whom I do/have gotten along well with for all of my life...
@ExtrovertedMainMan Longest question I've seen in a while :D I just kept going on and on, there was a more and more context I thought was relevant that came to mind as I was writing it
@Jesse great question. IMO you could cut some of the backstory, because you ask about IPS skills and -techniques, and not about a "standard" IPS problem. If it were the latter, then the more context the better. but since it is not, I do believe all that specific context is a bit too much. Answers about conversational skills and -techniques do not depend so much on your backstory.
As it is, the question is nice and contains all the necessary info to give a great answer. It is up to you, how much you want to cut in order to attract more readers (+ answers)
@Cashbee Being specific helps me get personal and targeted answers which is nice. But I could probably delete the entire first 3 paragraphs and the question works equally as well :D which would be better for the site. I might do a smaller trimming and then see how things go
the two current answers both include suggestions that i specifically said I did not want >_> I started to go on a rant about why I don't think they will work but instead I think ill try leave the ball in their court. Its really their job to explain why if they want to disagree
surprisingly it did still attract answers. (albeit mediocre ones) 3 answers/70 views are pretty high stats
they are all "hacks" to solve my situation rather than answers to my actual question. I think hack answers are risky because they are likely to result in exactly what has happened, the suggestion is something that just wouldn't work in OP's case
@Tinkeringbell I would like to inquire without indicating that I am interested in a relationship. Because if said person is not single, such an inquiry creates such awkward tension.
My advice would be 'don't ask out of the blue'... but it's cool if you're like sharing that you live alone with your two cats, and then ask 'what about you?' :P
I'm giving up on my aforementioned question draft. I can't think of a way to shape it into a good enough fit. If somebody wants to take over, feel free.
@apaul I don't know, but I got the impression my parents wouldn't let me watch it because of either language or sexual content :P I'm still catching up on that nerd thing ;)
@Cashbee I am fairly sure I have seen a question asking that before. We get more "is she into me?" questions but I swear I can remember seeing this somewhere
Yeah I have seen many of those poorly worded questions too. I still think there is a way to ask it more generally while still staying on topic. But I'm not gonna do it
@Tinkeringbell My cat sleeps in the sofa in the morning, then fights/plays with another cat and again sleeps (this time in the bed, as if she owns the place).
@Sid Most experiences I have with cats include scratches, walking over the kitchen counter and hairs... :P There must be some very sweet cats out there too, but apparently, not for me ;)
This is the question: Was it inappropriate for me to wear a qipao as a formal dress?
It was closed originally as off-topic, but got reopened after an edit which replaced "is this cultural appropriation" with "was this inappropriate / rude".
According to the help center (which is also explained ...
I have a cat that will spend all day sleeping sleeping on my lap or following around feet and all night sleeping on belly. The most "wild" thing she has ever done is is sneeze
I would say that an animal is only a pet when it acts like a pet. Is this a classic case of stereotypes? domesticated animals are people too! ... ooh wait :P
I'd say that cats are pretty well domesticated, but unlike dogs who started out as social pack hunters, cats are more independent. Cats don't need their humans' approval the way dogs do.
On the other hand, it's somewhat easy to argue that cats are better at training humans than humans are at training cats...
This starts out with a really interesting premise that promises to meet her on her territory that I hadn't considered. But the rest of this really doesn't talk about steps to approach the desired result, which would improve the answer. Also, you state about teaching her Scripture being a wild turn-on. I'm curious about what that is based on. I agree that mutually studying religion together is a good thing but am not sure about this aspect of it. — baldPrussian32 secs ago
@apaul There's this Dutch rime: "Dit is de spin Sebastiaan, het is niet goed met hem gegaan" (Link, with English translation: dutchgrammar.com/en/?n=POD.00006)
@apaul I love the texts from that writer. They were fun and innocent if you're a kid, but if you become older you get the double entendres some have and they're still good for a laugh :)
Luckily the most common large spider in australia is harmless :) we had one in our classroom called Harold. More like the size of 4 hand grenades though :D
Does anyone have thoughts on flagging this as not an answer? As was pointed out in comments, it has nothing to do with helping encourage conversation. Plus, if I wanted a sermon I'd have asked my parents this question instead of the internet.
@Rainbacon Like a few of that users answers its right on the line... I personally think it is not delete worthy but because it is completely centered around the answeres opinions without much inter personal context I think it is more of a "downvote only" scenario
@Rainbacon I was also unsure about that. While in a way it does indirectly answer the question by saying choose the right location that has nothing to do with intimacy but there is so much unnecessary, preaching, and opinionbased stuff in there..
That one reminds me of something Shog said the other night... Sometimes we spend a little too much time quibbling about whether something is rude or should be removed...
I am working in a company in Germany, and I have co-workers from different cultures and countries.
As a person, I am open and I don't have any problem with any religion or idea, because I believe everyone is free in this life.
Around 2 months ago, the company recruited someone who's gay. For me, ...
@apaul already voted on it ;) even regardless of content, it's been sitting around waiting for improvements for a month, and OP has been active here and not improved it, so it is adding no value
I guess, for me, it's a reminder of a day that a good many people acted like hot garbage and it took a CM to step in and shut it down... If the community had downvoted it and closed it without much fuss, it would probably be a better signpost.
@Tinkeringbell And then, they come back later when you are even more busy. If you do it multiple times, they get that you are trying to avoid them but then, that complicates matters..
As an undergraduate student(and a so-called nerd), I have had friends who request for academic help a day or two before the exams. Now, I don't have much problem with helping them and I try my best to do that. However, you can't help everyone all the time.
I learnt that the hard way in my mid-te...
I have a crush on my collegue friend and want to take her out to cinemas or other places. When I ask her out, she always asks me if her female friend could go along with her. I know it's not a date just hang out together. But, I really only want the two of us.
How do I politely tell her about it?
Growing up, we always had family dinners to celebrate birthdays and similar events like Mother's Day, Father's Day, and some other things that are personal to our family. These traditions have been continued in the years since I've moved out, with the addition of Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Y...
I talked to a coach. I said that I want people to accept me the way they are.
My coach told me that what you should do to get people to accept you?
I have no idea. I mumble something about well, I should be accepting of people too.
I told him I don't accept anyone though. I don't want to even ...