WBT

general recent conversations

2023 Web Applications Stack Exchange …

Open discussion for webapps.stackexchange.com/election/6

WBT

Jun 16, 2023 14:14

It's really too bad that comments on nominations posted shortly before the end of the nomination period disappear completely, except the first few words that remain in the notification.

Discussion on question by Zuriel: Why…

Imported from a comment discussion on travel.stackexchange.com...

WBT

Nov 30, 2022 06:37

FYI, this practice is now super common, it's not just one restaurant trying to pull something funny.

2022 The Workplace Stack Exchange Mod…

Open discussion for workplace.stackexchange.com/election/9

WBT

Nov 7, 2022 17:37

Please note: I will be out attending a conference the two days after today, and thus slower to respond to questions during that time.

2021 Science Fiction & Fantasy Stack …

Open discussion for scifi.stackexchange.com/election/5

WBT

Jun 16, 2021 23:14

Just popping in to say that I've voted in a lot of Stack Exchange elections, and this is one of the most solid slates of experienced candidates I can recall seeing in a very long while. Congrats!

Discussion on question by algiogia: M…

Imported from a comment discussion on law.stackexchange.com/qu...

WBT

Mar 12, 2020 16:42

Did you buy it on a Mastercard with Price Drop Protection? Not that it works a full year later, but the question might be useful in the thread.

2020 The Workplace Moderator Election…

Open Discussion for workplace.stackexchange.com/election/7

WBT

Feb 18, 2020 19:51

@MisterPositive Could you comment on why "one was agreed to be the best approach?"

WBT

Feb 17, 2020 20:34

If we lost 3 mods, why is the election for 1?

Discussion on answer by user6726: Can…

Imported from a comment discussion on law.stackexchange.com/qu...

WBT

Sep 30, 2019 00:45

Nice summary, but this totally omits the possibility that if OP helps a corrupt/power-abusing police officer (please don't pretend they just don't exist) in entering a room, OP could face personal civil liability for the consequences (and be a far easier target to sue than the officer), while the university's explicit policy protects the institution.

Discussion on question by datasn.io: …

Imported from a comment discussion on law.stackexchange.com/qu...

WBT

Sep 30, 2019 00:43

FYI: consider asking at opendata.stackexchange.com or asking a moderator to move the question there.

Discussion on question by Gabriel Con…

Imported from a comment discussion on law.stackexchange.com/qu...

WBT

Sep 30, 2019 00:42

@LorenPechtel Check out Asgardia for someone actually trying that approach. @ GabrielConnorNelson If "there wouldn't be taxes," how would you pay for defense or other common resources?

2019 Academia Moderator Election Chat

Open Discussion for academia.stackexchange.com/election/3

WBT

Sep 17, 2019 13:57

Best wishes to the candidates, and thanks Martin for creating that query!

2019 Law Moderator Election Chat

Open Discussion for law.stackexchange.com/election/2

WBT

Aug 28, 2019 14:18

@MatthewElvey It was not in reference to the question you linked to.
I have also validated that my prediction (above at https://chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/51407396#51407396) was correct. I think your proposal is a pretty good one.

WBT

Aug 27, 2019 14:28

I think that if I were to point out past unkind interactions with any specific likely-to-win mod candidate, it could lead to more difficulty and frustration for me in the future on this site.

WBT

Aug 22, 2019 13:46

@A.fm. I'm not saying that outcome is necessarily optimal for the community, but it's by far the most likely outcome, especially considering how many vote principally by moderator score. I've also seen elections where the number of candidates who put serious thought into a nomination post and questionnaire answer (if they submit one at all!), especially in advance of just-before-the-deadline, is not very favorably comparable to the number of open spots. This set of candidates has done better.

WBT

Aug 19, 2019 20:55

Here is a totally premature congratulations to Dale and Pat, and thanks to all the candidates for putting forth serious, considered self-nominations!

Discussion on question by Xeoff Baloc…

Imported from a comment discussion on german.stackexchange.com...

WBT

Aug 1, 2019 13:43

In many places that were formerly under the Third Reich, a fair number of older people will understand German as a secondary language while younger people often learn English as a secondary language.

Discussion on question by HRIATEXP: I…

Imported from a comment discussion on english.stackexchange.co...

WBT

Jul 21, 2019 01:12

"<Subject> people" or similar (e.g. "<subject> guy" or "<subject> lady") can be a substitute for "<subject> specialist" and implies a relatively high level of relevant knowledge/expertise. A "janitor" usually professionally uses a wider variety of more general skills. The short summary seems somewhat click-baity, maximizing traffic from the HNQ list, but not accurate for describing the type of specialist your boss seems to have had in mind.

Discussion on question by user2562609…

Imported from a comment discussion on academia.stackexchange.c...

WBT

Jul 10, 2019 14:00

I've seen something like this happen, with a professor clearly striving for the minimum work required on a coast path to retirement, and what seemed to be a quite enjoyable non-work life. His last name informally became a verb for that approach to work.

Discussion on question by WBT: What's…

Imported from a comment discussion on workplace.stackexchange....

WBT

Jun 27, 2019 13:27

@EJoshuaS That discussion is on a linked question and linked questions from that.

WBT

Jun 27, 2019 07:15

@dfundako Have you really never worked with someone who got the job because they were able to sell themselves well in an interview on general ideas plus ability to not get the interview hung up on their weaknesses, such as lack of technical skills to do the specific job at hand? I don't think this is a particularly uncommon workplace situation. I'm not trying to troll - I'm trying to find solutions, strategies, and advice from what other people have found worked before.

WBT

Jun 27, 2019 07:15

@dwizum I think it's fair to assume that somebody followed the advice you posted there, as you posted it, even if it wasn't your post specifically (that pointer just makes things more concrete). Now there's a manager (e.g. me, OP here; someone else in the case of the other OP) responsible for dealing with the other end of that. Concrete advice to the manager for how to maximize the value you point out exists and should be sold to the company is a separate question from the candidate getting into that position in the first place.

WBT

Jun 27, 2019 07:15

@dwizum I should also make explicit that I particularly welcome you posting that answer you've been drafting here. I think editing the other one might also be a good idea because your comment here reads rather different from your answer there.

WBT

Jun 27, 2019 07:15

Stephan: Software engineering MS & Computer Science BS. @dwizum I think the answers on the other question, including yours, are too hypothetical & maybe inaccurate regarding the value proposition to a company, from being able to "get things done" and the "valuable skill" of being able to pass tests. How, specifically, can an employer make good use of those "valuable skills?" Someone following your advice there wanted a job in the field, focused on where they wanted to go, got the degrees without much attention to the path on the way. Now, how, concretely, is the value of those skills realized?

WBT

Jun 27, 2019 07:15

@dfundako Did you miss reading the answers on that other question about all the good things the degree and ability to learn quickly ahead of a test are supposed to represent, which I'm supposed to figure out how to turn into value for the company? It seems like the responses here provide an essential counterpoint to the rosy picture being painted over there.

WBT

Jun 27, 2019 07:15

@dfundako Comments on question because a great Answer could come from anyone; doesn't have to be you. This is a more common scenario than you apparently think it is. (Do you think the linked-to question is hypothetical as well?)

WBT

Jun 27, 2019 07:15

@dfundako In that case, a great Answer would describe a PIP that credibly seems likely to improve performance.

WBT

Jun 27, 2019 07:15

@dfundako (and Roberto, same conclusion) It does not seem like the kindest strategy, especially given how many posts here blame the manager for failure to adequately recognize what real value a new hire could bring to an organization, and how many posts on that other question, such as the top answer, indicate this lack of specific programming skills shouldn't be a problem. Specific ways to build competence or good ways to finding out what other work they can do well both seem like paths to success. Firing is not seen as success.

Discussion on question by elborrador:…

Imported from a comment discussion on academia.stackexchange.c...

WBT

Jun 21, 2019 04:23

@Trusly twitter.com/Grady_Booch/status/1141049029737844736

2019 Interpersonal Skills Moderator E…

Open discussion for interpersonal.stackexchange.com/election/1

WBT

Jun 17, 2019 20:43

Ah, OK. I had thought pro-tempore meant appointed, for some reason.

WBT

Jun 17, 2019 20:16

Why does the questionnaire thread call this a "2019 Pro Tempore Moderator Election" when it seems like a full-out regular election?

The Awkward Silence

Welcome to The Awkward Silence! Here, you can find the general...

WBT

Jun 10, 2019 20:39

Really? I'm surprised that's not scripted as part of the election setup.

WBT

Jun 10, 2019 20:38

No election chat room this time around?

Discussion on question by Fab von Bel…

Imported from a comment discussion on travel.stackexchange.com...

WBT

May 2, 2019 03:12

@HenningMakholm re:ISS distance, you are also going around the Earth quite quickly, so the percentage of operating flights you can see is much greater than the percentage of operating flights you can see at any one moment.

WBT

May 2, 2019 03:12

@Trotski94 which is a relief, because I like to dedicate my time to executing wild plans with co-conspirators. (JK!)

Discussion on question by Jennifer: H…

Imported from a comment discussion on travel.stackexchange.com...

WBT

Apr 26, 2019 17:07

A girl's piggy bank with about $98 in birthday money is above the "safe" threshold. If US police want your assets, they can and will take them (depending on jurisdiction).

Discussion on answer by Sourav Ghosh:…

Imported from a comment discussion on workplace.stackexchange....

WBT

Apr 18, 2019 10:26

How about picking a regular audio cue that's already present in the environment that you can't do anything about and people have to deal with already?

Discussion on question by Equinox: Is…

Imported from a comment discussion on academia.stackexchange.c...

WBT

Apr 18, 2019 01:05

@Equinox I know she wanted graded copies, but do you have the ungraded versions stored on your computer somewhere, if the essays were typed? Or were they handwritten essays?

Discussion on question by WBT: Favico…

Imported from a comment discussion on spanish.meta.stackexchan...

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 15:37

Also, this particular experience is just the latest in a string of other similar recent experiences. It's a clear, concrete demonstration which makes specific discussion easier, and serves as a failed test case for SE process.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 15:33

@walen The fact that you yourself, who play a role in the enforcement of capricious rules that change according to your whim even when going against community consensus on meta, feel like this system is working for you, does not change or impact what I'm saying.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 15:32

The process by which the community demonstrates that good-faith effortful contributions by one person are discarded, without consistency or means to understand how to improve for the future, is what pushes contributors (some, not all) away. That harms rather than benefits the community.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 15:32

I criticize the process by which duplication is asserted to be the proper means of accomplishing goals. I care about the process here because that is what lasts and drives the community forward, or not.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 15:28

@walen When you make statements about what many or several other users are thinking or saying, you should back those assertions up better. You lost a fair amount of credibility in such assertions above, with "several users told you that having more questions about the same topic is actually better" going against a rule with consensus so strong it shouldn't even be discussable on meta.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 15:20

You actively criticize and even vote against initiatives that would benefit your community... like what? Where do you see me doing that?

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 07:24

I have merely been trying to share a perspective about why an SE experience was frustrating, around capricious enforcement of rules like "it's better to post duplicates and leave them open to attract attention and actually get the issue fixed, instead of connecting back to existing content with answers" that you opt to enforce, as if that's a rule I really should have understood when in fact meta discussion points to the opposite conclusion. What you're doing pushes contributors away, & I (wrongly) thought it might be helpful to point that out.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 07:24

@Walen Regarding the instruction to post duplicates, see meta question here downvoted and closed as duplicate with a pointer to an accepted answer saying "Don't repost the request." This is just further demonstration of capricious, conflicting instructions leading to a significant waste of effort that does not lead to any improvement in the community resource, and has further confirmed the conclusion to step away for at least a while.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 07:24

@Walen I also don't get that point "several users told you that having more questions about the same topic is actually better" & that really runs contrary to a lot on SE. Having a lot of people organized around a single post means more than having signals that people care distributed across a larger # of duplicates. Speaking from experience, I'd also be willing to bet that if I wrote a duplicate question to try to call more attention to something, it'd be closed as a duplicate, and I might be chastised if there were evidence the duplication wasn't due to post-search ignorance of the original.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 07:24

I don't necessarily feel animosity on this one, just frustration in observing the route toward getting this done necessarily had to go through directly conflicting migration instructions and duplicate questions/answers replacing (IMO better) originals. There was some animosity in closures of my other recent good-faith questions, while others' similar questions remain open and highly upvoted. The standards for what good-faith contributions matter appears arbitrary & unpredictable on SE. Others' efforts seem sufficient (y'all got this) & mine don't seem wanted, so I'll spend them not on SE.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 07:24

Efforts by others in this question and this one were sufficient to produce the outcome. No reference was needed to the much earlier questions and answers. Efforts to mark a duplicate as such & link instead of duplicate answers got active pushback & failed; this effort apparently just impeded progress toward the common goal. Yes, I think the outcome & timing would have been the same, had I not spent any time at all investing effort into content/reasoning/formatting/migration discussion/etc.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 07:24

I feel the effort I put in on this went to waste, and (especially in combination with other experiences leading to similar conclusions) gave up on contributing to SE. You can how my activity/contributions on SE overall has been about 0 since then, despite a fairly regular pattern of prior contributions. It probably will stay that way for at least a while, excluding these comments trying to point out what the experience was like in the faint (& probably totally in vain) hopes that something might change so that others are less likely to have such experiences in the future. Thanks for your work.

WBT

Apr 9, 2019 07:24

I don't think there was animosity around the original asking of the question and migration to Meta.SE. The content was largely ignored, until a duplicate question was asked. Efforts to mark that duplicate back to the original failed. Content then had to be pushed back to the way I'd originally done it, but instead of reopening, you opened a new copy of this "closed, off-topic" question.