Tavern on the Meta

When I first signed up on a Stack Exchange site and got a profile image, it was this one (see my current user card I'm actually not sure what I look like any more): Later, I got Area 51 and SEDE profiles, and my user image there was a different identicon. Because reasons I already know. I wou...

Journeyman Geek

ya zat

user315433

Gravatar changed their algorithm of image generation, for no good reason or perhaps by an accident. Some users saved and uploaded their old generated image to keep it.

gparyani

And the old ones were cached for a time, and somehow my cache was cleared

Catija

So, who's making a hat?

Andrew T.

2:55 AM

I only have MS Paint :/

Catija

What does that have to do with anything? You have to build a physical hat.

Journeyman Geek

@Catija hoping Rahul does ;p

Catija

Rahul?

Journeyman Geek

he's been bugging us for ages on chat about site swag, and he's a user in good standing.

Catija

Ah.

Journeyman Geek

2:58 AM

SU user, commented on the post

While there's no direct method for us mods to get users the nicer swag (and I have a surplus of stickers ._.), I tend to point folk at contests like that ;p

Andrew T.

@Catija yeah, that's why... I only have MS Paint, can't create a physical hat.

well, ok, there's laptop, mouse, USB cable, power supply

Catija

You don't have any paper?

Andrew T.

let's see if I can make a physical hat with it...

@Catija I try to go paperless, but probably went too extreme :O

Catija

HAHA

Hmmmm.

Journeyman Geek

meta.stackexchange.com/questions/304523/… 0_0 TIL - Presto based opera was kept up to date till 2016 0_0 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…

Catija

3:08 AM

Spam on MSE!!!

gparyani

Why was this question closed as too localized? If it were being asked today, what reason would it be closed as?

Catija

If a question on main is deleted, can a 1 rep user still ask a question on meta by linking to it?

gparyani

Yes

Rob

@Catija What do you mean exactly? Yeah, they can link to a deleted question if they've got it in their browser history

Or if it was their question

gparyani

@Rob This is about asking about one's own post

Catija

3:13 AM

You need 5 rep to even ask on meta (except here)... I'm talking about a child meta, not MSE, by the way.

gparyani

Users can now ask about their own posts without having 5 rep

Catija

I know that linking to a closed question will allow them to post with one rep... wasn't sure about deleted.

Andrew T.

wait, wut?

well, technically, it's still their own posts, so I think it's still possible?

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Bad keyword with a link in answer, link at end of answer: Lobby Selector/Inventory Selector no longer works by Wings Io on gaming.SE

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Bad keyword with a link in answer, link at end of answer: How can I best take photos of people in front of a Christmas tree using only available lighting? by Wings Io on photo.SE

user315433

@Catija Tested it; asking about a deleted question is allowed (I think this also makes a lot of sense, since the question can be "why was my question deleted")

user315433

3:23 AM

But one has to know the URL or post Id of the deleted question.

Catija

Science!

user315433

The meta post uses a sternly worded question template...

user315433

Andrew T.

Lorem ipsum

Journeyman Geek

@CrazyIvan @Catija I think the criteria is "You own the post" - nothing more

you can ask about open posts too

gparyani

3:29 AM

That's right

user315433

But if you're an unregistered user who lost the cookie and is wondering why there is no way to reply to comments on the question... too bad.

Andrew T.

Feature request: add "Is this your question? Claim it now!" button for question by unregistered user

with shiny, blinking, or even marquee

Catija

I'm missing our chicken.

user315433

A chicken chatbot that communicates in emoji would be 💯

Catija

Oooh... yeah, you'd have to write up a series of possible meanings for each emoji.

I need a question to answer.

user315433

3:38 AM

Would Joker be sad if Batman died in an accident?

Andrew T.

@Catija chrome.googleblog.com/2014/04/…

Journeyman Geek

@CrazyIvan In many incarnations, yes

gparyani

32 mins ago, by gparyani

Why was this question closed as too localized? If it were being asked today, what reason would it be closed as?

Andrew T.

I'm considering SOCVR to answer that question...

gparyani

I also want opinions here

John Dvorak

3:47 AM

SOCVR member here. Unclear or no-MVCE are good options IMO

Rob

@gparyani There's no MVCE for one

gparyani

@JohnDvorak Why would the close voters at the time choose "too localized"?

John Dvorak

problem is specific to the asker

the closest to unclear is not a real question, which would also fit

gparyani

@JohnDvorak It's not. It's useful to anyone using GridWorld, and experiencing the same problem, and knows how to create a new JAR out of the modified source.

(Though it is a bit un-useful today, as three years later College Board moved away from GridWorld and to a different case study)

Catija

:/ I just got a +13 in my achievements but no sign of a down vote on either side.

Andrew T.

3:57 AM

perhaps -2 from downvoting answers 2 times

Catija

But that would show up in the dropdown?

gparyani

@Catija Check /reputation

Catija

I have no way to know which site to check.

Maybe someone downvoted something and then upvoted it... but it didn't get reflected in the top bar.

Journeyman Geek

ooh strange

Catija

Yeah... they're all perfectly 0 or 5 numbers but I had a +13. And I'm obviously not rep capped yet today.

Did I FGITW you?

Rob

4:01 AM

Did you downvote anything that's since been deleted?

Catija

I'd have to have downvoted three things... and they would have all had to have been deleted within the last 15-20 minutes. That seems unlikely?

Journeyman Geek

@Catija yes

your answer was significantly more fleshed out so meh ;p

Catija

HA HA HA Sorry.

Journeyman Geek

I'll just upvote and comment ;p

Catija

Faster and better! Booyah!

Journeyman Geek

4:03 AM

All is fair in posting and war. Mainly posting, I'd cheat the shit out of war.

Catija

You'll overtake me today if I don't rep cap.

Journeyman Geek

assuming I can keep up

Its been a pretty decent week

Catija

Thanks, chicken :P

Journeyman Geek

actually no

I have a pretty good spread

Andrew T.

> Left and came back 4 hours later, another secret hat; I didn't see any chickens while offline.

This Chicken is killing me softly now...

Journeyman Geek

4:10 AM

@Catija ^

I must admit, my clickbaity titles are on point

Catija

I ask more questions here than anywhere but I don't think I do much with clickbait titles...

Andrew T.

I ~~ask...~~ post more questions here due to SE Android app's bugs

Journeyman Geek

@Catija my winterbash ones are a little

@AndrewT. kinda like how @alexolut is the king of translation bugs? ;p

Catija

4:25 AM

Why is that question getting downvotes? And my answer?

Andrew T.

So many Tims lost their keys

Catija

It's not gotten any close votes... seems odd.

Journeyman Geek

lol

that's why I was grumpy earlier, lol

Rob

@AndrewT. It's not a chicken

Catija

They're trying to prevent me from getting my hat. :(

Rob

4:27 AM

Maybe

Andrew T.

winterbash2017.stackexchange.com/hat

gparyani

4:48 AM

On Area 51, shouldn't there be exceptions to the 1-year rule if the proposal is just a small step away from reaching the next phase? For instance, this proposal is just two example questions away from reaching 40, but faces imminent closure in about 24 hours.

(I'm asking here because the Area 51 chat room is essentially inactive, and I want to check for preliminary opinion so I don't get heavily downvoted on Area 51 Discussions.)

Catija

They have to cut it off somewhere...

gparyani

When I used to be active, the process of closing after 1 year in a phase was completely manual, and the team used to make exceptions for proposals that were just a tiny step away.

Catija

Maybe they still do? That's all Robert... he likes answering meta questions and doesn't use chat. go for it.

Discussion zone away!

gparyani

If I post it there as a request, it could get heavily downvoted, so I want to check for preliminary opinion first

Catija

Pretty sure votes on the Discussion zone have no effect on your A51 rep... so...

Andrew T.

4:53 AM

I just downvoted someone on A51, no rep penalty

gparyani

Okay...but what's your opinion?

I know that a proposal undergoes a Community Team evaluation when it's about 5-10 questions away, to close very-related questions as duplicates, close too-broad questions, etc.

Andrew T.

I dunno, I don't participate enough on Area 51 that I can comment on their policy

gparyani

So what would you guys think of a proposal to disable the automatic closure on proposals that have undergone the Community Team evaluation, or postponing it?

@Shog9 What do you think?

Catija

TACO TUESDAY!!!

Andrew T.

Is it?

gparyani

4:58 AM

FREEDOM FRIDAY!!!

"Today will not be known as Taco Tuesday, it will be known as Freedom Friday, but still on a Tuesday!"

Catija

I got a hat, that is all.

gparyani

@Catija Got the above reference?

Shog9

@gparyani waste of time

Andrew T.

@gparyani well... perhaps an automatic time extension (3 months?) for proposal that almost commit could be proposed...

gparyani

12 mins ago, by gparyani

On Area 51, shouldn't there be exceptions to the 1-year rule if the proposal is just a small step away from reaching the next phase? For instance, this proposal is just two example questions away from reaching 40, but faces imminent closure in about 24 hours.

Shog9

5:01 AM

Eval doesn't guarantee success, just avoids some hard to automate sanity checks

gparyani

@Shog9 Read the last sentence

Shog9

The one year thing is already a hearty margin - if a proposal just squeaks by, it's not doing well

Andrew T.

or alternatively, show the notice about the imminent closure, because heck I'll know about that if you didn't mention it

Catija

If they couldn't do it in a year as a proposal, giving them more time doesn't bode well... heck, if they couldn't do it in 4 months or 6, they're probably not going to do well anyway.

Shog9

Also, I too enjoy tacos, in case that was what you were originally referring to

Barbacoa

Catija

5:02 AM

The proposals that actually succeed and grow... they get through A51 quickly, usually.

You have to come down here and have tacos sometime.

Andrew T.

!!/tacos

SmokeDetector

@AndrewT. No such command 'tacos'.

gparyani

That quote was from "The Lego Movie"

Catija

I... was not a fan.

But, tacos... They're the unofficial state food of Texas. Anyone who doesn't like them, gets excommunicated.

user202362

!!/chicken

SmokeDetector

5:04 AM

@Telkitty No such command 'chicken'.

user310756

@Telkitty yes Sunday is fine

user310756

:D

user202362

:D

user202362

my phone drowned

Catija

Oh, hey @YvetteColomb I wasn't expecting to see you around :D

user310756

5:05 AM

another friends is coming and we're going to have a vodka, would you like one?

user310756

ah ok

user202362

using a tablet to send and receive messages

user202362

this is awkward

user310756

@Catija no! I've been so busy, but happy busy - it will calm down beginning of febraury

gparyani

@Shog9 But wouldn't you agree that if someone works very hard promoting their proposal for a year, and gets it barely to the point where it's just about to go on, but then all of their efforts are immediately wiped clean because it fell just a little bit short.

What would you think of the Geography proposal? Is that imminent closure there intended, or is it more of an edge case?

user202362

5:06 AM

@YvetteColomb probably not - I will be driving :p

user310756

@Telkitty nope - friend just rescheduled - might just be you and I

user310756

yep was only going to have one drink - but I won't bother now

user202362

and horses :p

user310756

I kinda assume I'm going to see you every fortnight :D - already taking you for granted

Catija

@gparyani Do you actually have any indication that's the case? Some people propose a site and then just walk away... never to return.

user310756

5:08 AM

hey happy Christmas and messy new year everyone!! xoxoxox

gparyani

@Catija It was edited today by the OP

user310756

I g2g finish an assessment due on Sun - so I can start two more due early Jan \o

Shog9

@gparyani agree with... Thats a plausible scenario?

gparyani

@Shog9 I kind of mistyped that. Also:

Shog9

We used to let proposals go a lot longer. Lingering for years to die ignobly isn't a kindness

gparyani

5:11 AM

4 mins ago, by gparyani

What would you think of the Geography proposal? Is that imminent closure there intended, or is it more of an edge case?

Journeyman Geek

@gparyani gotta draw the line somewhere tho

Shog9

By design

Catija

@gparyani If you want to talk about tiny sites I can tell you about them... I mod one. 10/4/14, 6/24/15, 4/26/16... proposal, committment, private beta dates... a year and a half.

gparyani

@Shog9 How about this case: a proposal has one question remaining, and one question with a score of 9, and someone upvotes that a second before the automatic closure?

Catija

If you don't have A51 interest, your site is going to look like that... and we managed to get to commitment in 8 months... not 12.

Shog9

5:14 AM

And that was after a half-dozen previous crafting proposals died under the old rules

(more if you count the ones dedicated to specific crafts and Wiccans)

Catija

The Craft? :P

Andrew T.

Craft CMS

Shog9

(and yes, there were several of them)

Catija

SE is interested in sites that make good content and have subjects that people are interested in and are different from existing sites... mostly. They may have decided to let really low-volume sites like A&C stick around as long as the users keep things neat... that doesn't necessarily mean they want to add dozens of them to the network.

Journeyman Geek

@Catija tho A&C is something that would fit well in SE sites, assuming your audience managed to find it and grokked the way it ran

gparyani

5:17 AM

@Shog9 Imagine how someone would feel if their proposal was immediately closed when it was just one or two questions away from making it to Commitment.

Catija

Sure... and there's at least one craft site that's by itself - Woodworking - which predated A&C.

Shog9

I don't have to imagine

Journeyman Geek

@gparyani they perhaps should have asked more questions ;p

gparyani

@JourneymanGeek One question with a score of 10 or more, so the problem is not a lack of questions, it's a lack of upvotes

Andrew T.

@JourneymanGeek or do a pity upvote

Journeyman Geek

5:18 AM

@gparyani which indicates a lack of people willing to do... well QAsitey things

Catija

I checked... other than the +10s, it's only got a few +6s

But, really, if you're pity upvoting them, you're just delaying the inevitable. You're not going to commit... so they're just going to wait another year and hope some magic happens.

Shog9

These thresholds are arbitrary. They're as generous as they are to allow folks some leeway, but we've continually tightened them over the years because most proposals that even get close are already in trouble if they launch.

Much better to kill faster and let someone else restart

gparyani

@Shog9 If I was the owner of that proposal, I'd feel really bad that my efforts to promote the proposal were wiped clean due to some "arbitrary" threshold

Shog9

Sometimes, the topic is good... But it just didn't attract the right people. Reset and try again. With new people.

gparyani

When it was just this close to making it through

Shog9

5:22 AM

Horseshoes

Catija

hand grenades.

Journeyman Geek

@Shog9 Handgrenades are more fun.

especially when you don't throw them quite far enough....

gparyani

@Shog9 So now I have to spend even more time promoting it, getting active users who were interested in the old proposal onto the new one, and get others to replace inactive users?

Catija

Or you just move on.

Shog9

Or, let someone else do it

gparyani

5:24 AM

Wikipedia:Vested interest

For Wikipedia guidelines on people editing articles on topics they are personally, financially, or ideologically connected to, see Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. If you are looking for Valued images, see Wikipedia:Valued pictures. Or you may be looking for Wikipedia:No vested contributors. Editors who are heavily involved with the editing of a particular article may have a vested interest in the outcomes of decisions relating to that article, such as merge or deletion requests. This does not mean that such editors' arguments should be dismissed as arising from a Wikipedia:Conflict of interest...

"Editors who spend a particularly large amount of effort on specific pages on Wikipedia may have an emotional attachment to the work they have done."

Journeyman Geek

FROZEN | Let It Go Sing-along | Official Disney UK

►

;p

Catija

SING-ALONG!!!

gparyani

Sorry that I'm asking so many questions. I'm just trying to offer a different perspective having just been lurking for so long

3 mins ago, by gparyani

Sorry that I'm asking so many questions. I'm just trying to offer a different perspective having just been lurking for so long

@Shog9 Separate question: what would you think of a notice on proposals about two weeks to a month in advance of automatic closure that the proposal will be closed if it does not meet the thresholds by this date and time?

Andrew T.

5:44 AM

The dark side of hat season: some folks pull their hats down over their eyes and can't see what they're voting on. — Shog9 ♦ 7 hours ago

SmokeDetector

5:59 AM

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Mostly non-Latin answer: Flag for comments telling students to tell their professor they are using old technology by user377597 on meta.SE

Andrew T.

6:13 AM

should be spam hour

SmokeDetector

6:31 AM

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Pattern-matching website in answer: Charging phone in medieval times by zahraoffice3 on worldbuilding.SE

Journeyman Geek

Cute spammer

gparyani

Why can I earn the Mortarboard badge on a per-site meta?

Andrew T.

I'm thinking of a userscript idea called "Serious SE" where votes & scores on both Q&A are all hidden...

@gparyani hidden internal meta rep

@AndrewT. or alternative name... "Blind SE" :/

Unihedron

Anyone else doing advent of code?

gparyani

6:46 AM

@Shog9 I think that spammer needs to be destroyed, as their name still shows up on the MSE homepage.

Catija

@Unihedron I've done the first five... but I don't really know how to code, so I can only do it when my spouse will help.

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Manually reported question: How Optimal Choice CBD Can Help You Improve Your Health by yllalderonis on 3dprinting.SE

Catija

@gparyani Flag? That's what they're for. It's midnight for him... Go through the official avenues.

gparyani

@Catija He doesn't have any posts, so I can't flag him.

Catija

@gparyani You also don't indicate what spammer you're talking about, so how is anyone supposed to follow up on it?

gparyani

6:55 AM

강남오피JJhaha닷ga강남안마제이제이강남유흥이벤트, jjhaha.ga

1 1

Catija

If it's the one in Korean on the question I answered, flag the question and point at the answer.

gparyani

@Catija Done

Catija

You don't always need to ping a CM for everything. Use the actual proper channels or else you're likely to annoy them... and you really don't want an annoyed Shog looking your way.

Journeyman Geek

actually true of anyone ;p

Mods, CMs, Janitors...

Catija

Yep.

Great life lesson to learn. Do the paperwork.

Rob

7:01 AM

@gparyani If these cases, you should flag one of your posts (or any post actually) with a custom flag explaining the situation

Also, you don't need to flag about destroying an account, if they've had a post nuked for spam, mods will be aware of it

gparyani

@Rob This case is different because the username still shows up on the homepage

Rob

Which homepage?

Journeyman Geek

I think it'll show as "modified by"

Andrew T.

@gparyani fixed, I edited it

Journeyman Geek

but in the wider scheme of things... "meh"

Andrew T.

7:06 AM

A single non-English username spam is still better than the Car Insurer™

Journeyman Geek

twitch

Rob

On the up-side; it makes it easier to mass ban accounts ;)

Journeyman Geek

I really wish their next of kin would get to "cash in" on their insurance.

Rob

And as far as I remember, your username can be advertising, as long as it's not abusive.

Same as your profile

Catija

Yep... I know a couple of users who use their UN to advertise A51 proposals.

Rob

7:08 AM

Or in the case of one user; trying to get SO banned in China

Journeyman Geek

lol

THAT GUYYYYYYY

Unihedron

art supplies for making a hat ready

SmokeDetector

[ SmokeDetector | MS ] Offensive answer detected: How to Install Edup 802.11n nano adapter? by Gold Ninja on askubuntu.com

Journeyman Geek

haaaaat

Andrew T.

@Unihedron I support you

Anyway, random thought: there's no meta on IPS.SE, only main site and "main" site.

Journeyman Geek

7:19 AM

0_0

IPS is meta for life?

so there's no main site, only meta and metaer.

And buddism should have a metta site...

Rob

Hmm, is it a known issue that cancelled Area51 proposals still show as ads?

Andrew T.

isn't it community ads?

where did you see it?

Rob

Here: rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/111832/does-casting-aid-stack

Saw this:

Which links to area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/101932/…

Journeyman Geek

@Rob I think community ads are a seperate thing..

Andrew T.

8

A: Community Promotion Ads - 2017

Journeyman Geek

7:23 AM

probably should meta that?

Andrew T.

or... delete the answer

Journeyman Geek

won't remove the ads I think

Rob

Ah, didn't realize it was pulling from the community ads. I thought proposals were randomly on rotation

Andrew T.

3rd "Ooh, Shiny!" without knowing the requirement... and I'm too lazy and personally don't want to look at the secret hat meta post...

Journeyman Geek

@AndrewT. I think you need to throw the final close or delete vote

Andrew T.

7:34 AM

@JourneymanGeek I could only flag on Arqade, so my guess is "participating in closing a question"

so that's why it's called moderator hat? :)

Journeyman Geek

because moderators get a hat just like that ;p

10

A: Where can I get a mod hat?

Look what I just found: I contacted the seller to ask if the hat comes with Actual Mod Powers (TM), but have not yet received a reply.

since that's a nicer picture than mine

Andrew T.

oh, lol!

I'm just a pleb, I'll wear another hat then~

It's ~~Movember anyway~~ wrong month :|

Unihedron

7:58 AM

nofap november is over

Derpy

8:33 AM

Is it just me or does it look like a toilet bowl? — Mysticial Dec 8 '15 at 18:22

^ aaaaand..... it's back.

gparyani

9:28 AM

cv-pls meta.stackexchange.com/questions/304540/…

Derpy

10:00 AM

A "MLP hater" friend just asked for a imp/gargoyle related avatar to use during Christmas instead of the old, overused Grinch one.
.... I got him to switch to a picture of Scorpan. Wonder how long before he realizes...

Andrew T.

Well, how about the gargoyle from Gargoyles (TV series)...

Derpy

@AndrewT. nope, it is funnier to have him use an avatar featuring an MLP character and not even realizing that.