303
votes
Accepted
To reach out: on Monica, the Lavender community, and the future of the Stack Exchange network
Thank you for this heartfelt, encouraging message, and for being willing to have the conversation that preceded it instead of just walking away.
We need more of that at Stack Exchange.
It's too easy ...
- 182k
112
votes
If you're gonna talk Politics, you must respect those who disagree
TL;DR: Don't go into chat without thinking about the other side.
Don't be a Sith.
I've never been particularly involved in politics. Sure, my age is a major factor in that, but I consider myself ...
- 32k
101
votes
To reach out: on Monica, the Lavender community, and the future of the Stack Exchange network
I go by ‘they’, and I speak for myself, not on behalf of all queer folks.
What I understand of Monica's position—based previously on public TL leaks and now on what heather has relayed—is a little ...
- 4,477
82
votes
Accepted
Does the Be Nice policy require SE users to "be nice" to people who are not SE users (e.g. public figures)?
Let's read that "be nice" policy:
Whether you've come to ask questions, or to generously share what you know, remember that we’re all here to learn, together. Be
welcoming and patient, especially ...
- 445k
80
votes
NSFW video and annoying animated advertising on Music SE
SE has already subverted their no animated ads policy in the past few months, which finally led me into installing AdBlock Plus.
I think it's time for everyone to enable their ad blocker on SE now, ...
74
votes
If you're gonna talk Politics, you must respect those who disagree
One of the problems with political discussion is that they tend to escalate to heated debate and eventually insults and personal attacks. In some cases, people may be offended enough to flag political ...
- 11.5k
71
votes
Is there a list of ChatGPT or other AI-related discussions and policies for our sites?
This answer is a community effort. Please edit in links from your site's Meta!
Meta Stack Exchange
Pro: Could ChatGPT be a viable way to answer people's questions?
Con: Ban ChatGPT network-wide
...
70
votes
If someone is hurt by a literary reference, should it be removed?
Let me preface this by saying that we've got to understand that someone somewhere will find something offensive in what you write if they really want to, no matter how tenuous, they'll find a way. I ...
- 17.2k
52
votes
Accepted
Does Stack Exchange insist on a special language for posts? Please describe
English is a living language; it changes slowly but constantly. Old words take new meanings, new words replace old, and sometimes old uses resurface in new contexts. Also, sometimes there are emoji.
...
- 445k
44
votes
Does the Be Nice policy require SE users to "be nice" to people who are not SE users (e.g. public figures)?
This sounds like hair-splitting to me. The Be Nice policy is certainly geared toward being nice to other users as that's the common case. But it seems weird to classify the people you ought to be nice ...
42
votes
If you're gonna talk Politics, you must respect those who disagree
I don't think this behavioral pattern is limited to politics at all.
Generally, in respectful discourse, it is unacceptable to denigrate others because of their opinion if you want to continue to ...
- 25.6k
38
votes
Is swastika really treated as offensive even when it's used for religious purposes in profile pictures or chat?
When you say "fag" - some folks going back more than a couple of generations will wonder if you're referring to a cigarette. Colloquially, however, most people will interpret the word as a pejorative ...
- 181k
38
votes
Show your work: one simple trick to make meta effective
Treating good questions with the appropriate attention is the best way to help people change in the way you want
Thanks for this useful guidance, I agree with everything. Except...
...what happens ...
- 36.3k
35
votes
To reach out: on Monica, the Lavender community, and the future of the Stack Exchange network
I'm just a random onlooker, but I'm really happy to see this development, and I'd like to thank @heather for approaching Monica and having this discussion, Monica for being open to it, and Journeyman ...
33
votes
If someone is hurt by a literary reference, should it be removed?
No, this is getting absurd.
But your head isn't quite above water here either @iBug. Please consider this correction in light of the fact that I am speaking as somebody who used Niemöller's poem ...
- 23.5k
31
votes
Style guide to avoid condescension in answers
What you tried to edit is not condescending to the reader.
The first post, about Git, is encouraging. It says "once you know how", and then goes on to explain how. It promises the reader ...
- 24.6k
30
votes
Accepted
Having 'nice' text - are we too strict?
No, we're not too strict.
The rest of the Internet went overboard with their fake politeness.
The questions and answers here are not for you, specifically. They are for the many visitors who follow.
...
- 85.7k
29
votes
If you're gonna talk Politics, you must respect those who disagree
Isn't there a limit though?
If someone says 'You know, Hitler (yeah, Godwin's law...) had a point - maybe we would be better off without the Jews...'
The notion that I should somehow go 'Hmm, that's ...
- 439
28
votes
If you're gonna talk Politics, you must respect those who disagree
There's two similar but very divergent views in discourse on a contentious issue
That viewpoint is wrong
Lots and lots of people are wrong on a great many things. This is neither new, nor uncommon....
- 24.9k
28
votes
Pinging etiquette
Since this is about me, I will answer.
Is there a ping etiquette?
Not that I know of.
Ping etiquette should follow what would be socially acceptable in real life situations. If you would jump ...
- 6,077
27
votes
Show your work: one simple trick to make meta effective
This seems to take care of the 80% use-case (shall we say), but it doesn't seem to address the more long-standing, venerable, and received discussions which...
Don't immediately lead to a resolution (...
- 57.5k
27
votes
Accepted
Is it OK to edit others' posts based on (extreme) personal feeling?
No, it is not okay to edit posts based solely on your own personal feelings.
This curated collection of questions and their answers is not meant for you alone, nor is it tailored to you specifically,...
- 85.7k
27
votes
To reach out: on Monica, the Lavender community, and the future of the Stack Exchange network
I post this today in an attempt to reach out a hand, and to ask all of you to do so as well, to ask Stack Exchange to do so as well.
Just picking this sentence to stress how important it is for the ...
- 4,417
26
votes
If you're gonna talk Politics, you must respect those who disagree
My 2 cents: I largely agree with what Shog9 said and I'll add a different perspective, being a non-US citizen living in another country.
Premise
I don't use chat; not only on SE network. Maybe because ...
25
votes
Can I be successful using Stack Exchange?
I think your friend just had a bad experience.
He said that the Stack Overflow a clique and when he was a member every question and every answer was hit with negative ratings almost the minute ...
- 32k
24
votes
Does the Be Nice policy require SE users to "be nice" to people who are not SE users (e.g. public figures)?
The "Be Nice" policy is there not merely to protect individuals but also to protect the purpose of the site, by ensuring that the SE community does not create hostile environments that would drive ...
- 793
24
votes
Does the Be Nice policy require SE users to "be nice" to people who are not SE users (e.g. public figures)?
I believe that it should. There is nothing about the "Be nice" rules that implies that we're being nice only to the people we are interacting with. I'd specifically like to point out one section of ...
- 102k
24
votes
If someone is hurt by a literary reference, should it be removed?
The poem "First they came to ..." is used around the world not to refer to the Holocaust, but to critisize the attitude "they may be evil, but they came for others, not for me, so I don't care". It ...
- 10.2k
23
votes
Can we increase the filters of what is posted on these sites to prevent extreme NSFW?
The problem here is not the filter. No matter how strict you set a filter, there will always be a way to go around it. Or, in the worst case you end up blocking a lot of false positives.
The problem ...
- 91.5k
23
votes
If someone is hurt by a literary reference, should it be removed?
You should always care about how your posts might affect others
That is part of being part of a community. Words and actions have effects on people, and if we want to work together we should be trying ...
- 6,636
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible