36
votes
Accepted
Must we censor discussion that may be grounds for blacklisting in other countries?
At the point where SE asks us to not discuss evolution on the biology site, we might as well shut down all of the science sites. We don't need to cater to every irrational thing some nation state ...
- 185k
34
votes
Accepted
Does Stack Exchange have an ethical responsibility to address global discrimination and marginalisation?
First, I must note that I do not speak for the management of Stack Exchange / Overflow in this response; these are my opinions and beliefs, put forth in good faith - any resemblance to those of Stack ...
- 447k
25
votes
Difference between the Cross Validated and Data Science SE sites?
This is rather a long comment... (This was originally written for CV and Data Science: semi-identical twins?, but then I found this question).
Comparison by tags
One way to look at datascience.SE (DS) ...
- 504
23
votes
Accepted
Who decides on a site's content policy?
The scope of each site is determined by the community. Scope is a fluid, constantly-changing thing, and new meta discussions brought up by users can change bits and pieces of it over time, with the ...
- 32.7k
22
votes
Has our policy towards political discussions on SE sites changed?
We need to be able to engage with you on our own platform when we feel that there's something important to say.
That includes:
Announcements about ways that Stack Overflow / Stack Exchange is ...
- 181k
21
votes
Accepted
Difference between the Cross Validated and Data Science SE sites?
After getting involved in both the sites; I think I now have enough experience of both, to make a statement.
The Data Science site is about the problems and questions which data scientists encounter ...
- 5,106
21
votes
Accepted
Is Meta.SE the right forum to ask about specific wording's fit with "be nice" policy?
Oh, it's absolutely like the Roth test. There can be no objective standards here; what matters is what actually offends people, not what folks say should offend.
The guidance - now and forever in ...
- 447k
21
votes
Accepted
Some advice that I "hope" the heads of the community could consider
It's fine to not actually be a genius.
But at the end of the day you're expecting people to spend their time solving your problems and a minimal investment in time on your end is nice.
I've also ...
- 170k
21
votes
Stack Exchange needs rules for where to post questions considered off-topic
Here are some rules you can follow:
Do not blindly follow the advice people give you about another site. That applies to this answer as well, and in general to all answers here to site-recommendation ...
GlorfindelMod
- 248k
20
votes
Does Stack Exchange have an ethical responsibility to address global discrimination and marginalisation?
Stack Exchange has been through similar episodes of turmoil throughout the years, many before my time. To make a long story short, we've been here before - with see SOPA, net neutrality, #LoveOverflow ...
- 32.7k
19
votes
Accepted
Can I ask a question about a great Stack Overflow contributor who has just not been active for the past several years on any Stack Exchange site?
In general, no. We tend to keep users' real life (or activity elsewhere on the Internet) separated from Stack Exchange. And Stack Exchange is mostly about the content, not the users anyway. There are ...
GlorfindelMod
- 248k
18
votes
Could some Google questions be useful?
You accepted the premise of the question verbatim, but the answers explain why that is entirely incorrect.
Legitimately asking folks to flag or close questions which are <quote> "easily ...
- 111k
17
votes
Should we be discussing the relative health and viability of a network site here on MSE?
if there is no obvious community, who owns the choices then?
Since I am said moderator... This question is not giving the nuance I added later on. I've already clarified, so like I said in the ...
- 39.3k
17
votes
Stack Exchange needs rules for where to post questions considered off-topic
The post you've linked, a burnination request for the [history]-tag on Stack Overflow states:
Is the concept described even on-topic for the site?
No. History questions should be asked on History ...
- 36k
16
votes
Site scope issues where community opinion is divided and there is no consensus?
I prefer your third option:
Free-for-all, with each question pulling its own luck depending which voters to open/close are in which camp?
which I think equates with a more impartial wording ...
- 35.2k
16
votes
Can the community use a scope different from that mentioned in the help-center?
Yes. Some sites don't even specify what's on-topic and what not. In the end, all that matters is that there are users willing to vote to close the question; if it's 'slightly' off-topic but ...
GlorfindelMod
- 248k
16
votes
Is it not allowed to ask a question regarding multiple sites in the Stack Exchange network here?
Questions about two or more sites in the network are on-topic here on this site, even if they don't pertain to the entire network at large. If it were closed as off-topic as only applicable to one ...
15
votes
Accepted
What is the right place to ask questions about the SmokeDetector?
SmokeDetector is neither owned nor operated by Stack Exchange, so this isn't the place to ask most questions about it. From the Help Center:
Meta Stack Exchange is where users like you discuss bugs, ...
- 20.6k
15
votes
Accepted
Are user suspension and user deletion discussions on-topic for per-site meta?
We do not allow discussions about specific users on meta. Given that a question such as "why is this user suspended?" cannot be generalized in a way that doesn't talk about the specific user, such ...
- 189k
14
votes
Site scope issues where community opinion is divided and there is no consensus?
Meta is about arguments and discussion, it's not just about polling the community about their opinion. The score of the answers doesn't matter as much as the arguments they present.
The purpose of a ...
- 185k
14
votes
Accepted
How do we make changes to a site's scope?
You're essentially asking for a scope change. Just blacklisting/banning the tag won't help; users will simply use other tags (such as the country they've found the rock in, or even random tags) for ...
GlorfindelMod
- 248k
14
votes
Document pronoun policy debate exclusion from scope
This was only applicable for that question specifically, as it was meant for a request for clarification, not let's fight some more about the policy. This is how request for clarification threads seem ...
- 2,588
14
votes
Accepted
Document pronoun policy debate exclusion from scope
You seem to have read that sentence out of context.
This post here is the place to talk through that. For ease of voting and responding, please limit each answer to one specific concern.
However, ...
- 86.2k
14
votes
What is Meta's definition of a "more frivolous" post?
It is the only place where more frivolous discussions are allowed.
Strictly speaking, that doesn't mean all frivolous discussions are allowed. While Meta is different than it was before, when that ...
GlorfindelMod
- 248k
14
votes
Accepted
Which SE sites accept "identification" questions?
Partial answer - community wiki, feel free to edit
The following sites accept identification questions (the link in each case goes to a list of all questions in the relevant tag or tags)
Amateur ...
14
votes
Where should I ask general questions about smartphones?
Ooh, this is a tough one. You probably need some kind of Faraday cage (while still being able to operate the phone, I presume). Here is a question on Electrical Engineering where somebody tried to ...
GlorfindelMod
- 248k
13
votes
Winter Bash hat questions on Meta Stack Overflow?
Users Can Report Bugs On Whatever Child Meta Site Suits Them
It's fine if users post bug reports, requests for support or feature requests here on MSO, there's no need to close them as off-topic. ...
- 14.9k
13
votes
Why do people persist in complaining about the code of conduct set for this network?
Long time chat user here and well...
On the main sites? Well I've always felt rudeness and impoliteness is noise. We've wanted to handle it cause it breaks from focusing on the actual information. No ...
- 170k
13
votes
Accepted
Checking in on the possible changing scope of meta
Look for more on this in the upcoming posts in The Loop blog series on the company blog. Sorry that more cannot be written at the moment. I can say that these are all pertinent questions that will ...
- 61.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible