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A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

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Re: A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

#221

Post by compuguy »

latk wrote: post #204
Dobbs wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really wish more details about this was available. > it seems that SE is unwilling to protect trans moderators from vitriol by other mods. Reading Monica's post made me pretty sure this was trans related. I'm sad that I was right. > [From Monica's Post] unlike the rest of the CoC, this rule mandates specific, positive actions. This is something I've heard many times from anti-trans activists in order to justify the…

I understand your scepticism, and was thinking hard about this before I published the linked post. Anti-trans and anti-CoC sentiment are certainly part of the issue at hand, but likely not by Monica. Some of the resignations may be partially motivated by hate, many of the responses definitely are. However, there are many other aspects of the firing that are problematic by themselves, regardless of the reason for the…

I'm not perfect, but I understand the need to use the correct pronouns. Ultimately Stack Exchange needs to make this new CoC public. People should know the guidelines to post on a site and not unintentionally break rules that one can't read...

Re: A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

#222

Post by ceejayoz »

ratww wrote: post #216
ceejayoz wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Only if the question is "Is window.onbeforeunload reliable to track online/offline users?" We're gonna have to disagree on this. That's like me asking "how do I get to this restaurant", and you give me directions to the place that burned down a year ago without mentioning that. Useless, and infuriating when I drive a half hour to discover it.

I know it's impolite to say that here, but if you actually read the rest of my reply, you'd see that in my opinion the best answer for a Q&A site would be "The restaurant burned a year ago, but it was at 450, Blahblah street". Maybe I didn't make it clear enough before, but I am saying it now. Consider that the asker might just using the restaurant as a reference to some other place. Or someone "hearing" the answer i…

The most likely answer the OP in that scenario needs is "it burned down". If they want to visit the ruins, they can easily say so in the comments and likely get an updated answer (or they can mention it in the original question; perhaps they'll think to do it the next time around when they've got an unusual requirement).

Re: A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

#223

Post by mumblemumble »

marcosdumay wrote: post #188
apostacy wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the most frustrating things is when SE modes decide to deputize themselves on behalf of third parties, and try to enforce the laws of other countries or the intellectual property rights of decades old software. I've seen questions about how to bypass DRM on 20 year old software deleted. And why do they assume that the DMCA applies in other countries? What if you are asking how to build an unauthorized media pl…

> And why do they assume that the DMCA applies in other countries? The company is on the US, so it would be illegal for them to keep the answer.

Not sure why you're downvoted. I don't know that your statement is 100% accurate, but it's not far off the mark, either.

The law in the US is such that a high-profile site that does business in the USA, like SO, is entirely reasonable if it wants to to err on the side of caution on these things. Not all the questions around the DMCA have been settled by the courts, so, no, we can't necessarily say for sure what is legal and illegal. But we can say that volunteering to help everyone to figure this out could be a very expensive proposition.

For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_A...

Re: A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

#224

Post by jasode »

jasode wrote: post #186
magicalhippo wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The question & the answer is for the community more than questioner. Part of the confusion might be that they're very unclear about this point. For example, on the front page right now the following is prominently displayed: > Stack Overflow is an open community for anyone that codes. We help you get answers to your toughest coding questions, share knowledge with your coworkers in private, and find your next dream…

>, on the front page right now [...] "We help you get answers to your toughest coding questions, " -- Clearly that is something very different from building a "Q&A wiki" which you allude to. That text blurb on the landing page is relatively new. It may not accurately reflect Stack Overflow's long-standing strict editorial focus. The new SO landing page appeared less than 4 months ago around June 27, 2019.[1][2] In co…

correction to above: close vote is 3000 points not 250.

Re: A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

#226

Post by vorpalhex »

jolmg wrote: post #220
vorpalhex wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't you ignoring your own advice by supporting the dismissal of a moderator before the policy they supposedly might break is even in effect? It seems like SE got rid of a mod because they voiced concerns about an upcoming rule change... comparing that to assaulting someone is a cheap shot.

They're not in support; they're reserving their judgment, staying neutral. They did the comparison only to show how goatinaboat's appeal to trust is a logical fallacy. Before coming to a judgment, one should take the facts at hand, instead of relying solely on the trust you have of the people involved like goatinaboat did. In this case, many details cannot be seen, so it's not proper to decide on a judgment solely on…

Guilty until proven innocent?

It is on the accuser to make the case.

Re: A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

#227

Post by Izkata »

wokwokwok wrote: post #78
ceejayoz wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

About 90% of the time it is an XY problem, though. A couple clarifying questions and it turns out the OP really needed something much simpler. For example, people who insist they can’t use a Laravel package because of “performance”, but it turns out they just don’t know how the composer autoloader works.

No... Just answer the question. You’re not there to babysit the question asker or convince them to change their approach/hair style/choice of library. I know it’s frustrating to see people doing something wrong, or that you don’t agree with, but you know what you can do? Just... don’t get involved if you can’t answer the actual question that was asked, and if it’s a bad question, let it die a natural death.

I think you're underestimating the level of crap StackOverflow attracts: https://www.google.com/search?q=stackoverflow+concatenate+st...

(My favorite is the one where they were actually asking about PHP)

Re: A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

#228

Post by GordonS »

MrStonedOne wrote: post #29

This is natural selection at work. Stack Exchange has become a frustrating site to use. "Closed as duplicate: different and unrelated question" reopen further explaining the question and how its not related "Closed as duplicate: the first question that was immediately closed with no replies" OR! Google around, find SE link on issue, everybody is arguing about why the user wants to do it that why, convinces them to do…

I agree about SO becoming a frustrating site because of crappy mods - in particular, questions being closed by someone who plainly hasn't even read the new question... drives me nuts!

However, it really doesn't look like natural selection is at work here - I recognise several names in the list of resigned/fired mods, and they were some of the good ones.

No, it really looks like SO is well on the way to "becoming evil", forsaking community in the name of profit - which cannot end well for them.

Re: A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

#229

Post by rusk »

LeoNatan25 wrote: post #215
rusk wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> has high confidence by the community Could just be that you've gamed the system.

I have 50,000+ points on Stack Overflow. Could be that I gamed the system, yes, but that would mean the system is rotten to the core. If that is the case, why are people so emotional about it?

Same as Facebook, Google etc. (Tho not it has to be said HN) It got network share to get people on board. Then once they got too big to lose they dialed down the competency requirements for those operating it.

Re: A large number of Stack Exchange mods resigning over new policies

#230

Post by GordonS »

LeoNatan25 wrote: post #38
Avamander wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would help to just remove the current moderators that are super pedantic about building a "knowledge base", when actually they just like exercising their power. I've also noticed a recent trend that moderators on SO are also now deleting questions to stop any objections to the close votes from lower-ranked users, it's ridiculous.

Questions are rarely deleted by moderators. The community, through voting, is very often the one to delete through voting directly, or through severe downvoting, in which case a bot removes bad questions. And if you have higher score, you can still see these deleted questions and answers.

Not technically deleted perhaps, but flagging a unique and/or relevant question as a duplicate or not relevant, is guaranteed to make that question effectively invisible.
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