New answers tagged discussion
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I was trying to think of a random name for use on the SE network, and I decided to pick a fairly common name (on stackoverflow) - a type of variable that has only two values (a Boolean value.) Of course, when it comes to the sci-fi SE, I'm unique (as I'm the only one on this branch of SE!)
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Why was it closed in the first place?
In this instance, your question was originally closed as "needing details or clarity" because it was unclear what you were asking. People have been debating the meaning of sentience for centuries and asking us to unpick it is problematic at best, especially when it's ill-defined and related to androids that are ...
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Yes these are spam posts. They've been showing up for at least a month. The format is always the same but the username (usually a "real" name) and link are different each time. Note that someone clicked the link (unfortunately) on one of the early ones and left the below comment which does confirm it pretty much:
First of all, the answer box is ...
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There's been a whole load of these "answers" posted in recent months. Some links (answers deleted, only visible to 10k+ rep users, I can't be bothered to post screenshots as the content is pretty much the same every time):
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/250303/31394
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/250258/31394
https://scifi.stackexchange.com/...
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Artificial Intelligence
Suggestions include:
What was the earliest appearance in SF of a likeable AI character?
What is the earliest sci-fi story about humour and AI?
Which Sci-Fi work first showed hostile Artificial Intelligence?
Chess
Suggestions include:
Why does the Party allow playing chess in Orwell's 1984?
How did Kirk regularly beat Spock in 4-...
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Need help asking a story identification question?
How to ask a good story-ID question?
right sidebar
self
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This doesn't sound like a bad idea. The migration system is sort of broken at the moment and needs a large overhaul which is mostly why it's not really used. There are few migration pathways open, none out of SFF, for example. That means it's down to either flagging a mod to move the question elsewhere or commenting and pointing a user to re-ask elsewhere. ...
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This seems to be largely addressed on your home site
My game identification question was closed as off-topic. Where can I ask for help instead?.
In brief, yes, we at SFF:SE are more than happy to accept video game identification questions, and have done so for many years (with a pretty good rate of success, I might add).
Other than making sure that you're ...
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Jack be nimble,
Jack be quick,
Jack jump over
The candlestick
Too much Jack is a bad thing. That is why it is BEST to take JACK in MODERATION.
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I always felt that the implication that non-sapien hominids, such as Neanderthal, Erectus, etc..., had genetic memory as opposed to modern humans who instead evolved greater cognitive skill to replace that, placed that novel squarely in the realm of science fiction, or atleast speculative fiction based on forensic anthropology. This was a crucial, perhaps ...
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I wasn't here when this was debated, but the votes of the community are fairly clear that they are accepted.
Personally, I agree they are a better fit for meta than the main site and arguably they might squeeze under your first category if you read the parenthetical as examples and not an exhaustive list with no other topics permitted.
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Very sad, I'm sure he will be remembered as a great writer with a unique style.
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I was initially unsure whether the Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children novels would qualify as fantasy or alternate history when I answered the question. It looks like there is currently only one question about the series on the main site, and the Clan of the Cave Bear has only been suggested (incorrectly) once before as answer to a story-identification ...
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There's a couple of questions here. We'll unpack them one at a time.
Should the Story-ID question be closed?
I'm going to say no. The book series is certainly arguably on-topic (see below) which to my mind is sufficient to keep the question alive. It's well received and I can't see that there would be any benefit to removing it.
Should The Clan of the Cave ...
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If you're a moderator on another community (especially multiple others), how will you balance your time and the quality of moderation on the other site(s) as well as this?
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I think your approach is fine.
Edit descriptions don't matter all that much.
If you're the OP editing your own post, or if you have over 2k rep and can edit anyone's post, most likely nobody will even look at the edit description; you can (and many people do) just leave the default text of "added 74 characters in body" or whatever.
The only time ...
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His art style was unique, beautiful, and will be remembered by all who read his books as children. RIP.
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The question could've been worded better, to avoid the trappings of opinion-basedness, but I agree that it should be on topic, as suggested-order questions are in general.
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From @Tars' 2016 election question:
As a moderator, your votes become binding. Actions you used to take like flagging, reviewing, closing, and deleting will take effect immediately without any input from any other users or moderators.
How will you adapt the way you currently flag and vote to deal with this change?
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Knowing related data is important in understanding the site and its community, are you familiar (or how do you plan to become familiar) with the SEDE data that's available for this community?
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Is there something (or somethings) that you would specifically like to bring, add or change to the site?
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How will you keep up-to-date with network-wide and SFF specific policies?
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Warhammer (fantasy)
Warhammer is a table-top fantasy game, the forerunner of the now popular science fiction tabletop game that goes by a similar title. Age of Sigma is one of the replacement games, and as of typing, there are 7/8 questions for AoS, and 35 questions for the original game - somewhat small considering the 150 books written and the numerous ...
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You disagree publicly with another active/high-rep user about a point of site policy: for example, whether or not a particular question should be closed. How do you decide what to do - take mod action (such as closing/reopening yourself), start a meta discussion, or continue trying to convince the other person?
(This is somewhat similar to "How would ...
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Once in a while, SFF suffers deep disagreements over policy and its usage. For instance, SFF has the Future Works Policy (where implementation is not always straight-forward).
As a moderator you have tools to resolve these conflicts (post locks, suspension, and a binding delete the community at large cannot undo). How would you resolve conflicts where the ...
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What do you do now to build the community, rather than your own prestige in the community?
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What, if any, previous moderator (or similar) experience do you have from a different Stack Exchange site, a different website, and/or the real world (e.g. arbitration)?
(This question was also proposed for the 2015 SFF election and the 2016 SFF election.)
Of course, previous experience is by no means required (or even necessarily a good thing) but might be ...
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Why do you want to be a moderator?
This is perhaps related to
In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching 10k or 20k rep?
but that question assumes that the candidate wishes to be more "effective" at whatever it is that the candidate believes 10k or 20k rep users are more "...
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How will your moderator practices be shaped by the person in question? Will you change the way you moderate for another moderator, high reputation user, or newbie?
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A user makes a borderline OK answer on a question you've asked or answered. As a moderator you're able to delete posts much more easily than the majority of the community.
How do you handle this potential conflict of interest?
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In what way do you feel that being a moderator will make you more effective as opposed to simply reaching 10k or 20k rep?
I think this is an interesting question from the general 5 and might not be picked with the number of questions already proposed so putting it up to the vote.
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A user makes bump-edits to their posts periodically to bump them back to the top of the homepage. The bump-edits themselves are of a questionable nature and vary on whether or not they have improved the post. How do you handle this situation?
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SFF.SE has a mixed reputation among neighbouring sites (such as M&TV, Literature, Arqade, RPG, etc.), sometimes getting a bad rap in their chats, with some of their site regulars having a negative view of SFF and not participating here. Among the many roles a moderator might play is that of an ambassador of the site; what is your view on these inter-site ...
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Over the last few years there has been a downward trend in the number of questions asked each week. Do you see it as your job (as a moderator) to address this, and if so, what fresh ideas will you bring in promoting our site to others and encouraging question-asking?
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What do you consider to be the absolute minimum amount of activity a moderator should contribute to their site as a normal user (e.g. questions/answers/comments/etc), above and beyond their duties as a mod?
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What are your expectations for the amount of time you would commit to the site as moderator? (During the times you are active, that is; it's perfectly appropriate for that to be 0 when you're on vacation.)
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On our site, there's been a lot of controversy surrounding chat. As a moderator, how would you handle complaints about a toxic chat environment; and how would you deal with moderators of other SE sites stepping in to moderate the chat room, and room regulars protest against their presence?
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What's your opinion on edits that at a first glance don't improve much, but do serve a niche purpose (such as tag edits, or adding image descriptions)?
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How do you expect your activity would change if you become a moderator? For example, would you be a more active or less active reviewer (or review differently), spend more time or less time in chat and/or meta (or change the style of your activity there), ... ?
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Given hypothetical absolute authority,1 what would you want to change about this site? What policies would you introduce, abolish, apply more strictly or more laxly?
1 A real moderator diamond does not confer absolute authority. Terms and conditions apply.
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List of all questions posted as part of this topic challenge
Why is the protagonist of "Shortsighted" named Calvin Hobbes? by SQB, 01/06/2021
When is "An Uncivil War in America" set? by SQB, 02/06/2021
...
add entries in the form https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/<question-ID> by [username](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/...
Top 50 recent answers are included
