3 ms·

You're not the first to take that line, so I'll refer you to my previous observations: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27097403 https://news.ycombinator.co

You're not the first to take that line, so I'll refer you to my previous observations: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27097403 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27097403 There's no wild assumption going on here. I just bothered to keep reading, very carefully, everything the original author actually wrote. Then, please, further reflect that Stack Overflow is not Codewars; it is a forum for practical, focused, and relevant problem-solving advice, and at its best the moderation and answer processes help folks to iteratively revise and improve their questions. A crucial step is, therefore, analytically clarifying both the parameters and the intended outcome. Contextualisation and focusing of requirements is a familiar and essential skill for any programmer being handed a requirements statement, and answering S.O. questions involves the same exercise, just in vignette. The handling of this question was not, in this sense, the best. But expecting anything less, would just be a load of fizzbuzz.

IshKebab 5y ago
> There's no wild assumption going on here. I just bothered to keep reading, very carefully, everything the original author actually wrote. That doesn't excuse it. You're still inferring stuff that wasn't asked in the actual question. What happens when someone else comes along who really does want to use a regex? They now have a question without the correct answer and they can't even ask the question themselves because it will be closed as duplicate! Probably by people like you.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- inopinatus 5y ago
  Well, that is snide, petty, personal, and wrong. The strangest part of this whole discussion has been the remarkable number of accounts making head-first personal character attacks. And as with that comment further back, the personal invective comes coupled to some strange language, like “StackOverflow people” - what are they, even? It sure ain’t a tribe I’d identify with. Does anyone with a login qualify? Where’s all that anger even coming from? Setting that aside, I don’t believe that reading the OP’s clarifying remarks and follow up questions is “inference”. Not that there’s anything wrong with inferring things, but it’s the opposite, it is going to the primary source, and I don’t need to excuse it. Frankly, I think people who skimp on their research, and fail to engage with the source to refine the matter, are selling the question short. This question was undoubtedly mishandled in part because it became memorialised for a famous answer. The failure to provide the OP with adequate feedback, or to edit it unilaterally to incorporate the OPs essential clarifications (without which its a “wtf” class question) was, and remains, a dereliction of moderator duty. Because it makes much more sense and is much more likely to be useful to your hypothetical later visitor once focused. What the world did not need was yet another page of half-baked tokenisation routines. Finally, I have never closed a dupe in all my puff, and I’m thoroughly unimpressed by those that do.
  - IshKebab 5y ago
    > “StackOverflow people” - what are they, even? StackOverflow has a real problem with attracting strict rule followers who love over-moderating. I expect Wikipedia suffers from a similar issue but it's not such an interactive site so most people aren't exposed to it. > Where’s all that anger even coming from? StackOverflow can be an extremely frustrating experience due to people who probably think they are helping casually closing questions. > Finally, I have never closed a dupe in all my puff, and I’m thoroughly unimpressed by those that do. Good! I wish there were more people like you! I'm still waiting for the day when somebody starts a friendly competitor to StackOverflow that doesn't support closing questions, gives authors actual control over what they write (can you imagine if other people could edit your comments here?) and does away with mods. One day...
    - burnished 5y ago
      It's called the 'CodingHelp' subreddit. The quality is very low and you will see many similar questions, each with a screen shot and little explanation.
      - IshKebab 5y ago
        That's not remotely the same.
    - goto11 5y ago
      StackOverflow has its share of problems, including overzealous moderation. I do civic duty by often voting for reopen and moderating the reopen queue. That said, removing moderation is not the solution. If you look at the unmoderated new questions, lots of questions are literally incomprehensible. A significant portion are homework or exam questions directly copy-pasted, but without enough context to answer - e.g. referring to table or figures or code examples which is not included in the question. Such is the sad reality of a widely known site in todays eternal september.

IshKebab 5y ago

> There's no wild assumption going on here. I just bothered to keep reading, very carefully, everything the original author actually wrote. That doesn't excuse it. You're still inferring stuff that wasn't asked in the actual question. What happens when someone else comes along who really does want to use a regex? They now have a question without the correct answer and they can't even ask the question themselves because it will be closed as duplicate! Probably by people like you.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
inopinatus 5y ago
Well, that is snide, petty, personal, and wrong. The strangest part of this whole discussion has been the remarkable number of accounts making head-first personal character attacks. And as with that comment further back, the personal invective comes coupled to some strange language, like “StackOverflow people” - what are they, even? It sure ain’t a tribe I’d identify with. Does anyone with a login qualify? Where’s all that anger even coming from? Setting that aside, I don’t believe that reading the OP’s clarifying remarks and follow up questions is “inference”. Not that there’s anything wrong with inferring things, but it’s the opposite, it is going to the primary source, and I don’t need to excuse it. Frankly, I think people who skimp on their research, and fail to engage with the source to refine the matter, are selling the question short. This question was undoubtedly mishandled in part because it became memorialised for a famous answer. The failure to provide the OP with adequate feedback, or to edit it unilaterally to incorporate the OPs essential clarifications (without which its a “wtf” class question) was, and remains, a dereliction of moderator duty. Because it makes much more sense and is much more likely to be useful to your hypothetical later visitor once focused. What the world did not need was yet another page of half-baked tokenisation routines. Finally, I have never closed a dupe in all my puff, and I’m thoroughly unimpressed by those that do.
- IshKebab 5y ago
  > “StackOverflow people” - what are they, even? StackOverflow has a real problem with attracting strict rule followers who love over-moderating. I expect Wikipedia suffers from a similar issue but it's not such an interactive site so most people aren't exposed to it. > Where’s all that anger even coming from? StackOverflow can be an extremely frustrating experience due to people who probably think they are helping casually closing questions. > Finally, I have never closed a dupe in all my puff, and I’m thoroughly unimpressed by those that do. Good! I wish there were more people like you! I'm still waiting for the day when somebody starts a friendly competitor to StackOverflow that doesn't support closing questions, gives authors actual control over what they write (can you imagine if other people could edit your comments here?) and does away with mods. One day...
  - burnished 5y ago
    It's called the 'CodingHelp' subreddit. The quality is very low and you will see many similar questions, each with a screen shot and little explanation.
    - IshKebab 5y ago
      That's not remotely the same.
  - goto11 5y ago
    StackOverflow has its share of problems, including overzealous moderation. I do civic duty by often voting for reopen and moderating the reopen queue. That said, removing moderation is not the solution. If you look at the unmoderated new questions, lots of questions are literally incomprehensible. A significant portion are homework or exam questions directly copy-pasted, but without enough context to answer - e.g. referring to table or figures or code examples which is not included in the question. Such is the sad reality of a widely known site in todays eternal september.