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I'm one of the moderators on Stack Overflow. It's not my goal to stamp out any sign that SO is a social network, but I do want to prevent it from turning into

I'm one of the moderators on Stack Overflow. It's not my goal to stamp out any sign that SO is a social network, but I do want to prevent it from turning into Yahoo! Answers. Some level of moderation is necessary to maintain quality. Just because some users want to use Stack Overflow to ask off-topic questions doesn't mean we should let them.

wpietri 14y ago
Has anybody here complained about wanting off-topic questions? The linked article sure isn't.
- codinghorror 14y ago
  Your definition of "on-topic" is not the same as ours, therefore you do want off-topic questions. Saying that our definition of the topic is wrong, does not mean you aren't asking for off-topic questions to be allowed. It's the same thing.
  - wpietri 14y ago
    I agree that the definitions are different. However, look at what you're saying. You've divided the world into us and them. It's you, the defender of the one true definition, versus the ignorant outsider fools. It's utterly close-minded. It's your bat and ball, naturally, so you're welcome to keep on driving off the people who have different views. But don't go around saying you listen to your users when you talk like this.
- cruise02 14y ago
  From the linked article: > ...throw out the gazillion-sub-site silliness and broaden allowed topics for discussion.
  - wpietri 14y ago
    Right. That's a sign that people disagree about what exactly is on-topic. Not a sign that people want to turn it into an anything-goes meme factory.
    - cruise02 14y ago
      He is complaining about wanting to ask off-topic questions, which is exactly what you denied was in the article.
      - wpietri 14y ago
        No, he has a different view of what on topic means than the people who currently hold the power.
        cruise02 14y ago
        No, I think you're being willfully ignorant. He explicitly says "broaden allowed topics for discussion." He understands what's on topic and what isn't. He wants a place to have discussions that are off topic for Stack Overflow, but doesn't want to go to one of the many sites that already exist for that purpose. I don't think asking users to take off topic discussions to one of those other places is asking too much.
        wpietri 14y ago
        You're demonstrating the problem. There is a disagreement about which topics should be allowed. Broaden means increase the number of topics considered to be on topic. He understands your definition of "on topic"; he just thinks it makes for a poor user experience. And I agree with him. The problem here is that you and others confuse your view of "off topic for Stack Overflow" with some sort of universal truth. You get away with that not because you're right in some academic sense but because you have the power to drive off people with differing views.
        cruise02 14y ago

wpietri 14y ago

Has anybody here complained about wanting off-topic questions? The linked article sure isn't.

codinghorror 14y ago
Your definition of "on-topic" is not the same as ours, therefore you do want off-topic questions. Saying that our definition of the topic is wrong, does not mean you aren't asking for off-topic questions to be allowed. It's the same thing.
- wpietri 14y ago
  I agree that the definitions are different. However, look at what you're saying. You've divided the world into us and them. It's you, the defender of the one true definition, versus the ignorant outsider fools. It's utterly close-minded. It's your bat and ball, naturally, so you're welcome to keep on driving off the people who have different views. But don't go around saying you listen to your users when you talk like this.
cruise02 14y ago
From the linked article: > ...throw out the gazillion-sub-site silliness and broaden allowed topics for discussion.
- wpietri 14y ago
  Right. That's a sign that people disagree about what exactly is on-topic. Not a sign that people want to turn it into an anything-goes meme factory.
  - cruise02 14y ago
    He is complaining about wanting to ask off-topic questions, which is exactly what you denied was in the article.
    - wpietri 14y ago
      No, he has a different view of what on topic means than the people who currently hold the power.
      - cruise02 14y ago
        No, I think you're being willfully ignorant. He explicitly says "broaden allowed topics for discussion." He understands what's on topic and what isn't. He wants a place to have discussions that are off topic for Stack Overflow, but doesn't want to go to one of the many sites that already exist for that purpose. I don't think asking users to take off topic discussions to one of those other places is asking too much.
        wpietri 14y ago
        You're demonstrating the problem. There is a disagreement about which topics should be allowed. Broaden means increase the number of topics considered to be on topic. He understands your definition of "on topic"; he just thinks it makes for a poor user experience. And I agree with him. The problem here is that you and others confuse your view of "off topic for Stack Overflow" with some sort of universal truth. You get away with that not because you're right in some academic sense but because you have the power to drive off people with differing views.
        cruise02 14y ago