tea.mathoverflow.net - Discussion Feed (Am I a bully?)

Gerry Myerson comments on "Am I a bully?" (11584)

Gerry Myerson — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:00:49 -0800

My thanks to all who have contributed to this discussion. Andrew Stacey, I'll take your suggestions on board. Kevin Buzzard, I think there is only one more example, and it was sufficiently long ago that I can't remember the details (though I'm finding that as age -> infinity, "sufficiently long" -> 0). Scott Morrison, I'm relieved to learn that *you* are the bully. Just kidding; actually, I'm relieved to learn that the answerer is fine with the series of events.

Kevin Buzzard comments on "Am I a bully?" (11581)

Kevin Buzzard — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 11:52:28 -0800

I wholly approve of moderators unilaterally and *quickly* deleting answers to inappropriate questions (for example, questions of the form "please do my homework" being met by answers of the form "OK here you go"). This, in my mind, will not stop the slow stream of inappropriate questions---but nothing can stop this, and it will do a lot, I think, towards preventing it from becoming a landslide.

Scott Morrison comments on "Am I a bully?" (11577)

Scott Morrison — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:08:17 -0800

The answerer says everything is fine.

Pete L. Clark comments on "Am I a bully?" (11576)

Pete L. Clark — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:05:51 -0800

Gerry Myerson is not a bully.

Scott Morrison comments on "Am I a bully?" (11566)

Scott Morrison — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 08:18:36 -0800

Indeed, I deleted this answer unilaterally, and somewhat hastily. I'll be pretty easy to convince this was the wrong thing to do, and indeed I'll apologise to the answerer privately and see if they want to revert. On the other hand, I won't actually do any undeleting unless asked, as I think it is appropriate that that this answer not be visible.

jbl comments on "Am I a bully?" (11555)

jbl — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 06:15:05 -0800

Hi Gerry, I used to leave such comments until I left one on an answer of Mark Sapir, who was so unpleasant about it that I've decided it's not worth the bother. But I think that having someone leaving such comments is a good idea -- it's hard to influence the mass of people who come in to ask a single question and then depart, but it's not as hard to influence the much smaller group of people who stick around and answer many questions.

Andrew Stacey comments on "Am I a bully?" (11554)

Andrew Stacey — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 03:40:50 -0800

Actually, Scott M deleted the answer.

(This just gave me an idea for a "Secret, Underground MO". Since only 10k users can see deleted stuff, we can ask and answer questions that only 10k users can see!)

Kevin Buzzard comments on "Am I a bully?" (11553)

Kevin Buzzard — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 02:44:28 -0800

+1 Andrew as well though: that's a great way to cover your back in these situations.

Kevin Buzzard comments on "Am I a bully?" (11552)

Kevin Buzzard — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 02:42:27 -0800

Gerry: don't worry, you're fine. I can see the deleted answer (because I have 10k). Currently it looks like this: Answerer: [correct answer]. You: "do we want to encourage this sort of question?". Answerer: "'ll work to restrain myself in the future.". The answerer then deleted his answer and there looks like no bad blood. If you're seriously concerned about other examples and can remember enough data, post 'em here and I'm sure someone will check for you.

Andrew Stacey comments on "Am I a bully?" (11551)

Andrew Stacey — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 01:11:30 -0800

Links: http://mathoverflow.net/questions/48687 for the first post (the given link fails for some reason), and http://mathoverflow.net/questions/19146/do-six-consecutive-numbers-always-contain-an-abundant-or-perfect-number for the second (which wasn't hyperlinked).

There have been some discussions on this and what I remember of them was that we try not to answer such questions, so it is useful to point out to anyone answering them that this is the way things are done here. In such circumstances (ie when criticising someone's behaviour), I like to link to a relevant meta discussion. Then it says:

This isn't just my personal opinion, others think so too (so it's not me that's the bully);
This isn't directed at you personally, enough others have done this that we've talked about it;
If you disagree, there's a place for you to do so.

grp comments on "Am I a bully?" (11550)

grp — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:58:43 -0800

For those of us who aren't privileged, you might include all of your comments as well as enough of the context to give us a chance to judge.

One person's bully is another's policeman. I suspect that you will not get a consensus, especially if you have your own doubts about this.

While a good answer does not a good question make, I want to point to this example (http://mathoverflow.net/questions/19146/do-six-consecutive-numbers-always-contain-an-abundant-or-perfect-number) as something worth preserving and creating. There are cons to trying to make every question into something worthy for MathOverflow, but if one goal is to create a reference for the future, then providing ancillary related material should be encouraged. Perhaps this example will provide inspiration for how to handle future questions.

Gerhard "Ask Me About System Design" Paseman, 2010.12.09

Gerry Myerson comments on "Am I a bully?" (11549)

Gerry Myerson — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 00:43:13 -0800

From time to time, MO will see a question at (or below) the level of an exercise in an intro undergrad course. The question will be closed, fast, but an answer may get posted before closure. On a couple of occasions, I've left a comment on the answer, asking (politely) whether we want to encourage the asking of this sort of question. On both occasions, the answer disappeared - I assume the person who posted it deleted it, and I assume that was, at least in part, after reflecting on my comment. Well, that's what I was after, so I should be happy, but I also worry, just a little, that the answerer, and others who witness the exchange, might think I'm being a bully. So I put the question before meta, hoping to be reassured that what I've done has not been a breach of etiquette, but ready to take my lumps if the collective opinion is that I've overstepped a line.

For anyone who wants to see an example, rather than reply in the abstract, this most recently happened with http://mathoverflow.net/questions/48687/are-there-any-counterexample-to-following-number-theoretic-situation-closed. Of course, you won't be able to see the answer or my comment on it unless you are appropriately privileged.