tea.mathoverflow.net - Discussion Feed (Questions about the profession)

quid comments on "Questions about the profession" (21148)

2013-01-03T13:05:27-08:00

The question got reasked on academia.SE http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/6021/rumor-mill-and-math-job ; I also left a comment to that extent on the question here as well.

geraldedgar comments on "Questions about the profession" (21145)

2013-01-03T06:22:19-08:00

At academia.se there is a mete thread about how can they get other academic specialties to come there... I hope, if his question is closed in mathoverflow, the OP will try it there.

Michael Greinecker comments on "Questions about the profession" (21144)

2013-01-03T02:07:18-08:00

This question has IMO no claim whatsoever to be a bout an issue that is specific to the mathematcs academic job market, and the author did not really make an effort to make the question specific. The question seems to be a good fit for Academia.SE and no fit for MO at all.

quid comments on "Questions about the profession" (21140)

2013-01-02T19:10:30-08:00

@voloch: I agree a blog cannot be a substitute for what seems needed. Only, what I could well imagine is that if this blog, whose existing posts seem nicely written, had more comments/active readers (there seem hardly or even no comments) then more activity would/could develop there or around it. (It is perhaps, but I cannot know, a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: noone comments since it seems not so active, and it is not so active since there seems no active interest.) Or, in a different direction, the people in charge of this blog could be potential contacts if somebody should consider the idea to contact the AMS in some way.

But, I admit that my comment was also in part influenced by a (perhaps irrational) feeling of frustration that some seem just not willing to consider using any other site/resource than MO (except if forced to). I think I can rememeber no occassion where somebody said when academia.SE was suggested something like: okay, I will give it a try. I only can remember plenty of, sometimes slightly contrived or even counter-factual, arguments why this definitely is a non-option.

Now, I think I should stop with my mini-rant, since you certainly need no additional convincing regarding this problem.

And, thank you for the final sentence, this was very kind.

voloch comments on "Questions about the profession" (21139)

2013-01-02T16:40:40-08:00

@quid

A blog is different from a forum. In a blog, the owner of the blog has a lot of control over the discourse and all the other participants can do is comment. Plus, that particular blog seems very quiet, as you point out.

I did not vote to close this question either so far (not to further cultivate my reputation)

Please don't let Hollowdead bully you.

quid comments on "Questions about the profession" (21136)

2013-01-02T14:35:58-08:00

I was in the process of leaving this as a comment (when I noticed the meta thread), so first the comment:

In the AMS's 'defence' there is an AMS blog named 'On the market' (also some others). From a cursory glance it seems not that active; but perhaps this is also since "everybody" asks here rather than there.

And, there is also academia.SE (and contrary to the comment of OP it seems simply not true that this is so PhD students related; perhaps there is relatively more on this, but it is definetly not exclusively on this). Indeed, before the existence of academia.SE I was somewhat welcoming towards such posts, but now I see little reason not to direct them there. (Repost there, close on MO and place a link on MO; to steer the 'traffic' towards there.) Of course, as long as such things are tolerated on MO it could likely (always) stay better or more convenient to ask here and impede or slow-down the development of other activities.

I did not vote to close this question either so far (not to further cultivate my reputation), however the present question in some sense seems rather particularly off-topic. What is the point of disussing on MO the general merits of some other website(s); the MathJobsWiki mainly I assume, though not even this is made clear in the question.

voloch comments on "Questions about the profession" (21135)

2013-01-02T13:55:09-08:00

I just posted a comment on the following question

http://mathoverflow.net/questions/117889/shortlists-and-job-offers

which I think deserves to be discussed here.

I think this is way off topic for MO. I will refrain from voting to close as I can see from this and other examples that there is an incredible pent-up demand for this kind of discussion which doesn't seem to have other outlets. I wish the AMS or a similar organization showed some leadership to create a forum for discussions about the profession. Is there any AMS officer among MO users?