tea.mathoverflow.net - Discussion Feed (# of closed questions) Sun, 04 Nov 2018 23:23:12 -0800 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/ Lussumo Vanilla 1.1.9 & Feed Publisher Anton Geraschenko comments on "# of closed questions" (11647) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11647#Comment_11647 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11647#Comment_11647 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:45:00 -0800 Anton Geraschenko @timdok: hmmm, that's kind of weird. I guess that when you have that option enabled, questions with ignored tags just aren't served to you at all. I can't duplicate that with a preference cookie. You can get the behavior you want by adding some custom css for MO:

.tagged-ignored{ display: none; }
]]> timdok comments on "# of closed questions" (11559) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11559#Comment_11559 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11559#Comment_11559 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:08:31 -0800 timdok Anton Geraschenko comments on "# of closed questions" (11386) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11386#Comment_11386 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11386#Comment_11386 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 23:06:51 -0800 Anton Geraschenko @Scott: I think I agree with you philosophically, but I don't see the harm in people applying ignored-tag css to closed questions. It's true that MO is self-moderating, but that self-moderating must be voluntary if it is to work well. We can't force people to vote, for example. If somebody decides not to vote on anything, that's slightly greedy because they're benefiting from the energy others put into voting, but it's far better for them to not vote than for them to vote thoughtlessly because they're forced to.

The premise of "web 2.0" sites is that there's enough joy in volunteer work (appropriately pitched) that nobody has to do anything they really don't want to in order to keep things running smoothly. Many different people on MO get fulfillment from helping out in different ways. If it turns out that we really need more people to look at closed questions in order to keep MO working smoothly, I'll disable this preference cookie thing, but I'll be pretty surprised if that's necessary.

]]> Harry Gindi comments on "# of closed questions" (11381) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11381#Comment_11381 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11381#Comment_11381 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:46:50 -0800 Harry Gindi @Scott: What's wrong with Anton's original preference thing? The only time I ever look at a closed topic is when somebody posts on meta. Having them visible on the main page is just an annoyance.

]]> Scott Morrison comments on "# of closed questions" (11379) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11379#Comment_11379 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11379#Comment_11379 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 18:29:27 -0800 Scott Morrison Personally I'd prefer that we don't even use [tag-removed] for completely incorrect tags. We're already unfriendly enough in the closing process, and I fear that [tag-removed] is just adding insult to injury. I'm happy to defer to others' judgement on this, however.

]]> WillieWong comments on "# of closed questions" (11362) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11362#Comment_11362 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11362#Comment_11362 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:35:23 -0800 WillieWong @Scott: Your comment

This is lame. Please don't use Anton's new preference option. The whole point of having closed questions visible is so that community moderation actually happens.

surely applied to the first version of Anton's option, not the modified version he is working on now that just grays-out the question, rather than hiding it completely?

Also

I propose that we explicitly forbid people from manually retagging questions to this tag, and return to its intended use.

Acknowledged. Until told otherwise, I shall stop abusing [tag-removed]... just one question: what about closed questions that actually has a completely incorrect tag? Should I retag it to [tag-removed], the correct tag, or leave it alone?

]]> Scott Morrison comments on "# of closed questions" (11361) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11361#Comment_11361 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11361#Comment_11361 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:25:51 -0800 Scott Morrison Hey, everyone!

This is lame. Please don't use Anton's new preference option. The whole point of having closed questions visible is so that community moderation actually happens. I would be really sad if most people turned this on, and no longer looked at what was happening to closed questions.

Also, it seems that several of the moderators are now against retagging things as [tag-removed]. I propose that we explicitly forbid people from manually retagging questions to this tag, and return to its intended use.

]]> Anton Geraschenko comments on "# of closed questions" (11341) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11341#Comment_11341 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11341#Comment_11341 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:07:41 -0800 Anton Geraschenko I think I should be able to apply ignored-tag styles to them. Lemme see what I can do.

(Edit: I've changed it, but it doesn't seem to be working properly. Still debugging.)

]]> WillieWong comments on "# of closed questions" (11337) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11337#Comment_11337 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11337#Comment_11337 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:48:49 -0800 WillieWong Though after trying it out, I am not sure completely hiding closed questions is the best idea. Like you said in the preferences, this is counter to the community moderation spirit of the website. Also is a problem since some useful big-list questions have been closed, not as off-topic, but since it has grown too big and less relevant.

Hey, an idea: is it possible at all to either

  • Instead of hiding the questions, apply the "ignored tags" style to them?

  • Make it not something you set in the preference, but something you set when doing searches? (Or in general, make it apply to only certain pages?)

]]> Harry Gindi comments on "# of closed questions" (11334) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11334#Comment_11334 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11334#Comment_11334 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:25:40 -0800 Harry Gindi Oh, my manners!

Thanks, Anton!

]]> Joseph O'Rourke comments on "# of closed questions" (11331) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11331#Comment_11331 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11331#Comment_11331 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:16:36 -0800 Joseph O'Rourke WillieWong comments on "# of closed questions" (11330) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11330#Comment_11330 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11330#Comment_11330 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 12:03:40 -0800 WillieWong Ah! Thanks Anton. That's a nice workaround.

]]> Harry Gindi comments on "# of closed questions" (11321) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11321#Comment_11321 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11321#Comment_11321 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:12:34 -0800 Harry Gindi Nifty! I noticed a minor bug: It blocks closed questions on userpages as well. It's not a major problem, but I figured I'd let you know.

]]> Anton Geraschenko comments on "# of closed questions" (11320) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11320#Comment_11320 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11320#Comment_11320 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:00:44 -0800 Anton Geraschenko

Hey Anton, is there any way you could add a javascript or css thing that lets us completely block out closed threads (like we can do with ignored tags)?

I have a philosophical objection to this, and it's crufty, but I'm completely willing to do it if it gets people to stop commandeering the tagging system to filter out closed questions.

You should now see a "Hide closed questions" checkbox on your preference page (you may need to clear your cache first). As usual, it just sets a cookie, not a server-side preference. Right now, it just hides all questions containing the string "[closed]" in their titles.

]]> Harry Gindi comments on "# of closed questions" (11319) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11319#Comment_11319 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11319#Comment_11319 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:29:51 -0800 Harry Gindi Hey Anton, is there any way you could add a javascript or css thing that lets us completely block out closed threads (like we can do with ignored tags)?

]]> Cam McLeman comments on "# of closed questions" (11318) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11318#Comment_11318 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11318#Comment_11318 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:27:51 -0800 Cam McLeman I think I'm swaying toward Anton's point of view. As long as the tags are accurate, I'd think I'd rather just scroll through some closed questions when I do a tag-search. I think the tipping point for me is that filtering out tag-removed does not actually do a good job of making the home page more aesthetically pleasing -- quite the opposite.

]]> Harry Gindi comments on "# of closed questions" (11316) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11316#Comment_11316 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11316#Comment_11316 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:26:00 -0800 Harry Gindi You should just block tag-removed!

]]> Anton Geraschenko comments on "# of closed questions" (11315) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11315#Comment_11315 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11315#Comment_11315 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:22:32 -0800 Anton Geraschenko Ok, I know that some people disagree with me about the use of [tag-removed], but this is ridiculous. People are abusing this tag in the name of "cleanliness", but are actually creating a mess on the home page.

There are currently 12 closed questions on the home page. SEVEN of these questions would not be on the home page at all right now if it weren't for people retagging them [tag-removed]. FOUR others are higher up on the list than they would be were it not for this practice, and the original tags that were removed weren't even very bad.

]]> Harry Gindi comments on "# of closed questions" (11313) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11313#Comment_11313 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11313#Comment_11313 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:23:02 -0800 Harry Gindi Isn't that the game with the tiny racquets, the high net, and the balls with feathers on one end?

]]> Joseph O'Rourke comments on "# of closed questions" (11310) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11310#Comment_11310 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11310#Comment_11310 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 06:57:13 -0800 Joseph O'Rourke
---Not a real mathematician (clueless re cricket) ]]> WillieWong comments on "# of closed questions" (11307) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11307#Comment_11307 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11307#Comment_11307 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 06:31:50 -0800 WillieWong "Aberration"? I think not. It cannot be just a coincidence that around the same time, the Brits took 600 in one innings and the Ozzies are praying for (and likely getting) rain in Adelaide Oval. My hunch is that real mathematicians are all cricket fans, and what Joseph is observing is not an increase of noise but a decrease of signal. :-)

]]> Pete L. Clark comments on "# of closed questions" (11305) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11305#Comment_11305 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11305#Comment_11305 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 05:48:09 -0800 Pete L. Clark @Joseph: We've seen worse, but yes, this morning we have an unusually large quantity of closed questions on the front page.

Of your three choices, I would pick "aberration".

]]> Joseph O'Rourke comments on "# of closed questions" (11302) http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11302#Comment_11302 http://mathoverflow.tqft.net/discussion/813/-of-closed-questions/?Focus=11302#Comment_11302 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 04:27:19 -0800 Joseph O'Rourke
I wonder if these ratios are roughly the norm, or are [closed] questions growing in frequency, or is this morning (EST) an abberation... ]]>