tea.mathoverflow.net - Discussion Feed (Community wikifying after a while)

Andrew Stacey comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5502)

Andrew Stacey — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:33:30 -0700

How do you know that???

*looks round for the CCTV/web cameras that must have been inadvertently left on*

geraldedgar comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5501)

geraldedgar — Mon, 10 May 2010 07:12:24 -0700

Of course he was using the names from the opera, since he just attended it last night...

Mark Meckes comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5499)

Mark Meckes — Mon, 10 May 2010 06:20:30 -0700

According to the Wikipedia article Harald linked to, you actually got it right, assuming you were speaking Althochdeutsch. (Of course, in that case, the other guy should have been Donar.)

Andrew Stacey comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5480)

Andrew Stacey — Sun, 09 May 2010 13:44:42 -0700

Lame^H^H^H^HWitty excuse for getting it wrong, no. 1

I picked "Wotan" instead of "Odin" because "Wotan" is an anagram of "Awton".

Lame^H^H^H^HWitty excuse for getting it wrong, no 2

You have to remember that the inhabitants of Britain learnt the names of the Norse gods from people who were screaming the names whilst whirling great huge battle axes above their heads. You can just imagine the scene:

Cei, a celt, is resting partway through a battle
Enter Hrothgar, a viking, screaming incoherently
Cei: Excuse me, old chap, but did you just scream "Odin" or "Wotan"?
Hrothgar swops off Cei's head with a single backswing
Enter Cadwal and Valentine Dyall[1]. Valentine shows Hrothgar a yellow card.
Valentine: Offside!
Hrothgar: Offhead, more like. What's offside?
Valentine: It's when someone is beheaded from a warrior who's in front of the last defender.
Cadwal: And another thing, you're only allowed eleven men on the field. I've counted six hundred and ninety-three so far!
Hrothgar: All right, I'll send one off.[2]

[1]: Google him.
[2]: Stolen unashamedly from The Histories of Pliny the Elder

Harald Hanche-Olsen comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5465)

Harald Hanche-Olsen — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:55:57 -0700

Wotan? … oh, you must mean Odin, I guess. Or Óðinn, as it is more properly spelled. (And that other guy you mentioned is Þōrr.)

Scott Morrison comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5460)

Scott Morrison — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:12:19 -0700

Hehe, I guess I am Thor to Anton's Wotan. Just this morning he talked me out of smiting someone.

Andrew Stacey comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5426)

Andrew Stacey — Thu, 06 May 2010 23:21:04 -0700

@Yemon: I wasn't sure if Anton would appreciate being compared to Thor. Or perhaps Anton is Wotan and Scott is Thor, which makes me wonder who Freya is ...

(Plus I didn't want to run afoul of the real viking who hangs out round here; I have no wish to spark another invasion)

Andrea comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5415)

Andrea — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:12:42 -0700

If you decide to convert your question to wiki in this sort of situation, please also flag the post for moderator attention and one of us will hit the question with the real wiki hammer (which converts existing answers to wiki as well).

Well, actually I was trying to do the opposite, so that people would not lose points.

Yemon Choi comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5400)

Yemon Choi — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:44:46 -0700

I am surprised Andrew has not found a way to mention Mjollnir in this discussion yet...

Anton Geraschenko comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5398)

Anton Geraschenko — Thu, 06 May 2010 14:35:17 -0700

Making the question cw will only affect future answers, not the preexisting answers.

That's correct. If you decide to convert your question to wiki in this sort of situation, please also flag the post for moderator attention and one of us will hit the question with the real wiki hammer (which converts existing answers to wiki as well).

Note to moderators: if you use the wiki hammer, please remember to put it back in its place.

Andrea comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5387)

Andrea — Thu, 06 May 2010 09:29:16 -0700

Anyway it is cw now. I think it makes more sense.

Andrew Stacey comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5386)

Andrew Stacey — Thu, 06 May 2010 07:29:51 -0700

Once or twice I've thought that something I asked or said was borderline community-wiki, so when I write something like that then I try to say "I'm leaving this non-cw for now because ... but will happily hit it with the wiki-hammer if it becomes clear that ...".

François G. Dorais comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5385)

François G. Dorais — Thu, 06 May 2010 03:44:14 -0700

Making the question cw will only affect future answers, not the preexisting answers.

Andrea comments on "Community wikifying after a while" (5384)

Andrea — Thu, 06 May 2010 03:19:01 -0700

I asked yesterday this question about books on recent history of mathematics. At the moment I decided not to tick the cw box. The rationale was that I honestly thought there may be some answers better than others, and people should be awarded points for that.

Now I'm not convinced anymore, and I have also been suggested in the comments to make this community wiki, so I'd like to communitywikify it. The problem is that a lot of people answered and gained points from that, and I'm worried it may be rude to change the status now and let them lose their points, What am I supposed to do in this case?