Too many off-(main)-topic comments there. Please put further discussions below.

http://mathoverflow.net/questions/41955/does-any-textbook-take-this-approach-to-the-isomorphism-theorems

To turn this thread into some use, I start with the following conflict: the part of me that follows rules is somewhat abashed at the off-topic chatter that occurs in the comments, while another part recognizes the fallibility of the human condition and the desire for tangency and light-hearted action.

Practically speaking, I imagine that pants will be worn most of the time in MathOverflow, but that even mathematicians have to pee (or eliminate, or express themselves in divers fashion). Should the community spend time cleaning up after itself, removing irrelevancies and borderline or mild examples of undesired behaviour? Or should it be recognized that MathOverflow is in part a mirror of what happens at some scientific gatherings, which will include some levity, punning ranging from inscrutable to clever to short of outrageous, and some irrelevance which may be necessary to avoid the strain of too much focus on the topic of the gathering?

This may open a can of worms, inviting more people to push the boundaries of what is acceptable on MathOverflow.
I prefer that instead it solicits comments here on this meta thread, especially on the social nature of MathOverflow. I also think a nod should be given to the fact that MathOverflow is a publicly (and not just by the academic public) viewable forum; as I get more comfortable with using MathOverflow, I am in danger of forgetting this fact. Are others here in the same danger?

Let us also not forget that, to some extent, participation in MathOverflow is because it is fun, or at least appealing, to many of its participants. To ask an obvious question, how do we keep it fun (and perhaps make it more fun) while keeping true to the stated and unstated parts of MathOverflow's mission?

The practical answer will probably end up being: continue as usual, and think more about the math and less about
tangencies, and things (and their moderators) will take care of themselves. However, I may be wrong about that being the correct answer. Hence this post.

Gerhard "Navel Spelunking; Bring Your Flashlight" Paseman, 2010.10.15

In the good old days, we didn't need to have these discussions because we closed almost every questionable question anyway.

Also, could someone please tell me what the original comments were that pissed people off so much?

To clarify Gerhard's account a little bit, it was Mariano who made the comment (which is still there) about analogy with language, an observation some people feel are besides the point and some people feel are inaccurate; unknown (google) decided to call Mariano out on both, and used some unpleasant language along the way. (That one was deleted.)

(Edit: after re-reading Gerhard's description, it appears I may have misunderstood at first what he was trying to say. This post was edited to reflect my "Aha!" moment.)

Grétar, Richard Gowers would be gowers's son, who was mentioned in his comment, and Dick Gowers would be his grandfather.