The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
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Start Here · Welcome · continued
What this community means by "a source", in practical terms posts 31–60
This is a continuation of a long topic, addressed by post number rather than by page. Start at post 1 · go to the accepted answer.
Collapsed as off-topic by two members at trust level 3 or above
You do not need to introduce yourself before asking a question, and nobody will think worse of you for arriving with one. The introductions subcategory exists for people who want it, not as a gate.
c.marchetti, post #1: Asking directly, because I could not find a straight answer: What this community means by "a source", in practical terms Counting it rather than describing it, because the count is the part that can be argued with. 10 instances over 26 weeks, recorded the same way each time, 6 of them different enough from the rest that I have set them… Go to post
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
A modest claim, modestly supported.
Worth knowing early: the archive is not retrospectively corrected. A topic from two years ago was accurate when written and may not be now. Every post carries its date for that reason.
Written from notes rather than memory, which is why the numbers are specific.
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The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
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forest_plot, post #12: The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression. The disagreement above is smaller than it looks once the terms are fixed. Go to post
One small courtesy that makes a large difference: put the specific question in the title. It is the single thing that most changes how quickly you get a useful reply.
That has been true for the cases I have seen and I have not seen many.
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
It is the sort of thing that seems obvious in retrospect and was not at the time.
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The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
The literature is thinner on this than the confidence in the thread implies.
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The moderation log is public. Every staff action is logged with the rule cited and the reasoning stated. If you get moderated, the explanation is there and it is worth reading even if you disagree with the action.
That is what I would do. It may not be what is correct.
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Thank you — that answers what I came here to find out.
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h.bakker, post #15: The FAQ link in the sidebar is maintained and worth ten hours of forum browsing. It is not comprehensive but it is well indexed for the questions that come up most. Go to post
The tag pages are usually a better entry point than the categories for a first read. A tag cuts across categories, so following one shows you how the same subject is treated by the analytical people and the practical people at once.
The general case is well covered; this is the awkward specific one.
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
If anyone has run this properly I would rather read that than my own guess.
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The tag pages are usually a better entry point than the categories for a first read. A tag cuts across categories, so following one shows you how the same subject is treated by the analytical people and the practical people at once.
Not a strong opinion, just a consistent one.
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HHidalgo, post #46: The tag pages are usually a better entry point than the categories for a first read. A tag cuts across categories, so following one shows you how the same subject is treated by the analytical people and the practical people at once. Not a strong opinion, just a consistent one. Go to post
Staff post. Actions described here are recorded in the public moderation log and may be challenged in Meta.
Welcome. Two practical notes from staff. Your first few posts are rate-limited, which is an anti-spam measure and not a comment on you, and it lifts on its own. If you hit it and have something to add, edit the post you already made.
n.cardoso, post #11: Reading the guidelines before you post is genuinely worth the twenty minutes. Not because you will break one, but because the rules explain why the place reads the way it does. That distinction has done more work for me than anything else in this category. Go to post
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
Adding it in case it saves somebody the afternoon it cost me.
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First week here. The thing I would tell someone arriving behind me is that the answers are slower and much better than anywhere else I have looked, and that trying to hurry one does not work.
Caveat: everything above assumes the paperwork is what it says it is.
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The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
I have separated what I observed from what I concluded, which does not always happen.
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One thing that took me a while to notice: the search box indexes maintained documents as well as topics, and documents carry a review date. If a document and a five-year-old topic disagree, the document is the one somebody has looked at recently.
A qualification I should have led with rather than closed on.
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m.strand_rph, post #16: The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression. The conclusion is tentative; the arithmetic underneath it is not. Go to post
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
This has been discussed before and I could not find the thread, so, again.
m.ilunga, post #10: The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression. A weak preference rather than a position. Go to post
If you want a fast orientation, read three solved topics in the subcategory you care about. Solved means somebody said the answer worked, which is more signal than reply count.
I am aware this is the third time this month I have made this point.
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
Reporting the observation and leaving the explanation open deliberately.
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Understood. Thank you for being specific about the limits of it.
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HRouhani, post #51: First week here. The thing I would tell someone arriving behind me is that the answers are slower and much better than anywhere else I have looked, and that trying to hurry one does not work. Caveat: everything above assumes the paperwork is what it says it is. Go to post
If you want a fast orientation, read three solved topics in the subcategory you care about. Solved means somebody said the answer worked, which is more signal than reply count.
Old habit: I write down the expected answer before I calculate it.
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
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