So...It is now my understanding that we are not to ask questions where the answer can be googled....So how are other people going to learn new things?
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It shouldn’t be a quick and easy Google. If the answer is more than literally the first Google return, it’s generally fine. It just shouldn’t be really, blindingly obviously answerable by Google.
It’s not that you can’t ask such a question. It’s just, why would you bother the community when you can find your answer so easily?
Some other questions, such as the caddywhompas one, is harder to google because their spelling was not exactly as the term is, not to mention it’s an interesting word that could spark an interesting discussion, whereas your question was asking to define a legal term which is not something that opinion or personal experience matters in.
But…OK. I asked a question: When a judge dismisses a lawsuit “without prejudice” can you tell me what that means….and I got hollered at! I mean, gosh, of course the answer is easy to find, but then again, other people may be looking at that Q and learning something they didn’t know before….
But if they wanted to know that, they’d Google it…
You got hollered at by only one person, were told kindly by likeradar about what our guidelines are regarding such issues.
As nice as it is, it is not yours or my purpose to educate other people as to what they don’t know. Otherwise I could fill up the screen with questions!
For example: I could ask: Does anyone have a recipe for tomato soup? (which I could easily Google and fine a thousand choices. But if I ask, What is your favorite recipe for tomato soup and why? – it’s a whole different ballgame.
The idea of asking questions here is not to teach other people, it is to find answers you need or to spark a dialogue to help you form an opinion or solve a problem.
The best questions are the ones that can’t be answered by Google.
@bythebay‘s example is a great one. In this case, it’s the personal interaction that is desired. Maybe someone who grows their own tomatoes will chime in with a homegrown recipe for soup. Or maybe someone will relate a funny story about when they participated in a tomato soup cook-off including an anecdote of “and that’s why red chilis should never be added to red tomato soup”.
@DutchCat: I’m giving you lurve for your can-do attitude!
@DutchCat Don’t feel bad about it, I’m sure most jellies have made that mistake, I know I have!
@bythebay Thanks…it’s just—that question had the potential to start a huge discussion on wis.dm—lawyers jumping it to explain it, others coming in with their own experiences…
So ask something similar like “When do you think it is appropriate for a judge to dismiss a case without prejudice?” You still get to talk about it, you’d get lawyeriffic experiences. It just isn’t the straight up definition.
Edited to add: Even then, in the details, I’d probably acknowledge rules about it but emphasize I’m asking the general opinion.
@DutchCat It’s a common mistake, and you didn’t get hollered at.
@DutchCat: It could here as well. If you recognize that you know the definition and then express that you are seeking differing views and interpretations, it would probably be well received. Oh…Empress just beat me to it…does this make sense?
@DutchCat – ah, there’s your mistake
“it’s just—that question had the potential to start a huge discussion on wis.dm—lawyers jumping it to explain it, others coming in with their own experiences…”
…you’re trying to make Fluther into wis.dm. perhaps if your question were worded differently, then you might have gotten a different response. don’t worry, once you figure out how things work around here, you’ll get the hang of it.
@DutchCat, also don’t take one persons response or rebuttal too personally…we all have our moments and we often tease about easily google-able questions! C’mon…jump back in!
@bythebay I CAN’T ASK ANY MORE QUESTIONS TODAY!!! Waa.
@DutchCat: Well you have plenty of time to formulate some thought provoking and wildly interesting new ones.
So jump back in tomorrow. We’ll still be here. We promise.
And go forth and answer until then. Just so we can’t slip away.
This is the point of fluther, we don’t want to be asked tons of questions just for the sake of asking a question, we want to discuss questions that are truly important to you and in asking those types of questions, you’ll spend more time wording it properly and giving some detail which will usually generate a decent discussion.
@miasmom Ok…I’m learning…..It’s different here.
@EmpressPixie Just FYI—After a year of searching I FINALLY GOT A JOB! And an awesome job it is. I start Wednesday so that will really restrict my internet time—I don’t chat after 5 or on weekends, generally speaking. That’s my hubby time!
@EmpressPixie VERY exciting! Hey….when you comment in a question, does it automatically set you up as “following” that question? That seems to be what’s happening to me…
Are you liking it so far D? Here, i mean.
Um…..yeah….. i miss the pics too!! I can’t post tokeloshi’s for you anymore!!
Yeah, and no more nasty, disgusting peanut butter cookies!! Wait….
I really dislike the idea that each and every question has to pass some sort of test, as decided by other people.
Oi!! I’m having delicious peanut butter cookies now! Yum yum yum!!!
You’re just jealous of my cookies…..
They only really look at it if it gets flagged. And if you pay attention the guidelines, it shouldn’t get flagged.
@Ivan I got caught in that too…but remember how bent out of shape folks used to get on wis.dm when the Q wasn’t a Y/N? :) I always thought that was easily overlooked—but not back then!
@JellyB I am NOT jealous of your cookies! In fact, they are giving me a stomach ache as we speak.
@DutchCat Oh don’t be stupid! It’s that Kansas air that’s making you feel queasy….
;P
@JellyB I“M BLOCKING YOU FOR CALLING ME STUPIT !!! It just might be the air…it’s blowing like a Banshee here. It’s REALLY windy, to the point it’s almost scary to drive…
@DutchCat Haha, do they even have a block here? Too bad so sad, you can’t avoid me here….!
Really? Best stay at home then and fluther away! ;)
No blocking technologies here. It’s all or nothing :)
@JellyB Fine! I’ll just go to work where you can’t find me!!
@dynamicduo That’s cool…we didn’t have blocking on Wis.dm but it got to a point that it was almost necessary. I believe you guys will uphold your TOS’s better than wis.dm did…
Dutchie, dear, what they’re trying to say is that they’re a bunch of pseudo-intellectual snobs who are only hear to discuss Very Important Things.
and then there are like two nice people.
and dutchie, we did so have blocking, just not good blocking. and wis.dm isn’t gone yet.
No, we’re saying we have guidelines and we like people to stick to them because overall we feel it enhances the quality of questions that come through. We’re not snobs, but there are clearly outlined guidelines that we ask people to follow. And we’re all about helping people to shape their question into something that fits the guidelines better.
@please_not_to_ask2 You’re right…I forgot to mention that it was implemented about 3 months ago. I meant to say we didn’t USED to have blocking!
@EmpressPixie – I was told earlier by one member that he or she is “afraid that [I’ve] dropped into a site of well-educated and well-read individuals” which clearly demonstrated that he or she thinks I’m a moron because I don’t feel the need to show off my big brain all the time. My understanding of this site thus far is that we are to pretend our question is important when really it’s not, and we can’t ask anything that isn’t Very Important because that would be against the guidelines.
@JellyB – yes, Jelly. Well, I have not answered any of your questions as I have not seen any, except one about mosquitoes, and mosquitoes don’t bother me, so I couldn’t really answer you. And what am I rating you on? Are you rating me? this lurve thing is bound to mess with my self-esteem. At least on wis.dm I totally knew my points had nothing to do with whether or not anyone liked me. And no one likes me here because I criticized their website (jokingly at that), etc. Not going well so far——trying, trying.
@DutchCat – indeed. The days of no blocking was not fun, and I don’t appreciate the lack of blocking here either. Instead, we’re just babysat like we’re five year olds, it seems.
I sure WISH I could block some certain people…
As for Very Important Things, well… not always.
As for the earlier comment—yes, I saw that. I got what she was trying to say, but didn’t really agree with how she said it. I think she was more trying to express disgust for txtspeak and lolcat chat than anything else (if I recall correctly). And there is a fairly strong prejudice against that here.
@EmpressPixie – ah well, I shall continue my test run of the site for a few days. I do like jelly fish.
@please_not_to_ask2 LOL! Well, if you’re nice to me, i’ll rate your q’s…. :) Well, if you click on my avatar you’ll see all of my 3 or 4 q’s so far….
As for mosquitoes not bugging you, that proves my theory! People who don’t eat peanut butter cookies have undesirable blood!! Ya! Do you see this D! Proof!!
@please_not_to_ask2 Hey—yeah, the demographics here is a lot like wis.dm—like people IRL, too. Got some nice ones, and not so nice ones….one veteran user mentioned that we seemed to be asking better questions than are usually asked by new comers….I don’t know….I don’t recall ever trying to make someone feel lesser just because they were new to wis.dm, and yeah, a couple of people here seem to be doing just that. But most others aren’t so….
Oh you totally are. We usually get people who randomly drop in from the Internet as a whole. Because you are used to asking questions, the quality is far better than a random sampling of our normal newbies.
Edited to add: Or at least, that’s what I’m going to attribute it to. Probably also because you came from a social question site, so you don’t want to waste our time with, like, your math homework.
@JellyB – It’s not the peanutbutter cookies, JellyB. I have undesirable blood anyway. Low platelets and such——what kind of mosquito would want that? Besides if one bit me I’d bleed for a really long time and be sad.
@DutchCat – I’m getting a mixture of both, leaning toward unwelcoming. I asked a genuine question about my profile not updating, and a few people were like “ugh you suck” and I was like…eh?
@please_not_to_ask2: We were talking about you in the chat! (I forgot you were the one to ask that.) In general we awarded you Adult of the Year for coming back and saying you’d figured out the problem and what it was. (Not in those words, but generally talked about you being a stand up person for doing that. And that is said a lot about you as a person.)
Also, if a mod drops by they might shake a finger as us for getting so far off topic. Though, I would consider the over-arching topic of this thread to be “helping wis.dm-ers adjust” so maybe not. And frankly they are probably too busy to bother with the off-topic finger waving right now, it does happen. Just… a fair warning that is does happen.
It was in a nice way, I promise. Or I wouldn’t have brought it up. I’m kind of risk-averse.
@EmpressPixie :O So we must stay in topic in the thread as well?? Aw man…..
@JellyB – I think she just meant sometimes, kind of, maybe, perhaps. and she whispered it! LOL!
In general, somewhat yes, we stay on topic in threads. It really depends on the thread at hand. This thread is more of a thread where chatting can occur, and is occurring, due to its nature. However if someone was asking a question about muffins, and a side discussion forms about strawberries versus blueberries, that side discussion would politely be asked to leave, as it is not the question at hand.
Yes. That. Exactly. DD’s got it.
@dynamicduo – but what if we’re talking about which fruit bakes better in a muffin? That would be on topic, yes?
Yes, that would be on topic. And that’s why they generally only fuss if we get reallllly off topic. And honestly, they are probably so much busier with general modding today to bother with “now, is that realllllly on topic?” but I kind of wanted to mention it so you didn’t get shocked later and think, “but we totally had that other chat thread!”
@please_not_to_ask2 – exactly. Such a comment would be perfect in that thread, as it is completely on topic.
@JellyB—we all will. And watch your funny spelling, missy!
We always stay on topic. It’s just that the topic we’re on wanders sometimes.
@please_not_to_ask2 Regarding your post: ”
“Dutchie, dear, what they’re trying to say is that they’re a bunch of pseudo-intellectual snobs who are only hear to discuss Very Important Things. and then there are like two nice people.”
If a bunch of people came from Fluther to wis.dm, wouldn’t you expect them to conform to the culture and guidelines of the site?
Wouldn’t you be a bit annoyed if they started complaining right and left about how wis.dm works and why doesn’t it have this feature or that feature?
And how would you feel if they then called you pejorative things like “pseudo-intellectual snobs”?
I am guessing from some of the hostility I have seen on the site already from wis.dm refugees that you would not take it all that well if things had gone the other way.
I know that I for one have not personally characterized anyone from wis.dm in a negative way. That sure has not been true the other direction.
Two different wis.dmers called us Nazis!
That said, I think most of the newcomers have been quite nice.
PS:
[Mod says] The off-topic chatter in this thread is perfectly acceptable. :)
I absolutely lurve this Q because it shows how respectful and welcoming Jellies can be while still pointing out differences in cultures <3
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