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73 votes

Physics.SE remains a site by humans, for humans

I firmly applaud the stance taken by the moderators here. AI-generated text has many demonstrated problems that disqualify its use, without significant human intervention, for technical (e.g. physics!)...
Jon Custer's user avatar
  • 7,331
27 votes

Physics.SE remains a site by humans, for humans

In a comment, Braiam asks How many of those users came back after the suspension? I looked at 16 profiles with a plagiarism mod message since January 1. (One of the suspensions on the list of 17 ...
rob's user avatar
  • 86.2k
21 votes
Accepted

Users that post every question in their homework/exams

Recently I've noticed a few people posting questions in rapid succession, each with a screenshot of a problem. If you look at the questions as a whole, it's obvious they've split their entire problem ...
rob's user avatar
  • 86.2k
20 votes

Users that post every question in their homework/exams

To discourage rapid postings of the type alluded to in the question, methinks screenshots of text should be outright banned. I can understand a screenshot of a figure, but if it can be easily done ...
ZeroTheHero's user avatar
16 votes

Where can I find a statement of the Physics SE policy on self-citation?

The main place for this is How do you cite yourself? It's perfectly OK to use text from previously-published own work in your answers, so long as you (i) cite the source, and (ii) make it clear that ...
Emilio Pisanty's user avatar
15 votes

Please use gender neutral language

Thus, my question: do we, as a community, want to discourage gendered language? Or should we just leave it to the discretion of users what kind of language to use? As I understand it, this proposal ...
David Z's user avatar
  • 75.8k
15 votes

Data collection: When should (or shouldn't) we exclude questions from the Hot Network Questions list?

Questions about perpetual-motion machines should meet a stricter-than-usual bar in terms of clarity and prior research to get on HNQ. Questions about perpetual-motion seem to have a particularly easy ...
Emilio Pisanty's user avatar
14 votes

What is our position on answers that consist almost entirely of copied content?

Unacknowledged or unmarked quotes are plagiarism, plain and simple, and they deserve the full weight of community displeasure to be heaved on them: comments, downvotes, and eventual deletion. On the ...
Emilio Pisanty's user avatar
13 votes
Accepted

Using Comments as Answers

Good idea to make this a question so I can post my comment there as an answer: yes, this is fine. Actually, in order to avoid arguments over whether it does constitute an answer or not, I'll say this: ...
David Z's user avatar
  • 75.8k
13 votes
Accepted

How to handle references to literature in predatory journals

I don't think we need any additional policies about referring to or questioning about papers published through predatory journals. Assuming the paper is mainstream... Well, we don't really need to do ...
Kyle Kanos's user avatar
13 votes
Accepted

Languages of references

Yes, while the language of the main body of a SE post should be in English, non-English references are acceptable for various reasons: A non-English reference is better than no reference. It is ...
Qmechanic's user avatar
  • 196k
12 votes

Does SE allow me to publish my own material (Qs/As) in a peer-reviewed journal?

As mentioned in the comments, the Stack Exchange terms of service speficy that: You retain the copyright of any content you post to Stack Exchange When you post, you are making the content available ...
Emilio Pisanty's user avatar
11 votes

Meta-commentary in questions should sometimes be allowed

If you're not satisfied with my answer, you're under no obligation or expectation to accept it. We all write answers that aren't accepted all the time, and I've also written many questions to which I ...
knzhou's user avatar
  • 101k
11 votes

Should we leave technical astronomy questions to Astronomy SE?

Both of the existing answers seem to be based on a mischaracterization of how migration and off-topic closures are related, particularly with things like I would like to see Astronomy SE added to the ...
Emilio Pisanty's user avatar
10 votes

Can moderator or user with high reputation be held to the rules?

The main mechanism for the reversal of serial voting is automated, because the moderators have access only to summaries of inter-user voting, (not to detailed records) even when our tools alert us to ...
dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten's user avatar
10 votes

Asking physics joke questions

Although it is related to physics, I don't think such questions and answers are really useful to the purpose of this site, which is to share knowledge of physics concepts; not to share physics humor. ...
BioPhysicist's user avatar
  • 55.8k
10 votes

Language that can be perceived as sexist

Any time one finds language that could be considered unwelcoming, I think the right course of action is to edit the post to change or remove it. The usual editing guidelines still apply, so: Make ...
tpg2114's user avatar
  • 16.4k
10 votes

Should users answer questions that they think should be closed?

I am the (or at least one of the) user(s) in question, and I think that your impression of my motivation is mistaken. Since at least part of your concern is your view of my motivation let me state my ...
Dale's user avatar
  • 94.4k
10 votes

Why do we still apply the homework policy even when there are many opposite opinions?

There is in fact massive consensus for closing most homework-like questions. The most recent expressions of this consensus are found in this post and this post. Every so often someone complains about ...
ZeroTheHero's user avatar
10 votes

Do we have to be nice to chatbots?

I primarily deleted this as it was an answer to a closed question. Comments should be used to suggest changes to a post, not to answer them. The rudeness did affect my decision somewhat. I was not ...
Chris's user avatar
  • 17.1k
9 votes

Is a moderator's Approach to Delete the Answer Provided When No Comment Was Possible Consistent with a Metrocracy or Hypocracy?

Discussions on meta Stack Exchange sites are discussions, but they are still expected to have some structure. If you post an answer, then just as on the main site, it is expected to address the ...
HDE 226868's user avatar
  • 10.8k
9 votes

When should moderators close questions?

I would say that moderators get it right most of the times. But sometimes they err, in which case I can think of four routes you can take: Vote to reopen. If the question is very clearly on-topic, it ...
AccidentalFourierTransform's user avatar
9 votes

Allowing questions regarding typos in books

This question is based on a bit of a false premise. Errata related to the concepts seems to be accepted as on-topic. See here. The difference in this post is that you're not asking about a ...
JMac's user avatar
  • 15.2k
9 votes

What's the policy around a jocular political comment within a post?

We don't really have a policy around jokes - they are, for better or worse, mostly irrelevant. Some users like to include humor in their posts, others don't. In general, this falls squarely under the ...
ACuriousMind's user avatar
  • 122k
9 votes

Language that can be perceived as sexist

@tpg2114's answer is the right one from a policy standpoint, but it's worth making an extended comment to observe that "guys," specifically, occupies a strange place at the intersection of ...
rob's user avatar
  • 86.2k
9 votes
Accepted

Should we leave technical astronomy questions to Astronomy SE?

Thank you for your thoughtful replies. In view of the current (3) answers and comments let me spell out my suggestion and perhaps clarify a few points first: Emilio Pisanty already provided an ...
stafusa's user avatar
  • 12.3k
9 votes
Accepted

Keeping track of “abuse” (or other) flags?

There is no automatic consequence for repeated flags for rudeness or abuse. However, there are automatic flags raised when particular users accrue a number of these flags in a certain timeframe, ...
ACuriousMind's user avatar
  • 122k
8 votes

Which duplicated question should be closed?

There are several competing desires for how to close (and possibly merge) duplicates (listed in my preferred order, but that shouldn't be taken to represent official policy): Priority to the best ...
dmckee --- ex-moderator kitten's user avatar
8 votes

Chat and the moderation thereof

My view is that the h bar should be a place where the users of Physics SE can hang out and discuss any topic under the sun with other users of Physics SE while maintain respect for one another. ...
Kenshin's user avatar
  • 5,541

Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible