Questions tagged [discussion]
The question you're asking is designed to solicit opinions or best-practices on a particular topic, with the goal of reaching community consensus.
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Are non-verbal answers (and questions soliciting them) acceptable?
Recently, there has been an answer to a question asking for 'A word, gesture or expression for a confident “shrug” ' which invites and was presented with a captioned photograph illustrating this. The ...
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Website for lexical resources assessment?
Is there any website that assesses how rare or common are the words I used in my essay? Something like this picture below:
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2
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Linguistic redundancy vs being polite
Somebody just edited my post, saying they removed "fluff". What they really removed was me briefly introducing myself, saying I am new and will take feedback, and me saying "Thanks!&...
user427065
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Abraham Lincoln and Meryl Streep, are they the same?
This question about naming Abraham Lincoln something other than historical figure was closed as a duplicate of this question which tries to find a compliment for Meryl Streep (!), but I honestly do ...
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Is this synonym request truly unanswerable with facts and citations? Does it need to be edited? If so, how?
Term for wavelength-restricted or filtered light having a fairly pure color besides "colored light"? has been closed with the advice to
Update the question so it can be answered with facts ...
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How to deal with someone that edits their post from time to time just to bump the question to top?
I have noticed that there are members that edit their posts over and over and over again just to add small and petty things for example to italicize a single word or to add a comma or a full stop etc. ...
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Online dictionaries that group terminology by topic?
You can learn terminology related to specific areas of knowledge ('AOK's') by reading wikis and online encyclopedias. This is because exploring any AOK always involves learning terminology.
There are ...
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How is this message in the Review Queues generated?
I have been noticing this comment a lot and most of the time, different users post exactly the same comment. The comment goes:
This does not provide an answer to the question. Once you have ...
user387044
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Is editing a very old answer of one's own OK?
One of my old answers has been nagging at me — probably too much time for thought during the pandemic. It needs expansion, not so much with the English but about the context, which is archaic Greek ...
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Community Ads for 2021
September update: Community Ads are now live network-wide. All ads with a score of 6 or higher, or with a score of 4 or higher and no downvotes will be displayed (except for any that have a note from ...
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Is there a place on this site where users can express their admiration and gratitude for this site?
I am truly impressed with this site. It encourages so many good things as positive curiosity, research, mutual help, voluntary service, elegance and nobility, but also honesty. I am grateful for what ...
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Why is this question closed? I am asking if the English word is a good translation of koine Greek
Among this translations of the bible, which one has the meaning of being intoxicated?
Note that this question asks if the following phrases all mean the same or not. I cannot understand why this is ...
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What effect will the sale of Stack Exchange have on ELU (and others)?
This was all news to me. But then, what do I know?
https://www.google.com/search?q=stack+exchange+sold
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What happens when you flag a rude comment, and then the author deletes it?
I was confronted with rude, acid comments from a certain user, just because I mildly protested for editing the OP after I'd answered, in a way that rendered my answer invalid. The user swiftly deleted ...
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Why was this question on phrase usage closed?
I recently asked the question Is the phrase “final solution” used in the field of software development? on the site.
While the first version of the question was poorly worded, it was then edited to ...
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Why was the question “By the end of today” or “By the end of the day” closed as opinion-based?
The question “By the end of today” or “By the end of the day”: which expression is is correct? was closed as opinion-based. However I don't see any opinion there: the OP is just asking for which ...
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Why is there always a 'meatball' next to the LQ posts item on the review queue?
For the last few years I have noticed that there is always a "big red dot" next to that item on the list, no matter what.
...even though the queue is supposedly cleared.
Is this a bug, ...
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3-vote close - how's it going?
UPDATE: While the testing period has ended, this change has been well-received by the community so we have opted to not reset the votes needed to close/reopen to 5 while we look at data.
Please let me ...
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Should this question about the meaning of "a friend to all is a friend to none" be reopened?
The question "A friend to all is a friend to none" - Aristotle. What does this exactly mean? was closed five years ago, roughly a week after it was posted. The argument in favor of closing ...
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Ethnic slur in question: what's the procedure?
A question with the following title appeared on the main site yesterday:
meaning of "giddy-up"
As innocent as that sounds, a quotation used in that question contains harsh language (namely ...
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Why was my question migrated to ELL?
My question https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/285777/what-is-the-difference-between-they-and-it-for-people-especially-for-those has moved to ELL. I actually wanted to know more about third ...
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Why was this question labeled "off topic?"
Is the word "adjectival" used in this context?
This is a straightforward question about grammar, asking if "adjectival clause" can be used in the same way as "adjective clause....
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Question closed as duplicate but it wasn't
I asked a question about comma usage: Comma in "If in addition"
The question was closed as a duplicate. The question that my question is a supposedly a duplicate of is about parentheses and ...
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How to find list of adverbs with their usage related to corresponding verbs and adjectives
I am a Programmer and working on a NLP project that suggest adverbs to the adjectives and verbs in the sentence. I need grammar suggestion regarding this.
If anyone can tell the way or resource to ...
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Am I being rude if I answer a question with a documented expression?
My answer to the question Is there a term for a child born after the death of its sibling? appears to hurt the feelings of a few sensitive users.
Though I am sorry for that I don’t see how one can ...
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Why are the comment sections not being moderated better?
Anyone who has been participating on the main recently will understand what I am asking.
Comment sections for many Q&As are being inundated by 20-30 comments per.
In questions such as this, I ...
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1
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Can my question be re-opened now that it's edited?
I've updated my question Is there a better word for "boss” in this sentence? as requested, explaining why “boss” is not suitable.
Please check and vote to re-open.
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Are questions about explaining what the text mean on-topic?
Would the below question be on-topic? One may argue that it's better suited in Philosophy SE, but I guess that it's more about my English comprehension, therefore it's fine to ask it here.
This isn't ...
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Reopen question about how to format footnote references?
The question about Formatting two adjacent footnote indicators in the body of the footnoted text saved my day back in January this year, and I am disappointed it's still closed.
It has had a massive ...
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How can I figure out (the most) common modifiers used with a given word?
I'm wondering if there is a tool that can provide the answer to questions like the following:
What are common adverbs used to describe thinking?
What is the most common adjective used to describe a ...
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Why was this simple question so misunderstood?
I asked what I thought was a reasonable and simple question:
"Are there historical examples of "unchartered territory" used correctly?.
It received 2 down-votes and 2 votes-to-close, ...
- 2,562
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Why was my custom flag declined?
I recently came across an answer that consisted entirely of the text
yeah apply the poweder okay>
This is obviously not an answer, but I also think the answer was posted in bad faith, as I ...
- 4,507
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Over-zealous anti-pleasantries algorithm
In my first answer on ELU, I encountered difficulty in answering succinctly, due to a program built into the site that removes so called “pleasantries”.
The question concerns how to write “salutations”...
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What makes a question about historical usage of a word off-topic?
The question about the historical usage of men to refer to human beings generally was closed as off-topic. It seems to fall under usage and perhaps even etymology, two of the listed acceptable topics....
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Why was this question about a single word's pronunciation ("whinge") closed as off-topic?
I noticed that How is "whinge" pronounced? was closed as being off-topic.
I once noticed somebody spelled "whine" as "whinge" and thought it was an egregious and ...
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How do we deter unexplained downvoting of newcomers’ questions?
I have today seen two examples of a newcomer’s question being downvoted without explanation. It is true that both questions needed improvement, and comments were made to that effect before the ...
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essay checking recommendations
i was practicing for my English exam next which is to be conducted next month but i don't have any idea where can I get suggestions on the essay. I only need to know if my essay sounds interesting ...
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What writing style/guide says to emphasize (using a bold font) topic sentences? [closed]
See this webpage/demo.
I've seen this "technique"(?) being applied both in print and online.
I want to know if there's a specific style or guide that recommends it, or if it's just common ...
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How does my question need to be "more focused"?
How does Why are service or maintenance contracts called 'warranties', when they aren't Legal Warranties? "needs to be more focused"? I asked two questions. Do you want me to ...
user416586
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Why did this question showing research was closed with the reason "Please include the research you’ve done"?
The question Where does the use of "deck" to mean "set of slides" come from? shows research. However, it was closed with the reason "Please include the research you’ve done&...
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Why is this community so elitist?
Every question you ask gets showered with people pointing and berating. This is the most toxic Stack Exchange community I've experienced. Better chances on Reddit.
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Is Tom Dalzell's book "The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English" authoritative?
I was surfing the internet and chanced upon "The Routledge Dictionary of Modern American Slang and Unconventional English" edited by one Tom Dalzell. Notwithstanding the praise for the book ...
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What's the preferred way to cite The Chicago Manual of Style?
I'm wondering if there are guidelines or common practices for citations to style guides that I haven't been able to find searching meta-ELU. Perhaps it's a non-issue and I've only thought about it ...
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Is Spotify an acceptable way to host audio sample?
I am preparing a question which might include an audio sample. It seems the only host I could find is Spotify.
Can I ask a question that includes a link to Spotify?
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Why are questions in SE ELU closed because they are "opinion-based"
I am a non-native speaker of English.
When I do not understand a word (because I have never seen it before for instance), I look it up in a dictionary. The dictionary will give me the meaning and ...
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Why is a question about pronunciation "opinion-based"?
A while ago, I asked this question: Is the diphthong /aʊ/ generally realized as [ɑʊ] in British English? [closed] (now closed). I did not receive any answer which is fine but I don't see why this is ...
user387044
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Are there any resources to find which prepositions are appropriate for a given verb/adjective and how they change the meaning?
Sometimes I'm unsure about which prepositions can be used with a verb or adjective and how they change the meaning.
Are there any resources to help me with this?
A few examples of tricky preposition I'...
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Single-word-request rule clarification needed
My question Alternative to trumped was recently closed for being opinion-based. However, the tag single-word-requests has 300+ pages of questions similar to mine.
Why is there the tag single-word-...
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Why is the question off-topic?
I can see that users are voting to close the question Where does Martian meaning inhabitant of Mars come from? as off-topic.
What’s the problem with the above question? or is it just a question of ...
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traditional versus modern grammar book
Am I correct in describing A Student's Introduction to English Grammar by E. Huddleston and G. K. Pullum as modern grammar? It makes a distinction between complements and adjuncts, for example.
If ...
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