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.
292
questions
10
votes
1
answer
71
views
Do we want weekly topic challenges?
A great suggestion from Jon Ericson is to have Weekly Topic Challenges, these would involve 4 steps:
Step 1: Ask for topic ideas.
Select underrepresented topics, or topics we feel need a boost.
...
user889
7
votes
1
answer
60
views
Is there any more that I can do?
Looking at the Area 51 stats, we seem to be floundering in a couple of areas, in particular, questions per day and visits per day. What I have been doing (when I get time):
Tackling the unanswered ...
user889
4
votes
1
answer
61
views
Synonymize [ocean] and [oceanography]
I just saw that weather and meteorology were synonymized now, shouldn't we synonymized, in a similar way, tags ocean and oceanography?
I don't really think there is a good reason to keep them separate....
- 5,338
7
votes
1
answer
52
views
Is the question about electric versus fossil-fuelled vehicles on topic?
How do hybrid cars reduce carbon emissions (wouldn't they just transfer fuel emissions to electricity consumption?) is probably the furthest we've strayed into the mechanical engineering aspects ...
- 4,090
5
votes
2
answers
146
views
Let's get critical: Oct 2014 Site Self-Evaluation
We all love Earth Science Stack Exchange, but there is a whole world of people out there who need answers to their questions and don't even know that this site exists. When they arrive from Google, ...
CommunityBot
- 1
5
votes
0
answers
60
views
Tackling the unanswered list
This is similar to the thread 90 unanswered questions and counting, I have just tackled and answered 4 unanswered questions - it took a bit of research, but was doable and I think the answers are of a ...
user889
7
votes
1
answer
69
views
What's the community's position on copyrighted material?
Copyright was covered briefly in an answer to a previous question, but not really addressed.
The Stack Exchange content policy document is a bit vague on the subject:
users should be careful when ...
- 10.9k
1
vote
1
answer
63
views
Should this question be re-opened, or should we close this very similar question?
I have identified an inconsistency that cannot be good for the site.
This question, What is this rock? , has been left open, while this question, What type of rock is this?, has been closed.
Could ...
- 7,576
4
votes
1
answer
60
views
Are stratigraphic tags useful?
I have found myself in the last few months tagging or retagging some questions with time-based tags (namely precambrian and carboniferous). I realize now that nobody else did, and thus was wondering ...
- 5,338
12
votes
2
answers
163
views
Is the imperial measurement system still used in the geosciences?
There are a bunch of questions on this site with measurements in miles, feet, etc. I'm an imperial system hater, so it annoys me. I'm wondering if this measurement system is still used anywhere in the ...
- 5,417
10
votes
1
answer
253
views
How do I ask homework questions on Earth Science Stack Exchange?
Consensus was reached on using the Physics.SE model for homework questions, so I am creating this question to formulate out specific policy. This will serve as the FAQ for this topic and is CW, so ...
5
votes
1
answer
82
views
How granular should tags be?
If you have a look at the edit history of this question, you'll see there's been a minor tag edit-war (not really - all genial, see the comments on the question itself :) ).
I originally put quite ...
- 5,417
1
vote
2
answers
49
views
Could the proposal Scientific Imagination be kind of a duplicate of Earth Science
There is this new proposal that is quite hot on Area51 now. Scientific Imagination. As it's description says, it is for the people who are interested in questions involving imaginary scenarios and ...
- 101
7
votes
2
answers
196
views
Is telling jokes good marketing?
The OP of the question
https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/2376/what-is-your-favorite-earth-science-joke
argues that a fun question would help to attract user to come to our site. Is ...
- 1,681
6
votes
2
answers
172
views
90 unanswered questions and counting
I can see a whole bunch of interesting but unanswered questions on the site, which means there are no experts around motivated enough to post here. This does not bode well and discourages people from ...
- 2,093
6
votes
1
answer
109
views
Mathematical methods applied to Earth science?
Do we welcome questions about the interpretation of mathematical tools used in Earth Science?
For example, I asked a question related to the interpretation of the mathematics of remote sounding.
Is ...
gerritMod
- 11.6k
4
votes
2
answers
49
views
Would [field-technique] be a useful tag?
A comment by plannapus suggested that field-technique might be a useful tag for the question. (I had thought of "field-methods", but "field-technique" has a more technical feel.)
Would field-...
user26
2
votes
1
answer
50
views
Should we have a way for students to ask simple questions?
There have been a few examples of questions posted by students (e.g., How to perform precipitation data analysis?) that have been closed or put on hold in the past. Do we need a way for those ...
- 15.4k
-2
votes
1
answer
95
views
Importing questions from Reddit AskScience?
We're still struggling to reach traction with our # of questions/day. And I'm really concerned that this is going to end up closed, like the Astronomy/Economics SEs..
I have an idea: how about ...
- 7,807
10
votes
2
answers
145
views
Should we have the mhchem MathJax extension enabled?
Biology and Chemistry have the mhchem MathJax extension enabled, which makes it easier to write chemical species and reactions. Should this extension be enabled here? I imagine that it will be useful ...
- 1,875
5
votes
1
answer
58
views
We should strive for consistent spelling forms
I just noted that the palaeobotany is using british spelling, while all the other similar tags are using american spelling (e.g. paleontology. As a community, we should strive for tags using the same ...
- 363
5
votes
4
answers
114
views
Do we need [climate-change] and [global-warming]?
We currently have tags global-warming (6 questions) and climate-change (6 questions). I don't think we need both of these tags, so the question becomes which tag do we keep? I definitely feel one of ...
11
votes
2
answers
249
views
Addressing climate change denial
It seems to me that SE is potentially an ideal format to challenge some of the climate change denial blogs and journalism (names withheld to protect the innocent). Should we have a tag under which ...
- 2,115
8
votes
2
answers
141
views
How do we handle Wikipedia answers?
This is essentially a follow-up on the questions about whether we are an expert site or not, such as Are we aiming to be an expert site? and Is expert level the same as difficult?. I see some answers ...
- 5,024
4
votes
1
answer
53
views
Is Helioseismology on topic in Earth Science or Astronomy?
What is says on the tin, is Helioseismology on topic in Earth Science or Astronomy?
Myself I'd think no (for ES) as although it takes elements of seismology, I think there is a fundamental difference ...
- 2,115
0
votes
0
answers
30
views
Should we split the waves tag?
I noticed that we currently tag questions about waves at the ocean surface and seismic waves with the same waves tag. There are other topics about waves, which could come up here. Should we split the ...
- 1,681
5
votes
7
answers
112
views
Should the [earthquakes] tag be synonymized to [seismology]?
Should the earthquakes tag be synonymized to seismology?
Or, in other words - we know that all questions about earthquakes are also about seismology. Is it also true that all questions about ...
- 1,875
13
votes
2
answers
130
views
What should our about page contain?
Moderators can edit the tour page (formerly called the about page) of a site. We can change the "ask about" and "don't ask about" sections of the page.
Here's the current content:
Ask about...
...
hichris123Mod
- 1,960
2
votes
0
answers
44
views
Anyone for cake?
The Great Geobakeoff has produced some wonderful results : https://www.flickr.com/photos/99330142@N05/sets/72157644551255832/
- 5,800
7
votes
1
answer
48
views
Would it be beneficial to incorporate the el-nino tag and prempt a la-nina tag under an ENSO tag?
Should we combine these tags? Or is it better they remain separate?
- 2,115
9
votes
3
answers
123
views
Merging Ocean Modelling proposal?
Back in A51, there was a discussion on merging "Earth, Ocean & Atmospheric modelling" with Earth Science. Now that ES is in beta (and that one isn't), should this be revisited?
I see that ...
- 5,800
19
votes
0
answers
1k
views
Site statistics
This meta post will track our stats on Area 51, fortnightly (14 days) or a bit longer if I forget and someone else updates it:
Here's the Quantcast estimate of site traffic, with the mean number of ...
0
votes
0
answers
36
views
Tag recommendations: sea-water
There is no tag for general sea-water related questions. The only tags up until now that come remotely close are sea-level, and sea-ice
- 101
3
votes
3
answers
85
views
Should we allow questions that ask "why"?
I feel the word "why" asks for an answer that gives a reason or a purpose.
Is that appropriate for a Q&A about Earth Science?
If you look at the questions on the physics SE site, I believe the ...
- 3,800
0
votes
2
answers
46
views
Tags for Organizations
Should we add tags to allow for users to ask questions of specific agencies/datasets?
(Sorry about the US Centric agency list)
USGS - US Geological Survey
US EPA - Environmental Protection Agency (US)...
- 331
1
vote
2
answers
46
views
Add tag for Geoinformatics
Geoinformatics is the science and the technology which develops and uses information science infrastructure to address the problems of geography, geosciences and related branches of engineering.
- 331
19
votes
0
answers
163
views
Moderator Pro Tem Announcement
Throughout the beta, we need members from the site whose focus is to engage the community, both in community-building issues and site management. That's why we select a few members from each community ...
2
votes
0
answers
31
views
A tag for mantle plumes/hotspots?
One question that'd benefit from this already, and as a somewhat controversial topic and an active area of research I'd be astonished if we don't get more. I suggest "mantle-plumes", as hotspot's more ...
- 2,834
4
votes
1
answer
43
views
Which archaeology-related questions are on topic?
I have already asked few questions on the border between archaeology and earth sciences, such as this or this. I want to ask more, but I would like to be sure that they are on topic before asking.
...
- 976
1
vote
0
answers
57
views
A tag for Earth's rotation
What about a tag like earth-rotation (synonym rotation maybe)?. For several questions I think something like this one is missing.
- 251
0
votes
1
answer
48
views
Finding theoretical Earth Science that's approachable to the general public
UPDATE: Decided the question was off-topic on all SE sites, and as a result, deleted it. Thanks for the feedback!
This is a placeholder question for comments related to if the question "Finding ...
- 4,601
8
votes
15
answers
419
views
What should our logo and site design look like?
Question is listed as one of the "The 7 Essential Meta Questions of Every Beta":
This one is pretty straightforward. Solicit contributions, throw out
ideas, post preliminary (or finished) designs,...
- 4,601
3
votes
4
answers
160
views
Should [atmosphere] be a synonym of [meteorology]?
Should atmosphere be a synonym of meteorology?
The AMS defines meteorology as:
The study of the physics, chemistry, and dynamics of the earth's atmosphere, including the related effects at the air–...
- 14.1k
7
votes
4
answers
204
views
Homework questions
UPDATE: This is a historical discussion. Here is the adopted homework questions policy.
We don't have this problem yet, but given time I'm sure that we will. Do we want to allow homework questions ...
- 14.1k
7
votes
5
answers
121
views
Are we going to allow recommendation questions?
I have seen our software rec discussion here: Are software-requests on-topic?
But I am wondering now about general recommendation questions. The question that sparked this is: https://earthscience....
- 14.1k
9
votes
6
answers
177
views
What should our chatroom be called?
Every Stack Exchange site has an official chat room which can be reached by clicking the "Stack Exchange" logo on the upper left corner.
Each site chooses a nickname for its chat room to put some ...
gerritMod
- 11.6k
12
votes
4
answers
217
views
Tag for global Earth: do not use “earth”?
Some questions* already use the tag earth.
(*) edit: ignore the previous link, see the first comment by plannapus following naught101 answer below.
I'm wondering if it is meaningful on Earth Science ...
- 251
8
votes
1
answer
954
views
When are questions about crystals on-topic?
We have a few questions about crystal formation and properties, for example:
Why does the colour of amethyst fade if exposed to too much light?
Why do crystals, like quartz and diamonds, form in ...
- 5,417
9
votes
2
answers
118
views
Guidance for references behind paywall
It seems likely that provided references could be from books, journals, or lectures that are behind a so-called "pay wall". That is, the reader must pay to access the full material. (For an example ...
- 101
6
votes
2
answers
51
views
Are data-format questions on topic?
Are questions related to the specification or implementation of data exchange or file formats on topic? For example, "How do I determine the endianness of a SEG-Y file?"
If so, how should they be ...
- 101