34
votes
New site design!
status-completed
The icon on the tour page and the smaller icons have been updated, they will be live after our next production build.
Not really a bug report, just expressing my surprise.
I'm ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
28
votes
Accepted
Simple English please!
There are two sides to this argument.
On one hand, people who answer on ELL should be aware that the person asking a question may have limited English skills. We should conscientiously try to not ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
25
votes
How can I write a better title for my ELL question?
1 Introduction
Titles give a first impression of your post. Good titles bring positive attention to your question, and you will get it answered sooner; more upvotes will follow etc. Bad titles don't ...
- 7,351
25
votes
Is it really pointless to edit questions to use correct English on ELL?
If correcting the grammar makes the questions easier to understand, I think the edits are worthwhile. If the question is easy enough to understand without the edits, I don't think we should correct ...
- 11.9k
21
votes
I demand resignation of a moderator who deleted my on-topic comments
Moderators on graduated sites are elected to the position. We don't remove moderators except for:
voluntary resignation,
inactivity over long periods, or
serious problems, such as violating the ...
20
votes
19
votes
Another "translation question": the ethics of helping professional freelance translators
I think each question should be taken on its own merits regardless of the source of the question or what the asker intends to do with the answers. Our goal is to create a comprehensive reference for ...
- 11.9k
19
votes
Accepted
Should accepted answers appear first, just above the highest scored answer? Or should answers appear only in order of score?
The accepted answer should appear on top (this is the status quo).
Possible reasons for this:
We have the opposite problem to Stack Overflow. Answers on SO often get thousands of views and votes by ...
19
votes
The community managers owe the ELL community, the moderation team, and me personally an apology
For those who may not have met me, I’m Philippe - I’m the Vice-President of Community for Stack Overflow and the Stack Exchange Network. I’ve been asked to comment here and share what I can of my team’...
- 101
18
votes
Contributor's Guide to English Language Learners
Titles are for titles, and questions belong in your question.
Please, don't ask a question like this one:
There are four things wrong with this question – two are formatting issues, and two are "...
18
votes
Contributor's Guide to English Language Learners
How to start a new line on Stack Exchange
You type this into your computer:
"What is this strange smell?" "The food _________"
a) has burnt
b) burnt
c) was burning
d) had ...
18
votes
Use of the term "idiomatic" is often ambiguous
Unfortunately, "idiomatic" is the correct technical term for "sounds natural to native speakers", and there really isn't a better option to my knowledge other than to lengthily ...
- 7,133
17
votes
Why are native speakers here?
I'm a native speaker, and I'm here to learn.
Learn in two major areas, in fact: first, there's a surprising amount about English itself that I only know intuitively, or even not at all.
But the ...
- 9,493
17
votes
Is ELL getting too PC ("Politically Correct")?
I didn't like the question, and I'm not sorry to see it gone.
If someone is truly confused about the words least and less, surely it's not too hard to contrive an example sentence that would raise ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
16
votes
2015 Community Moderator Election Results
First I'd like to thank our pro tempore crew for sustaining a fabulous site for learners while their assistance was crucial for the site. WendiKidd, Matt, waiwai933 and especially J.R..
And now . . ....
- 7,351
16
votes
Accepted
What does OP mean?
"OP" is short for "original post" or "original poster".
I make a point of spelling out abbreviations like this. I also edit posts to spell out such abbreviations.
- 24.1k
16
votes
I demand resignation of a moderator who deleted my on-topic comments
I think the "constructiveness" of that last comment in particular is tenuous at best. I see rather hostile accusations about "reading the OP's mind" along with allegations that one of our most ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
16
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to ask questions on ELL even if you're not learning English as a second language?
You should try to ask questions that would be of interest to those who are learning the language as a second language.
We're not here to help you with your homework, but if you can couch your ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
16
votes
Accepted
Let's bring down the number of unanswered questions
I initially wondered, "Would most of the unanswered questions would be poorly-written questions that didn't really need an answer, aside from an initial comment or two?"
After I looked through the ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
15
votes
How can I write a better title for my ELL question?
Quick Reference Card for Writing Good Titles
(summarized from the more detailed answer)
Put words from other sources in "quotation marks"
between thumb, forefinger and middle finger - why ...
15
votes
Accepted
Canonical post on articles?
Most people who ask about articles have already been bombarded with canons about articles, and are feeling confused because the canons conflict and are often demonstrably wrong. There is a lot of ...
- 2,800
15
votes
Is ELL more lenient on unresearched questions than EL&U is?
In my opinion, there is and should be a different standard for "research" between EL&U and ELL. I look for effort and context, not research. Have you ever tried to Google anything about 'in' or '...
- 11.9k
15
votes
Another "translation question": the ethics of helping professional freelance translators
Stack Exchange originated as a site to help professional programmers help each other. The idea of helping people get advice from other experts so that they can do a better job is actually what Stack ...
15
votes
2016 Moderator Election Q&A - Question Collection
What is your view on editing a question to correct grammar and style issues? Do you think we should edit answers differently from questions?
Some users believe that questions should only be edited ...
15
votes
Accepted
Should the "correct" answer with mistake be accepted?
From the Help Center:
Accepting an answer is not meant to be a definitive and final statement indicating that the question has now been answered perfectly. It simply means that the author received ...
- 6,536
15
votes
Are thanks for the answers unnecessary?
Not only is it unnecessary, it is considered an unwanted practice on the Stack Exchange.
The founders of Stack Exchange noticed that one annoying thing about many online forums is that, oftentimes, ...
J.R.Mod
- 109k
15
votes
Should accepted answers appear first, just above the highest scored answer? Or should answers appear only in order of score?
Answers should appear only in order of score (this is the new behavior on Stack Overflow).
Possible reasons for this:
The community as a whole may often be better suited to determine what the best ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible