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    1. Work From Home (WFH) Thread - March 16th, 2020

      I suspect many of you are, like me, working from home today and in the near future. I thought that it might be nice to have a single thread where we can chat about WFH and our day to day lives...

      I suspect many of you are, like me, working from home today and in the near future. I thought that it might be nice to have a single thread where we can chat about WFH and our day to day lives while self-isolating in order to feel a bit less isolated. If people think this kind of thing is a good idea, perhaps this can be a daily (or weekly o_o) thread.

      Feel free to talk about:

      • Day to day life at home
      • What's on your agenda for work
      • Your thoughts on self-isolating and quarantine.
      • Casual talk that you might normally have with coworkers .
      • Anything else! (Though of course, the rest of the site still exists)

      I personally tend to get more work done while working from home as there are less interruptions in the form of meetings and informal breaks. So in a weird way I'm looking forward to this time in order to get quite a bit done. Still, it's hard not to get cabin fever.

      How are you all doing?

      19 votes
    2. Do you think the measures being taken to stop the virus will/are be(ing) effective? If not, which measures do you think would work best?

      Admittedly this depends on the measures being taken, which vary wildly from country/state to country, so you should probably specify where are these measures being taken to a national or state...

      Admittedly this depends on the measures being taken, which vary wildly from country/state to country, so you should probably specify where are these measures being taken to a national or state level depending in the location.

      12 votes
    3. Do you still post on Reddit?

      There are some very specific kinds of interactions that are much harder to find anywhere else. At the same time, large subreddits tend to have stringent rules, which mods frequently apply in an...

      There are some very specific kinds of interactions that are much harder to find anywhere else. At the same time, large subreddits tend to have stringent rules, which mods frequently apply in an inconsistent and subjective manner.

      I get that it's hard to manage a sub with thousands of people, but at the same time, it is frustrating to make an effort to write a long post just to realize there is no place for it.

      To make matters worse, the principle of charity is basically unheard of, and people will evaluate your sentences in such a way to make them the least true, sometimes adding personal hostilities.

      Posting on Reddit feels like something that should require a legal department, and I would very much like to stop doing that altogether. At the same time, places like /r/emacs are essential to help me quickly solve issues, and /r/destructiveReaders/ gave me some of the best criticism of my material I have ever had (and I'm including people from outside the Internet).

      So I guess it comes up to self-control to not waste my time with subs that are prone to be toxic. But it's hard, sometimes.

      Do you still post on Reddit? If so, what are your strategies to avoid unnecessary frustration?

      32 votes
    4. I wonder what the social media meta data is like right now

      Facebook et al. must be excited right now with this jackpot of acute behavioral data they're acquiring, in the context of a global catastrophe. I wonder if anyone has any insight here into what...

      Facebook et al. must be excited right now with this jackpot of acute behavioral data they're acquiring, in the context of a global catastrophe. I wonder if anyone has any insight here into what kind of research they are doing? I know it's all usually a tight secret.

      One idea that came to mind is that this would be excellent data to weaponize. Now we (as in social media corps.) can generate a pretty good model of what a global conflict looks like on the level of individual behavior and how that can be used for an advantage. The other edge of the sword would be this will help future public health initiatives but somehow I don't see this info being made publically available...

      7 votes
    5. Washington debate discussion thread

      Admittedly I deleted and re-uploaded this because I was worried I had posted the original thread too soon. A'ight, here we are. Spreadsheet time. When will the debate be broadcasted? The debate...

      Admittedly I deleted and re-uploaded this because I was worried I had posted the original thread too soon.


      A'ight, here we are. Spreadsheet time.

      When will the debate be broadcasted?

      The debate will be recorded March 15th, 8-10 PM ET. (1-3 AM UTC)

      Where will it happen?

      In the CNN studio in Washington DC. Note that they moved it from Phoenix due to the Coronavirus.

      Who will moderate it?

      Dana Bash and Jake Tapper from CNN and Ilia Calderón from Telemundo.

      Where can I watch this?

      It will most likely be livestreamed in CNN's YouTube channel. it was livestreamed on CNN's website.

      So, what's new and how will this change anything?

      This is the first and possibly the last one-on-one debate in the primary between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden and (also due to Coronavirus concerns) It has no live audience. It will also occur before some of the largest states in the primary vote.

      So what do you think should happen? What questions should be asked? What should the candidates do and what should we talk about?

      12 votes
    6. Best cheese for a tuna melt (sandwich)

      I want something settled - which general class of common cheese is better for a tuna melt sandwich: A "white" cheese like Swiss, Provolone, or Havarti A "yellow" cheese like any cheddar, Velveeta,...

      I want something settled - which general class of common cheese is better for a tuna melt sandwich:

      1. A "white" cheese like Swiss, Provolone, or Havarti
      2. A "yellow" cheese like any cheddar, Velveeta, or American

      Obviously this is just a matter of opinion, but I contend one of these opinions is better than the other.

      6 votes