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  Rename ''Question'' to "Query"

+ 1 like - 1 dislike
1108 views

In the context of the two recent discussion items http://www.physicsoverflow.org/17874/how-much-discussion-is-appreciated-on-physicsoverflow and http://www.physicsoverflow.org/17873/is-self-answering-questions-welcome-on-physicsoverflow I propose to rename (on buttons, in the FAQ, etc.) the term ''Question'' to "Query". This would make it clear that the format desired here is not a strict question answer format, and makes it more natural (at least for me) to place material for discussion on PO that is not a question in a strict sense.

asked May 25, 2014 in Feature Request by Arnold Neumaier (15,787 points) [ no revision ]
retagged May 26, 2014 by dimension10

Hi Arnold, even though the change of the name of the button seems to be slightly controversial, the intention behind it is clearly not.

So I think you could savely go forward and post it if you have something related to your research to ask already. Maybe others will then follow, such that a culture of "softening" the Q&A format to better allow for research-level discussions can be established even without formaly changing the name of the button ...

It really doesn't matter what it's called--- any on topic question is welcome, especially research level, even if it is a call for comments.

2 Answers

+ 0 like - 0 dislike

I don't agree with this because it encourages questions which aren't thought of well, especially from laymen acting like they understand anything of Physics, like Just checking; String theory and Loop Quantum gravity are different right? or similar unwanted trash. 

answered May 26, 2014 by dimension10 (1,985 points) [ no revision ]

As said in another thread, renaming the button would be meant to help professional physicists by allowing them to just place for example  some content related to their research into the question, and ask others about their comments and possible contributions or solutions.

@Dilaton I know and am not questioning the intentions behind the change! But it won't work. It does not invite discussion (in which case I would support it), on the other hand, it invites questions which aren't well thought of.

+ 1 like - 1 dislike

If the button is called "query" instead of "question", this would look a bit unuasal to me first. But if it really helps researchers feeling encouraged to discuss about their work on PhysicsOverflow, I would not mind it. In fact, I do not feel strongly about it.
 

answered May 26, 2014 by Dilaton (6,240 points) [ no revision ]

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