This big server allows users to ask questions about physics. The questions then are commented upon by physics SE contributors and moderators. The comments are usually checking relevance of the question to physics, giving clues if the question is homework or assignment, asking for sources if the question is bold in a sense that it has new ideas, and sometimes data if the question is data based. And then the answers are given by users and sometimes by the moderators. However, Physics SE is doing brutal censorship to the questions and according to my observation, if the moderators can't relate to what they know, they dub the questions as 'not physics' and 'vote to close'. I will give you some hint about the vote system used there.
The physics SE performs "democratic" moderator elections. Here "democratic" is under quotation because the physics SE presents few candidates who have high points, the points are obtained by answering and asking questions, and the users vote to choose from these few candidates already chosen by SE. That's still fine, in my view. The one or two moderators elected start their moderation work right away. After few months of service, the moderators grow up from "democratic" to "dictators". They allow exclusively their supporters and friends to post comments, whereas most comments which are justified and well-founded from other users are deleted or ignored. As any state head dictator, they start to collect supporters who do not question critically their moderation styles, and reduce those who stand in front of them or force them to delete their account on physics SE.
These moderators "dictators" are killing the physics SE. Even though the moderators have physics and mathematics knowledge which makes them great contributors to the site, they lack knowledge of moderation and management, and they are making the site useless or even hostile for people who want to learn physics beyond a popular purely conceptual level. They close most interesting physics questions (up to research level ones) by down-voting and close-voting. To the surprises of the user they call the questions "not physics". So, physics SE is going not more than old text book where there will not be new ideas. For example, I recently asked about the impact of dense radio frequency waves on living things and they voted to close it because they said it is not a physics question. They said it is an engineering question. I was confused and I have shown them the physics calculations relating Electromagnetic radiation with molecular motion. The prove that it is physics calculation I had shown them made them even more angrier and they closed it right away. For them asking the energy balance calculation of a distant star is physics but asking why a paint doesn't fall from the walls of buildings is not. This is where I started to investigate other closed questions as well, I found out the same thing. Any curious new finding, whether a theoretical or practical one doesn't have a place on Physics SE. They close it right away and their voting mechanism is so brutal. If one of their friends comment, "voting to close because it is not physics". They act quickly and close it right away. Closing may not be enough, if the user challenges them - they start to follow the user and down-vote every question or answers the user had done. This frustrates the user and forces him to delete his/her account right away. Users also afraid to ask questions because their questions will be down-voted and they will be humiliated by the comments from these moderators.
This brutal dictatorship may not happen elsewhere on stack exchange. I am also a user of Earth Science SE and I have never seen such brutal moderation there. Unlike Physics SE, they are approachable, they communicate with people who are asking the questions and their arguments are convincing though not entirely.
StackExchange is a good place to share and get knowledge. It should not be an intimidating environment. It should allow a democratic learning environment where people act freely at their will. Moderation should be done at moderate level and not censorship. It should accept questions of practical importance for the current physics and should not be confined to old school textbooks.
I would like to receive feedback from the users of physics SE. Don't afraid to ask anything here - it is not physics SE.
The physics SE performs "democratic" moderator elections. Here "democratic" is under quotation because the physics SE presents few candidates who have high points, the points are obtained by answering and asking questions, and the users vote to choose from these few candidates already chosen by SE. That's still fine, in my view. The one or two moderators elected start their moderation work right away. After few months of service, the moderators grow up from "democratic" to "dictators". They allow exclusively their supporters and friends to post comments, whereas most comments which are justified and well-founded from other users are deleted or ignored. As any state head dictator, they start to collect supporters who do not question critically their moderation styles, and reduce those who stand in front of them or force them to delete their account on physics SE.
These moderators "dictators" are killing the physics SE. Even though the moderators have physics and mathematics knowledge which makes them great contributors to the site, they lack knowledge of moderation and management, and they are making the site useless or even hostile for people who want to learn physics beyond a popular purely conceptual level. They close most interesting physics questions (up to research level ones) by down-voting and close-voting. To the surprises of the user they call the questions "not physics". So, physics SE is going not more than old text book where there will not be new ideas. For example, I recently asked about the impact of dense radio frequency waves on living things and they voted to close it because they said it is not a physics question. They said it is an engineering question. I was confused and I have shown them the physics calculations relating Electromagnetic radiation with molecular motion. The prove that it is physics calculation I had shown them made them even more angrier and they closed it right away. For them asking the energy balance calculation of a distant star is physics but asking why a paint doesn't fall from the walls of buildings is not. This is where I started to investigate other closed questions as well, I found out the same thing. Any curious new finding, whether a theoretical or practical one doesn't have a place on Physics SE. They close it right away and their voting mechanism is so brutal. If one of their friends comment, "voting to close because it is not physics". They act quickly and close it right away. Closing may not be enough, if the user challenges them - they start to follow the user and down-vote every question or answers the user had done. This frustrates the user and forces him to delete his/her account right away. Users also afraid to ask questions because their questions will be down-voted and they will be humiliated by the comments from these moderators.
This brutal dictatorship may not happen elsewhere on stack exchange. I am also a user of Earth Science SE and I have never seen such brutal moderation there. Unlike Physics SE, they are approachable, they communicate with people who are asking the questions and their arguments are convincing though not entirely.
StackExchange is a good place to share and get knowledge. It should not be an intimidating environment. It should allow a democratic learning environment where people act freely at their will. Moderation should be done at moderate level and not censorship. It should accept questions of practical importance for the current physics and should not be confined to old school textbooks.
I would like to receive feedback from the users of physics SE. Don't afraid to ask anything here - it is not physics SE.
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