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Computer science/chess related master's thesis [closed]

I want to link this person with a new initiative in mathematical chess problems which was started from an article in the Spanish magazine Problemas.

I also want to mention a recent (Jun 2022) masters thesis in Arxiv based on a chess problem from 3 years ago.

I want to talk about a new chess engine applicable to lichess which has a high computer science content.

And I want to welcome this new person to the forum.

But I cannot give these points (which all include citations), because yet again immoderate moderators have reflex-slam-closed the question.

I want to the moderators to have a long think as to whether their action in closing this question is in any sense helpful, productive, or kind. And I think in this case an apology to the questioner is in order.

Thank you.

EDIT: Thanks for re-opening the question. I participated a little in discussion here, partly because I feel that those who didn’t receive a proper welcome in chess.se are probably not participating in meta themselves. But I have nothing more to add except thank you for your time.

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In the current form, the question asks simply:

interesting reading or even recommendation what could be potentially interesting chess/cs/math topic to make a research on.

This question has two main issues:

  • for a reference-request-type question, it is extremely unspecific of what is constituted as an "interesting reading" and is extremely wide in scope. Pretty much any material on chess engines development would be considered relevant. Thus -> Too wide in scope.
  • or it is a recommendation of the topics interesting for a research. Then, it is clearly opinion-based, and lacks most of the guidance from What types of questions should I avoid asking?

Therefore, I voted not to reopen the question, as well as to close it after it was reopened.

However, this question can be reopened in my opinion if it is clearly formulated as a reference-request one with a narrow-enough scope to be able to give a focused list of [hopefully valuable] resources.

I would also insist that using language like "immoderate moderators", "reflex-slam-closed", "I want to the moderators to have a long think", and "an apology to the questioner is in order" — is less than constructive and border-line rude.

Notice, that closing questions is a normal process, usually without ANY ill-intent.

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  • It’s a lot easier to formalise a question in a suitable way when you know the answer. I see no problem editing an open question from a newcomer to get it into a better form. The closure of a question should be very much a last resort. But I certainly get the impression that too often closure is a knee-jerk immediate reflex. Saying a question is “opinion-based” is totally insufficient because where is the border between judgment and opinion? Patient explanation to the newcomer of the action by the moderator is mandatory, to my mind.
    – Laska
    Dec 6, 2022 at 5:27
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    @Laska closing a question is not a last resort, it is a way to ensure the editing of a question happens. Notice, that the closing notice contains the links to the best practices, do's and don'ts.
    – Anton Menshov
    Dec 6, 2022 at 5:40
  • However some of us may classify the sequence of actions, the critical thing to me is that closing a question is a snub to the newcomer, in a way that a rewording is not. If a moderator sees a problem in wording then why not fix it immediately rather than opaquely closing it? It’s just not good enough
    – Laska
    Dec 6, 2022 at 5:42
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    @Laska you are misunderstanding the concept and purpose of closing questions. I would strongly encourage you to read through the site tour and help pages on that topic.
    – Anton Menshov
    Dec 6, 2022 at 5:44
  • The help pages may also be wrong. We have a basic problem here in how newcomers are treated. Please engage with this issue rather than hiding behind a policy
    – Laska
    Dec 6, 2022 at 7:20
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    @Laska No. Please refer back to the tour. If we allowed off-topic Q/As just because they are "newcomers", this site will become Yahoo! Answers in no time. And you know how that site went.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 8:48
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    @Laska Also, you seem to misunderstand that downvoting/closing questions are an insult to the OP. It isn't. It's a way to review content, and related nothing whatsoever to the content's creator.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 8:51
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    @Laska People have all the time in the world to review their Q/As before posting them. We should cast a CV for CV-worthy questions, at any time.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:00
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    What? The question is CV-worthy, so we should cast a CV? What's wrong with that? Also, will something big happen when this user leaves? Is this user important enough to change all the rules we had before and make this site a forum?
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:17
  • Many points are being missed. Many strawmen are being set up and knocked down. The intention behind closing a question is irrelevant. If the only information given is a superficial slur then the questioner will be gone and never seen again. If the intention in closing a question is to “ensure” that the question is reworded more “clearly” then all I can say it doesn’t work. If you want to ensure the wording gets fixed then fix the wording yourself. You have been up the steep learning curve which is stackexchange. My goal is to do something to address the reputation se has for being toxic
    – Laska
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:17
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    Why should I edit the question for the OP? So if they make bad content and post it onto the site, do I have to make it good as well? And as I and Anton has said before, this is an OB question. How can I fix it?
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:19
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    The reputation that SE is toxic is made by people that don't understand how the site runs in general. Take a look at this.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:21
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Yes, I fully agree that we should close this question.

No matter if a user has a master's thesis, starts a new initiative, contributes to chess in meaningful ways, or is just a new user.

They should be treated as any user on this site.

And that question is close-worthy.

From the question:

want to ask you guys if you have any interesting reading or even recommendation what could be potentially interesting chess/cs/math topic to make a research on.

(emphasis mine)

Let's take a look a the tour:

Not all questions work well in our format. Avoid questions that are primarily opinion-based, or that are likely to generate discussion rather than answers.

Questions that need improvement may be closed until someone fixes them.

And the Help Center:

What types of questions should I avoid asking?

To prevent your question from being flagged and possibly removed,

avoid asking subjective questions where …

every answer is equally valid: “What’s your favorite ______?”

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  • Again, please refer back to the tour. SE is never meant to generate content. Quote: With your help, we're working together to build a library of detailed answers to every question about chess.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:24
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    Take a look at Chess.SE highest score question. They are not opinion-based, and they are fun and helpful to read.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:27
  • It we just have questions like “what’s the capital of Portugal” then there is no point. Most worthwhile questions are asking for a considered answer. There is a mentality for whom I think this truth is uncomfortable. It’s curious to observe this at work here. There is a difference between judgement and opinion. Judgement requires experience, opinion just requires an ego.
    – Laska
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:29
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    Opinion-based question is a question that can't be answered using facts and citations. Specifically in this question, what is: a potentially interesting chess/cs/math topic? What defines it? Is my chess games interesting? Can I suggest it? If I can, and other people can too, then what will this site become? Think about that for a moment here.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:30
  • This question is not opinion-based. There is no basis in opinion. It’s not like politics. Rather, the newbie is looking for some help, and used a superficial word, which has triggered you. But the question of students finding currently fertile areas to explore for research is a timeless one. So just overlook the word “interesting”, and see the deeper sense in this necessarily inexact request
    – Laska
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:31
  • @Laska the difference is, these answers are based on facts and citations. Different thing here.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:32
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    Again and again, please refer back to the tour and the help center to see what opinion-based questions are defined, rather than making up your own.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:34
  • Yes the help centre needs to be fixed here - that’s the point. It’s also confused about the multiple question thing. It should be closed until the text is fixed :-)
    – Laska
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:35
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    The Help Center is the rule defined by SE and the community about how this site is going to run. Many questions, like this one, don't fit into the site, and that's completely okay. It should be asked on other platforms, like Reddit or Quora.
    – TheFakeGrandmaster
    Dec 7, 2022 at 9:39

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