Help text for 4 digit year

Question: I am designing an input field for a year, that needs to be 4 digits. YYYY as help text does not seem very clear when it is not combined with MM/DD. What is best practice here?
Comment: What sort of issues have you observed, and what is the context around this? I would have expected users to default to 4 digits when asked for only a year as "19" or "20" is incredibly ambiguous. But if this is asking for the year they were born, I could see someone wanting to enter only "88" or "74".
Comment: [Very related question](https://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/5058/dd-mm-yyyy-do-people-know-what-that-means), although unfortunately, almost all answerers misunderstood what it's about.
Answer: The easiest way might be to provide the help text next to the label, and provide simple validation for when a user fails to input the required pattern.
I don't believe "4 digits" is necessary or common in forms requesting a full year be entered. I have commonly seen "YYYY" used in the context of years, so that should not be an unexpected use here.

This should clearly show the user the issue, and instruct them as to how to fix it.
Comment: I would use this solution without the yyyy label, I think it's very tech minded and not everyone understands this so might be more confusing than helpful. (you want me to enter numbers but show me letters...?)
Comment: @Martyn Respectfully, I disagree. Showing representative symbols or characters to request a desired pattern is quite common (in my experience, though could be regional), not only in digital interfaces, but government and other legal forms as well. Perhaps the very first time someone sees a pattern by form field like this, they may have a question, but I don't predict that this would cause excessive friction.
Comment: I've never seen yyyy being used in other languages, in Dutch for example that would become jjjj which I would say is weird, so region does play a factor. Something weird can unnecessary distract users and your solution with the validation fallback already fixes the problem nicely. Therfore I would argue the addition of yyyy us obsolete, but that's my opinion :)
Comment: @Martyn Good point. I agree it's not a critical element here.
Answer: YYYY, besides DD and MM is standardized international format used across devices and softwares.
https://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/iso-date
You have no need to change that. You could place YYYY not as help text, than as Placeholder. Also you could provide Input Field validation with underscores or easy background to display 4 digits. ( _ _ _ _ )
Comment: The linked page about the ISO format does not say anything about the *placeholder* "YYYY" being standardized or internationally recognized in any way, and I'm pretty sure in particular the assumption that "YYYY" is necessarily understood internationally is risky.
Comment: Point was it is mostly used design pattern for displaying year digits across the globe, not only on internet than in other media as well. So people are used mostly to this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601#Usage
Comment: Again, that paragraph talks about the *date format* (for ISO dates, four year digits, followed by a dash, then two month digits, followed by a dash, then two day digits), not about the English placeholder consisting of four times the letter 'Y'.
Comment: Right. Links show that you need to display 4 digits and give visual clue about that in any case. YYYY is widely adopted. Best of I can think of is YYYY in placeholder, and just "Year" above as the title of the field. Also you could do this validation, limit input on 4 digits as mentioned in original answer. Hope this helps.
Answer: Gov.uk suggests giving an example for the fully completed set of fields (dd, mm, yyyy) as per their date input design system.
In your example you could use this same approach and instead of writing YYYY as a hint, you could say For example 1999.

https://design-system.service.gov.uk/components/date-input/
Comment: OP mentions that for their use case, the month and day components of the date are not collected—they only need the 4-digit year, which is why they were unsure how to best preset it to the user. Your example shows the day/month/year form, so I don't think it's quite the same.
Comment: That's a fair point, but I was trying to draw attention to the 'hint' text, I will update the answer to reflect that
Answer: Kristin, what are the typical years that users would enter into this field due its intended use? Based on that, you could come up with an algorithm that would automatically create a four-digit year when a user enters fewer than four digits.
As an ad-hoc example, of these were years of birth, than you can safely assume that any year would be less than, or equal to, 2019. Hence, if a user'd type, "19", the field could become "2019" as soon as the user tabs out of the field. Similarly, "23" would become "1923," etc.
Even though this'd take a bit of work to make it operate smoothly for three- and single-digit entries, it'd still save users some effort and head-scratching if they enter a two-digit year, particularly since they will (likely) not be confronted with an annoying formatting error message.
As for the layout with the help text, you might get away with not having to change anything. Make sure, though, that you do test the field with your intended users to see if they find it usable.

Help text for 4 digit year


Why does EOS stay in the refund section sometimes and other times it goes automatically to unstaked section?

Question: I am trying to figure out if there is any reason for this. When I unstake EOS, it shows up on the refund section in a block explorer. Sometimes, the refund goes automatically to unstaked section and sometimes it just stays in the refund section even after 3 days.
Is this completely random or is there some reason for this?
Does this have anything to do with assigning proxy? If the account has assigned a proxy and if the proxy refreshes their votes, does it reset the clock for unstaking?
Answer: I'm actually guessing with this answer so vote down if you think it's bad!
My theory is that it doesn't go straight back into your balance and instead into a Refund section because the EOS is not actually in your account but in a smart contract which holds your EOS in escrow.
This is because it costs CPU & bandwidth to refund the EOS which is something your account should pay for rather than the smart contract.
Therefore, when you engage it for a refund, it checks to see if you're allowed your EOS back, if so it then transfers it too you. All in a transaction you've paid for. (CPU & Bandwidth)
Block Explorers wouldn't want you believing you had 50 EOS to transfer immediately when 20 of it is actually in an escrow, hence the Refund section.


How can I fix my grainy buttercream?

Question: I have made this recipe for buttercream:
https://addapinch.com/perfect-chocolate-buttercream-frosting-recipe/
 It includes powdered sugar, cocoa, butter and vanilla. I made it according to instructions but unfortunately started with cold butter, so the buttercream came out grainy. To fix this I followed many tips from the internet instructing me to separate part of the mixture, microwave it, and then return it to the mixing bowl and mix on high for a long, long time. It's still grainy. Any more suggestions? How long am I supposed to be mixing it for? I've mixed it using a hand mixer for at least twenty minutes. Now the buttercream seems to be separating, and I can see grains of butter appearing.
Answer: If I understand your situation correctly, your frosting is not homogeneous. It sounds like the microwave fix that you have tried is aimed at softening pieces of too cold/hard butter that refuse to mix into the soft texture of the frosting. If you have already tried this pretty thoroughly, it's hard to believe the butter lumps wouldn't have softened enough by now.
So I wonder if your graininess is because the liquid (milk) and the butter are refusing to emulsify well. I was taught (the gist of) this recipe by my mother, and we are too lazy in my family to measure stuff, so this happens to my frosting all the time when I just put in too much liquid. Our fix is add more powdered sugar ...little by little of course, and sift it so as not to introduce sugar-lumps into the problem. Keep stirring it up, and pretty soon you will have a frosting with a teeny bit too much powdered sugar. It will be a little too dry. But now it should be easy to get it all blended into a smooth mixture just by mashing it against the side of the bowl as you stir. It might be a little bit too pasty for frosting, but at this point you gradually start to add in tiny amounts more of your liquid, stirring all the while, until you get your spreadable rich consistency back.
Yes, the proportions are now a little off since you have deviated from the recipe, but honestly, frosting is frosting. It's really just spreadable buttery sugar. If it works, and looks pretty, it's all good.

How can I fix my grainy buttercream?


Is it possible to explore the blockchain without downloading the blockchain?

Question: I'm doing some experiments involving bitcoin and the blockchain, and I need to access some informations about addresses, block, and transactions. The problem is that I need a lot of data, so I can't use online APIs such as blockchain.info.
I know it is possible to do such things by downloading and accessing directly the blockchain, but this solution is pretty impracticable, given its size. Is it possible to access this data without downloading the full blockchain? For example by directly making some kind of request to the nodes?
Comment: Can you include what exactly you need from the blockchain? The answer will depend on what you need and the information that you already know.
Comment: For example, I would like to get the amount of bitcoins an address has or the addresses involved in a transaction
Answer: To get anything other than blocks, you will need to download the entire blockchain. The only things you can request from a node is a block if you know the block hash, and transactions, if you know the transaction id AND the transaction is still in the node's mempool. Transactions which have already been confirmed cannot be requested as the node will have removed the transaction from its memory and stored it to disk with the block. Everything else requires the full blockchain as they are mostly human abstractions of the blocks and transactions that are not relevant to the network.
The "balance" of an address (besides technically not existing) can only be found by having the entire blockchain and reading through the blockchain and scanning all transactions for any inputs and outputs that are associated with that address. Getting the transactions that an address is involved in requires doing the same thing. This is because addresses don't exist to the network as they are only abstractions for humans to more easily think about transactions. Balances don't exist either as Bitcoin does not use an accounts or balance system for tracking money. Rather it is all based on transaction outputs.


how does a computer work out if a value is greater than?

Question: I understand basic binary logic and how to do basic addition, subtraction etc. I get that each of the characters in this text is just a binary number representing a number in a charset. The numbers dont really mean anything to the computer. I'm confused however as to how a computer works out that a number is greater than another. what does it do at the bit level?
Answer: If you have two numbers, you can compare each bit, from most significant to least significant, using a 1-bit comparator gate:

Of course n-bit comparator gates exist and are described further here.
Comment: +1 For taking me back with a picture of digital logic gates.  :)
Answer: It subtracts one from the other and sees if the result is less than 0 (by checking the highest-order bit, which is 1 on a number less than 0 since computers use 2's complement notation).
http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/biophysics/technotes/program/2s_comp.htm
Answer: Within the processor, often there will be microcode to do operations, using hardwired options, such as add/subtract, that is already there.
So, to do a comparison of an integer the microcode can just do a subtraction, and based on the result determine if one is greater than the other.
Microcode is basically just low-level programs that will be called by assembly, to make it look like there are more commands than is actually hardwired on the processor.
You may find this useful:
http://www.osdata.com/topic/language/asm/intarith.htm
Answer: I guess it does a bitwise comparison of two numbers from the most significant bit to the least significant bit, and when they differ, the number with the bit set to "1" is the greater.
In a Big-endian architecture, the comparison of the following Bytes:
A: 0010 1101
B: 0010 1010
would result in A being greatest than B for its 6th bit (from the left) is set to one, while the precedent bits are equal to B.
But this is just a quick theoretic answer, with no concerns about floating point numbers and negative numbers.
Answer: It substracts the two numbers and checks if the result is positive, negative (highest bit - aka "the minus bit" is set), or zero.


Can an iOS7 device act as an iBeacon?

Question: Can an iOS7 device act as an iBeacon and figure out when other iOS7 devices come in its range? Do those other iOS7 devices need to have Bluetooth turned on?
Answer: An iOS device with BluetoothLE can act as an iBeacon yes.
Check out the AirLocate example code at https://developer.apple.com/downloads/index.action?name=WWDC%202013#
Being an iBeacon doesn't give feedback about devices that come into range so you'd have to implement that yourself. ie you'd have to have the devices that detect the iBeacon then tell the iBeacon they'd seen it through some other means.
Comment: Thanks. One more question: The device that is the receiver, does that device need to have the application running (the app that is checking for iBeacons)? Or can the application that comes into the iBeacon range be closed or in the background and it will receive a notification when it enters the iBeacon's area?
Comment: Yep, Check out the docs for `CLLocationManager`. "In iOS, the regions you register with the location manager persist between launches of your application. If a region crossing occurs while your iOS app is not running, the system automatically wakes it up (or relaunches it) in the background so that it can process the event."
Comment: @MikePollard have you tried this with iBeacon regions? I've been unable to get it to work when the app has been force-closed from multitasking. It works when the app is in the background (even if it's been in the background for a long time and the OS has closed it), but not if it was force-closed.
Comment: @MikePollard unfortunately, the link is dead, could you please suggest any other location to look for an example (preferably in swift). Thanks!
Comment: @MikePollard An iOS Device can act as am iBeacon in the background?
Answer: Yes, an iOS device can act as a beacon, from iPhone 4s and up (Bluetooth 4.0 required).
You publish a beacon by passing the dictionary from [CLBeaconRegion peripheralDataWithMeasuredPower:] to [CBPeripheralManager startAdvertising:].
Publishing a beacon will not give you any feedback on devices, you'll have to scan for others publishing a beacon.
As for backgrounding, you can not publish a beacon in the background, your app needs to be running in the foreground for that. Scanning is possible in the background.
Answer: Yes, an iOS7 device can act as an iBeacon.  You can do exactly  what you are suggesting if you have an app installed on all phones, and you also write a web service. This would allow phone A to see phones B and C when they are nearby:

Your app on Phone A acts as an iBeacon advertising its presence.
Phones B and C see this iBeacon, waking up your app to make a call to your web service reporting that they both see Phone A's transmission.
Your app on Phone A queries this web service, which returns a list of phones that see Phone A.  In this example, the list includes Phones B and C.   Your app updates its display with this list.

All phones would need Bluetooth LE, have it turned on, and have your app installed. They would also need internet connectivity to call the web service.
Comment: Just for kicks - here is a quick way to get started on ibeacons https://github.com/manishnath/iBeaconCenter/tree/master
Comment: This is one another good example i got..., check it out, https://github.com/nicktoumpelis/HiBeacons
Answer: If you're not set on using iBeacons, this project uses Bluetooth LE to share an array of ids between nearby phones- SimpleShare
You could set an ID for the user of each phone, share them between the phones over Bluetooth LE using the SimpleShare project (even while in background mode), and then query a web service to find out more information about the user with that ID.
Answer: One point that didn't come out clearly from the previous answers is that in order for the publishing to work (for example in David's answer's Phone A) the application that started publishing must be in foreground.
From the Apple documentation:

While your app is in the background, the local name is not advertised
  and all service UUIDs are placed in the overflow area.
Answer: As mentioned, an iOS 7 device can act as an iBeacon, so long as it Bluetooth LE technology.

To use iBeacon, you need iOS 7 or later, Bluetooth turned on, and a compatible iOS device:

iPhone 4s or later
iPad (3rd generation) or later
iPad mini or later
iPod touch (5th generation) or later.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6048

Can an iOS7 device act as an iBeacon?


What means Akdama, Osafa and Yetama?

Question: I go to a gemara shiurim about Ketoubot (72a and b and 73 a and b). and these three words are said often by the Rabbi. I do not know what they means but according to their use they seems related to each other. I do not find these words in the Talmud Dictionnary neither in the hebrew dictionnary. Can you please tell me what they mean ? According to the context, it may have something to do with Bila (or Beyla, I do not know) Znout.
Comment: Hey jojo, it looks like you might have created  a new account instead of using [this existing one](http://judaism.stackexchange.com/users/8577/jojo). You can [ask for them to be merged](/help/merging-accounts). That way, you can keep track of all of your activity here in one place.
Comment: I'm not sure why there is an off-topic VTC here. IMO it's a perfectly okay question to ask, as it's about understanding a gemara.
Comment: Question is unclear. It would help a great deal if you could enter the words in Hebrew / Aramaic, link to the page(s) or, ideally, copy / paste the specific words or phrase. It is hard to decipher your transliteration.
Comment: @Scimonster What's weird is that both accounts have the same gravatar. Did jojo choose it, or did SE give both jojos the same gravatar . . . . ?
Comment: @Shokhet It's based on either email or IP, so it would make sense.
Answer: I'll preface this answer with the warning that I never actually learned these gemaras in Kesuvos, but I'll try to answer anyway, based on what I know about gemara learning in general.

I think "Yetama" might actually be "Yetoma" (Hebrew: יתומה), which
means a female orphan. The יתומה is brought up on Kesuvos 73a
for an interesting reason -- a young girl who was married by her
father and subsequently divorced is referred to as a "יתומה בחיי
האב," a girl "orphaned in the lifetime of her father," because after
her divorce, her father no longer has the right to marry her off to
another man.
I searched in Torat Emet, and didn't find meaningful hits for the root "קדם" on the pages you mentioned, but I would suggest that the word might actually be "הקדמה," or "introduction." You might hear someone say "I'll be מקדים (makdim)" or "We'll make a הקדמה (hakdama)" before introducing a certain concept or idea.
"Osafa" is the only one I can't place. The only thing I could think of would be "אסופי" (asufi). The word is translated by Jastrow as "foundling," (see page 89 here) based on Kiddushin 69a; but as far as I could tell that word doesn't appear at all in Kesuvos.

user6591 suggested to me that "osafa" might really be "hosafa" (Hebrew: הוספה), which means "addition." This is a fairly commonly used word among people who learn gemara, often used "As a hosafa" or "We'll make a hosafa here," to introduce a discussion that's not really central to the topic at hand.

And finally:

"בעילת זנות," literally translated, means "sexual intercourse for the sake of promiscuity," (i.e., not for marriage) and may be used (as it is on the top of Kesuvos 73a) to refer to an argument as to whether someone who lives with a woman with nothing specific in mind, whether or not "אדם עושה בעילתו בעילת זנות," (a person would live with a woman and purposefully not marry her) or (conversely) "אין אדם עושה בעילתו בעילת זנות" (a person would not live with an unmarried woman and sin, if he could marry her with that intercourse [see Kiddushin 2a, where it says that a marriage can be made with ביאה]).
Comment: I like it cause it's a gematria. I just haven't figured out of what though.
Comment: @user6591 :P ....wait for [tag:mi-yodeya-series] catches up to 6591 ;-)
Comment: +1 i was guessing hakdama too. Kudos on yesoma. Couldn't figure that one out. Asufi too. Props.
Comment: I didn't figure out "osafa" -- I made a guess but proved myself wrong with a computer search. Thanks for the others, though :)
Comment: Maybe he means hosafa, addition. The beyla one was throwing me off. My neighbors growing up had a daughter named beyla:) took a while to figure out he meant be'ila
Comment: hosafa sounds like a good idea -- I'll edit it in. בעילת זנות wasn't hard at all, since the OP wrote "*Bila (or Beyla, I do not know) Znout*" :P
Comment: @user6591 You really need to choose a better username -- I can't keep quoting a number!! :P ( *you'll have to come to Bam to announce it, when you do* )
Answer: Transliterations are hard to decipher, esp. Aramaic transliterations. I see that you have an answer to two of the items.
"Osafa" - I am going to assume you meant אסיפא pronounced "Ah-SAY-fah" meaning "on" (or "related to" / "regarding") the ending - namely the ending of a Beriatah, Mishnah, etc. I saw that word near the end of 72a, and I am assuming this is the word that you meant. If not, please comment.
Comment: Nice catch! That hadn't occured to me, +1.

What means Akdama, Osafa and Yetama?


How to use 凭 as a preposition

Question: I understand 凭 as a verb to mean rely. But I often read it and the seemingly related 凭着 in familiar contexts but still do not know what function it serves. Seeing example sentences doesn't make it any clearer.
In what cases is it most used?
Comment: Based on and according to come to mind. Rely might be not the best translation.
Answer: You are close. 凭着 expresses the idea of based on, according to or relying on, and when translating into English, prepositions such as on or by can often be used to convey this. You should be able to use it in situations where this concept needs to be expressed. As you suspected, its part of speech is best thought of as prepositional. 凭, when used in this sense, is equivalent to 凭着.
Some examples:

她在沙漠里走了一个星期, 就凭(着)太阳的方位来认路. (She walked in the desert for a week,
using only the sun's position for directions.)
我们的猫凭(着)它的本能, 走了十五公里的路, 回到了我们以前住的房子. (Our cat went back to
our previous house having walked fiften kilometres by instinct. )
你是凭(着)什么文凭来应聘这个职位的? (What certifications make you eligible for this
job? / You are applying for this job based on what certifications?)

Keep in mind that translation is an art and you do not need to stick with the words that I used. Be flexible.
Comment: Well, all of your examples can also be rewritten with "凭借/憑藉".
Comment: I guess so.. or 凭借着.. (Actually just a side note, I noticed that you've been using both scripts. It's actually not necessary. There are plenty of script conversion sites on the Internet if anyone happens not to understand one or the other. Just thought it'd save you some time. It's nice of you to do that though. )
Answer: It means "use". Usually the thing that is used has some specially importance, that is, if this thing is not used, people will not complete the task successfully. For example:
"你用什么来拆我的房子?"--"我用推土机."
"你凭什么来拆我的房子?"--"就凭我是政府!"
Comment: Welcome to the site. An upvote to get you started.
Comment: really like the example sentences

How to use 凭 as a preposition


What denotes no RF output in SSB and CW?

Question: I have that problem currently with my HF transceiver: no power output at all in SSB and CW, no matter which band / Frequency, but everything is ok in AM, FM and RTTY...
There is also a big difference in current consumptions on TX: only about 4A in (not working) SSB and CW, about 20A in (working) AM, FM and RTTY...
Where should I look for the failure?
Comment: Electronic.SE has a close reason: "Questions on the repair of consumer electronics, appliances, or other devices must involve specific troubleshooting steps and demonstrate a good understanding of the underlying design of the device being repaired." I'd argue that applies here, too. A broken radio denotes no RF output, and if you don't know where to look, no answer is going to get you there, especially since you haven't given us a schematic, service manual, or even the model of radio you have.
Comment: Sounds like you aren't modulating. That'd give you zero power output in SSB, and only bias current draw during TX. CW is a bit weird, though. What model transceiver are you using, and does the modulation meter indicate that you are modulating? No inadvertant setting the mic gain to zero or something like that?
Answer: Ok, sorry for the lack of information (I'm the one who asked the question, but now I've signed up and I'm logged in). My TRX is Icom IC-751 (not the "A" version).
The SWR/ALC/Power... meter indicates zero ("0") as soon as I push the PTT in SSB or CW.
The mic gain is set to max., the RF out is set at least on 10W everytime. What I've done until now: I've checked and new aligned the PLL, checked some voltages according to the service manual (widely available in internet) on the PLL board, logic board and a few on the main board. Everything seems to be ok, the RX is also very good on all bands, in all modes.
I'm not really sure if I really have to measure all the check points from the service manual, or I should limit the troubleshooting to the main board and (maybe) the RF board and that's why I have asked for some tips.
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to attach the pdf file of the service manual for the IC-751 here but, as we know, it is easy to find it on the net.
Comment: Welcome to the Amateur Radio Stack Exchange. Please check out [I accidentally created two accounts; how do I merge them?](https://ham.stackexchange.com/help/merging-accounts). Also, our site works differently from forums that you might be used to; this answer does not actually answer the question asked and really [should be an edit to the original post](https://ham.stackexchange.com/help/editing) instead. You can [edit the original question here](https://ham.stackexchange.com/posts/1652/edit).


Are there standard metrics to gauge content quality?

Question: One aspect of user experience in a software application or website is the quality of the content presented to the user. It probably comes as no surprise that if the quality of the content is low/poor, then the user will have a difficult time getting a good user experience from trying to achieve his/her goals. The content is generally a mixture of the visual and text that the user processes, so I imagine that there would be a combination of metrics used to assess the visual quality (like aesthetics, contrast) and text quality (like readability, legibility). I would like to know if there are any standard metrics used to measure the relative degree of quality of content that takes into account of various elements that comprise of information quality, and how this relates to the overall user experience.
Comment: Yes, there are. Google has created a smart and elaborate algorithm for how to judge the quality of the website -- both the content and the presentation. I will call it a "standard" since nowadays Google is the king of website ranking. Of course, the algorithm is proprietary, and it took many programmer-years to develop it...
Answer: First of all, content quality and content representation (UI) quality are separate things. You cannot create a beautiful design with messy data.
For testing the interaction design, you can use heuristics evaluation to gauge the various aspects. http://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
For content, I am unaware of a guide in UX domain for content. But ideally in websites and applications, it is the content writers job to make sure the content is consistent and will interact with the UX designers to make sure the interactions tell the same story.
Edit 1:
If you are looking for something in the domain of closely knit content and visuals, the closest thing that comes to mind is Tufte's work. http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_visex It leans more towards visuals and information visualization which is something what you are talking about.
Also, in context of an organization. I have seen quite a few digital companies which have a group of UX Designers, Visual Designers, Content writers and developers for each project. The UX designer takes care of the theme of the product, the rough layout and interactions, the visual designer takes those concepts and gives it a polished visual layer. The content writer provides the crisp content and the developer ties it all together. They all work together as a team, more of a agile method than a waterfall model.
Comment: I have wondered about the role of the UX designer in this area, because although writers have a good understand of the information and designers have a good eye for the graphics, the art/science of blending the two together is something that I don't often see executed very well. That is to say, I've seen too many images that have no relevance to the text, or text that do not support the image. To me an infographic designer or a UX designer should be focused on these areas, so I wonder if there exists some kind of standard or guidelines.
Comment: Edited the answer :)
Answer: Never heard about such standard metrics other than readability.
A non-standard metric to judge, how understandable a text (probably) is, can be defined as
<code>comprehensibility = (number of plain words)/(number of words)
</code>
With this, 1 means that only plain words are used, and 0 means that no plain word is used (maybe a different language).
Answer: Questions that we can ask users to get a feel for information quality (qualitative measures):

Do you find it difficult to understand the information on the page?
Do you find information missing where you would expect it to be on the page?
Do you find out-of-date or inaccurate information on the page?
Do you find it easy to find information that you need?
Do you find similar information grouped together?
Are you able to carry out tasks effectively given all the information provided?

The underlying rationale for asking these types of questions are to find out which combinations of the information quality measures are of most value to the users. I believe these are four semi-quantifiable measures of content quality:

Consistency of the content produced (in structure, format and style)
Coverage of the content they need to access (completeness in width
and depth of information)
Accuracy of the content they access (inaccuracies or out-of-date)
Accessibility of the content (is it buried in lots of folders, are
related content linked or easily located, can the content be scanned
or read easily)

I have found also the Search Quality Rating Guidelines, which may be of interest to the people who are still following this question. I guess they are talking more about search query results, but I think it is a subset of the content quality in terms of the usefulness of the information presented.
Answer: The only way to test content is by performing A/B tests. I've improved landing page conversions by upto 3x by just changing the content.
So the metric remains conversions for me but the content quality metric is always relative to some other content.


Rebirth Pertaining to Religion

Question: I'm curious to know if throughout my rebirths I have stayed the same religion, race, etc. or if I was of a different classification? I wonder this because Hinduism is an all-embracing religion and so it is not necessary for one to be Hindu to be graced and/or blessed by God? I am Hindu myself and would never change that, but I really do wonder if/how identities that are derived from social constructs traverse through all of the rebirths? I thought only our soul travels through rebirths.
Comment: hinduism is something like universal law. it applies to every  energy in the universe. religions were constructed by humans.there is nothing like hindu and non-hindu. karma applies to every living and non living things.
Comment: There is a book called 'Bhrigu Samhita' which was written by Maharishi Bhrigu. This book contains the details about every person's past, present and future births based on his astrological chart. But, most portion of the book is now destroyed/lost. You can find the details about this book in my answer [here](http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/3807/what-is-actually-there-in-bhrigu-samhita)
Comment: Soul traverses across births but the soul is covered by vasanas , samskaras and past karma. While the soul itself is pure, the avidya comprising the above three sheaths the atma and causes one to take on various life-forms including, animal and plant. The only way to work towards a "nobler" birth than the current one is to keep karma and vasanas in check through yoga. Yoga is chitta vritti nirodhah - Yoga is the means to stemming the flow of ever-changing thoughts. For it is thoughts that convert to vasanas and samskaras.
Comment: related : http://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/2886/how-does-karma-work-for-a-person-who-has-converted-to-hinduism
Comment: Namaste Animosity of any kind towards any animate or inanimate being, shall result in birth in that "form". Example, a person hating a religion, then at appropriate time destined by God, one shall be born in that religion to defend it !! So hate none, look positiveness in everything, then you shall continue to take birth as a hindu, which has embraced many religioins inspite of other religion's shortcomings. The above is consistent with writings in Upanishad and other exalted saints, sages & yogis of mother India.
Comment: There are some past life regressions which  I have seen went before even this planet existed(Perhaps translated as previous kalpa). Jiva travel through numerous birth of devas,humans, animals,asuras  etc depending on total sanchita karma. Now tell me , in this vast cosmos how we are sure that we were born as hindu?
Answer: I see two questions, here the answers for the two.
it is not necessary for one to be Hindu to be graced and/or blessed by
 God?
No. God's grace for you is not dependent on the variation in the form, but in the growth of intensity of your Bhakthi. Even within Hinduism, the journey from a Sakaara God, and a belief in many forms of Gods, usually tends to evolve towards one-pointed devotion to a single name and form (such as that of Arunagirinathar or Prahlada) and onwards towards an idea of God that transcends names and forms. The book by Sadhu Om, The Path of Sri Ramana (Part two) illustrates this journey well.
http://www.happinessofbeing.com/path_ramana.html#part_two
How identities that are derived from social constructs traverse through all of the rebirths :
In Hinduism, there are three planes of existence, the physical body is only of the gross plane, the other two being sukshma sarira and karana sarira, (subtle form and causal form). The key element that gets carried across births from the actions of a human life, are not the actions themselves, but the subtle impressions you gather from the actions. These are called Vasanas and Samskaras. A subset of these are almost the determinant of the starting point of the next birth, somewhat like the closing balance of your ledger for the current financial year, is the sum of all your transactions in the earlier years.
http://www.sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=871

When you are writing a drama, if sleep comes in, you stop writing and
  retire to bed. As soon as you get up, you continue to write from where
  you have left the previous night. Even so, when you take up a new
  incarnation, you begin to continue the work which you had left
  unfinished in your previous life in accordance with the current of
  Vasanas of your past life.

Rebirth Pertaining to Religion


Prove that the language L = {w1, w1w2, w1w2w3, ..} is regular, provided wi is in a regular language

Question: Let's assume that we're working over a finite alphabet $\Sigma=\{a, b\}$. How can one prove that $$L_2=\{w_1w_2...w_m| m ∈ \mathbb{N}, ∀i(w_i ∈ L)\}$$ is a regular language, provided that L is regular? By the way, L is a fixed language in the problem that I am solving, but it's regularity is trivial to prove so I have omitted it. This next step, however, I can't think of a valid way to prove. I would be glad if you guys could give me a hint.
Answer: Your language is known as $L^+$.
It is a very standard property of regular languages that if $L$ is regular then so is $L^*$; this can be proved in several ways, and you can find proofs in textbooks and online sources. Since $L^+$ is either equal to $L^*$ or obtained from it by removing $\epsilon$ (the empty string), then $L^+$ is also regular.
Comment: Oh god. I was looking at some more complex constructions the whole day and been overthinking it. Thank you!


What do I need to consider when doing a pre-wedding shoot in cloudy weather?

Question: What considerations as a photographer do I need to have when photographing a couple for a pre-wedding shoot in cloudy dull weather?
Comment: What exactly do you mean "pre-wedding"? Are you suggesting that you are photographing a practice ceremony or are you simply trying to prepare ahead of time for the actual wedding? Are you suggesting that you would photograph a practice ceremony differently than the actual ceremony? Why?
Comment: I took it to mean a session for the engagement photos that many couples do. Usually to be used for announcements and sometimes to be used for prints displayed at the reception.
Answer: One of the best times to shoot outdoor portraits is when the sky is cloudy and overcast. It provides nice, even, neutral lighting without harsh shadows and back light.
Natural light isn't always (or even often) going to be the best that it can be. The solution is to provide the light you need yourself. This can range from a couple of simple reflectors and screens to an elaborate set up that uses multiple off-camera strobes illuminating your subjects through a variety of modifiers. Just because those great shots your clients see on Pinterest look perfectly natural doesn't even remotely mean they were actually shot with only natural light.
In fact, most of those Pinterest shots probably came from fashion shoots that were done to create ads for all things bridal. They probably involved a photographer, several assistants, a plethora of lighting gear, and hair and makeup artists working for hours.
Here's an excellent video that discusses why a cloudy day is the best time to shoot outdoor portraits and how to take advantage of it.

When it's cloudy -shoot outside!
Use long focal lengths to limit the angle of view of the background.
Use a wide open aperture to soften the background.
Use a big flash. A big flash isn't always brighter, it's just bigger so the light is coming from a wider area.

Here's a good article that discusses outdoor portraits in all types of light. The author also prefers shooting in the softer, diffused light of an overcast day.
The place to start learning how to light a scene with flash is at David Hobby's strobist. A good place to begin there is his free online course of basics titled Lighting 101.
Answer: I just would add, shoot in Raw, because there is a chance those clouds can be dramatized using some tome mapping (HDRI look).
This also mean that those clouds can be part of the photo, so give a chance to some wide lens photos, and try shooting from below normal portrait angles up to the sky.
Another thing you can do is using an external flash, probably with a big softbox to be used as main light. This way you add some depth to the shadows. Use the cloudy day as a fill even light.


Why can't I import a world?

Question: I'm trying to move my world from my Linux install to my Windows install, and it's not working. I delete the "My Games/Terraria" folder from Windows, and copy over the one from Linux, but when I start up Terraria on Windows and load the world, it's still the old one. The one I deleted. I have no idea how this is happening.
Comment: While I don't have enough information to give a true answer I am going to suggest some more information you could give that would help others to answer. Where did this Terraria come from? For example, the Steam and GOG versions can, in some circumstances, use different save folders from each other (it has to do with the steam cloud and I have GOG so I am not familiar with it all). Also you should try just adding the new world and savegame files alongside the old ones. Keep backups, of course, but it sounds like you are already doing that.
Comment: They're both the Steam version. The problem with adding the new world alongside the old one is that they're both the same world. I started it on Windows, then when the Linux client was released I copied it from my Windows install to my Linux install, and when I started having issues with the Linux client I tried to copy it back to Windows.
Comment: That does complicate things a bit. I myself have run it under WINE in linux. When I moved my saves around I just moved the .wld and .plr files around. Also depending on the settings steam may be backing up your world to the cloud or something (Not having the steam version I am not familiar with its eccentricities).
Answer: Okay, I found the problem. At some point in the beta, the save location was moved from ~/My Games/Terraria to ~/.local/share/Terraria. I was still trying to copy from the My Games folder, not realizing those were old files.
Comment: This tripped me up too. Especially because it leaves the old files in `~/My Games`. Very annoying. Glad you found it though. I was experiencing this exact issue where it wouldn't see any maps I added. I was baffled thinking somehow the map files must be different for Mac, but the more I thought about it that just seemed silly and arbitrary since the entire game is just running in a wrapper. Then I figured this out and facepalmed, lol.
Answer: The world is most likely in the cloud. When you move a world or a character to cloud in the Terraria interface, is literally moving it, not making a copy, your world resides in the cloud, and it takes precedence over anything local.
Now you're saying that when creating new worlds, they're both the same; so there might be a problem with your worlds being automatically moved to cloud once created.
You can disable the cloud storage per world, by clicking on the little cloud icon alongside each world and character, or you can disable cloud storage globally for the game by going into the game properties from steam and disable the cloud storage. Also if you want, you can re-enable it once your worlds are where they're supposed to be.
Comment: None of the worlds say they're stored in the cloud, and they're all physically present as files on the computer.
Comment: as .world, or as .world.bak ?
Comment: As .world, and their folder

Why can't I import a world?


Disposal container for muriatic acid

Question: I need to do work with muriatic acid and was wondering if storing the waste (12 Oz of acid per gallon of water) is okay to do in a regular plastic 5 gal bucket. My concern is whether the acid could melt the plastic then spill out. Should I get a metal bucket just in case?
Answer: A metal bucket is much MORE prone to be attacked by acids in general than most plastics, especially those commonly used for buckets.
As it's "waste acid" throw in a box or two of baking soda and you'll neutralize it right then and there. Preferably outside due to the release of carbon dioxide. Or use marble/limestone chips or dust.
Comment: Limestone gravel is very common and does the job . I once inspected the inside of a  super phosphoric acid tank and stepped out onto limestone gravel . The thick gooey sludge covered my boots which left foaming foot-prints across the gravel, surreal.
Comment: Yeah, neutralizing acid waste is the way to go here -- easy to do, and makes disposal of the results rather trivial in comparison
Answer: Do not use metal!  That goes for any acid.  Generally its pretty easy to find good resources on plastic manufacturers websites.
Try here.  (muriatic acid = Hydrochloric acid)
<code>https://www.plasticsintl.com/chemical-resistance-chart
</code>
This chart gives data for 0.4M and 4M.  If this is waste acid, you are probably more in the range of 0.4 but you might as well not take any chances.
Home depot buckets are most likely HDPE which is pretty good according to this chart, but you should verify.  It should have a #2 recycling symbol if it's HDPE.
You may also find PVC (#3), or polypropylene(#5) containers which also do well.
Pretty much everything else on the list is either not suitable for acids, not generally used for containers or high weight polymers used in more specialized applications and you aren't likely to find them at a local hardware store.
NUTRALIZATION (read me, keep your eyes)
I also wanted to add that if you are dealing with a reasonably concentrated acid, neutralization may not be as safe and straightforward as you might think.  If you must neutralize, do it slowly, with googles and gloves.
Comment: I was thinking to neutralize with baking soda
Answer: Plastic vessel. Add a base, easiest is barn lime (white is better), garden lime. Both have fine particles. Dilute your liquid with water, at least to 2/3 of the vessel.  SLOWLY add lime. This process releases CO CO2? and H use good ventilation! Add a bit more lime after percolation stops. Now you have Lime water. Add to your garden!

Disposal container for muriatic acid


Bitcoin Server accounts

Question: I run Bitcoind and when I type account lists I get 4 accounts. Why?
How do I know which account is associated with bitcoin-qt? Also I never had any coins and using "move" command I moved 0.1 bitcoin to another account? How is this possible and how do I remove everything and start over?
Do I need to have bitcoin.conf written before I run Bitocind?
Answer: You can and should ignore those accounts. The accounts mean nothing; they are just an internal thing in Bitcoin Core and will be removed soon. Accounts are done by the address labels, so when you change a label for an address, you are changing its account. But that really doesn't matter and you should not be using the accounts system at all.

Bitcoin Server accounts


Apple Pie in a Jar Drink

Question: I was recently out of town for a business trip and heard some people talking about some type of drink that they had at a party called Apple Pie in a Jar.  I was curious if anyone else has heard of this and would know how to make it?  It sounds interesting especially since I like Apple Pie.
Answer: Sounds like you're talking about this recipe.
Looks like some apple juice, cider, cinnamon,sugar, and some grain alcohol.
Comment: I have also heard of a similar drink consisting of mulled cider, Tuaca liqueur, and whipped cream.

Apple Pie in a Jar Drink


Which ab testing app should I use to measure a mobile app created with HTML and kendoui that will be release in the Apple App Store?

Question: In my company we are developing a fitness mobile app using kendoui, HTML, jQuery and phonegap and we want to measure the success of the UI design so we want to implement AB testing to try different alternatives in the process. Also, we want to release this app in the Apple App Store so our questions are related to.

Which app or tool can we use to implement the AB test that fit our software architecture
How the App Store manage a app that want to implement AB Testing, they allowed or don't?
Answer: Currently the only AB testing service compatible with Phonegap is Arise.io.
https://arise.readthedocs.org/en/latest/phonegap.html
Disclamer: I am the CTO of Arise.


compiler limitations, when inlining a function

Question: I know that after adding inline keyword to a class member function, compiler decide to inline if the "function isn't complicated" or if there are "a lot of statements" in the function body.

What considered is to be "a lot of statements"?
The compiler also cannot perform inlining if the address of the function is taken implicitly or explicitly. Can anyone explain this point?
And because inline is just a suggestion, how do I test what functions were not inlined?
Answer:
Whether a compiler generates the code inline or not is up to the
compiler.  Most modern compilers will generate pretty much
anything that isn't recursive inline.
This is simply false.  When the address is taken, the
compiler must generate an out of line copy for the address, but
that doesn't prevent it from inlining when the function is
called.
You don't.
Answer:
It's completely up to the compiler; this will probably depend from the optimization settings, the peculiarities of the target architecture (e.g. the cost of a function call vs the potential cost of cache misses due to increased code size) and how well the function can be integrated with the rest of the code at the specific call site.
If a function is always inlined it ceases to exist as a function by itself, since its instructions are put directly on the call site, with the rest of the caller code; for this reason, such a function does not have an address anymore, since it's blended with its callers. But what typically happens when you ask for a function address is that the compiler will inline the function wherever it likes best, but still emit it also as a "regular function" with its address for usage via function pointer.
You can disassemble the generated executable, or ask to your compiler to emit assembly instead of building the finished executable (with gcc it's the -S option) and check it manually. Still, notice that examining optimized binaries is not trivial - since inlined code is blended with the callers code, it may be difficult to find out exactly where the inlined function went, and at the same time you may also find around non-inlined copies of functions for usage via function pointers (as explained above).
Answer:
It's entirely up to the compiler designer to decide what heuristics to use to decide whether to inline a function call. Hopefully, it's based on the resulting code size rather than the number of "statements", which is a completely meaningless metric. Hopefully, it also includes an estimate of the performance gain to weigh against any increase in code size.
If the address is taken, then there must be a non-inline instance of the function so that there's something to take the address of. However, this doesn't prevent any calls to the function from being inlined, if the compiler decides that they should be.
You can disassemble the generated code to see whether there's a function call. This may be tricky if the calling function is large, or if it was itself inlined in another function. Most compilers have a (non-standard) way to force inlining; but only use this if you're sure you know better than the compiler, and have the measurements to prove it.
Answer: As to your question about when a compiler might inline check out this thread:
Does the compiler decide when to inline my functions (in C++)?


ASP MVC - how to separate tables (received from stored procedure) using table names

Question: I used to get multiple tables (in my old aspx project) returned from a single stored procedure, by getting the dataset into a DataSet ds, like
DataTable dt1 = ds.Tables["tabe_name1"];
DataTable dt2 = ds.Tables["tabe_name2"]

I can get the table using a model if only one table is returned, using function
con.Query<ModelName>("STORED_PROCEDURE", param, commandType: CommandType.StoredProcedure);
How can I do this in MVC using Dapper ?
Thanks :)
Answer: To get multiple grids you must use:
using(var multi = conn.QueryMultiple(...)) {
    // see below
}

Inside the "see below", you can access each grid in turn, once only - they are not named. For example:
using(...) {
    var orders = multi.Read<Order>().AsList();
    var custs = multi.Read<Customer>().AsList();
}

Answer: @Marc, these also worked for me while I tried your answer.
var orders = multi.Read<Order>().Single<Order>();
var orders = multi.Read<Order>().ToList<Order>();
var orders = multi.Read<string>().Single<string>();
//this third one worked as if calling ExecuteScalar in aspx projects, ie., to get value of cell (0,0) only.


Connect Android device to web service on Laptop

Question: In my house I can connect my android device to the service in my laptop as they are both on the same network. My question is, supossing I'm going to a bar and I can connect my laptop to the wifi but not the cellphone, how can I make the cellphone reach the web service on the laptop?
   I tried to create an add hoc network and connectify.me but neither worked. With Connectify.me I was  able to connect to the laptop from the phone but the phone could reach the web service (maybe a filter for the free version?)
   Any advice?
   I've already checked this: Connect an Android Device To a Web Service on Local Host and it's not the same as my problem.
   Thanks in advance! Guillermo.
Answer:
My question is, supossing I'm going to a bar and I can connect my laptop to the wifi but not the cellphone, how can I make the cellphone reach the web service on the laptop?

Most likely, you can't. The bar is unlikely to have given you a public IP address, and it unlikely that you will convince the bartender to allow you to modify their firewall to forward a port to your notebook.
Answer: I haven't tried Connectify, but Virtual Router worked for me. There are some more instructions here if you need it.


Search Console reports article is indexed, "site:" operator doesn't. Why?

Question: One of my latest articles had gotten indexed and was showing as indexed via the "site:" operator too, but it is now showing as indexed in Console only, not via the "site:" parameter. What could possibly be the reason?
Comment: Google says that `site:` searches won't show everything.
Comment: @StephenOstermiller On that, Google says (here: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/debug/search-operators/all-search-site), "If a URL is indexed in Google, it can show up in search results for site: queries that are related to the URL, however it's not guaranteed. If a URL doesn't show in a site: query, use the URL Inspection tool to make sure the URL can be indexed and to submit the URL to indexing. Also, double-check the query is correct; site:https://www.example.com doesn't return the same results as site:https://example.com/."  (Bolded statement is confusing it)
Answer: I did my own research and went straight to Google's support pages, where on the page https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7474347?hl=en , I saw Google saying:

"If the report says that the page has been indexed" [in my case,
the exact words were "Submitted and Indexed"]
"i. Check whether you (or someone else) successfully requested that
the site or URL be removed from the index. Open the URL removal tool
to look for approved requests of URL or site removal. If so, you can
revoke the request.   ii. The page may have been dropped or omitted
from the index for totally innocuous reasons. (The web is immense, and
Google doesn't get to every page, though we try to!) Ask Google to
recrawl your page.
iii. Still having problems? Visit the Webmaster Forum and explain your
problem (please be sure to describe the issue completely, and include
links to your site)."

The first Google advice wasn't the issue (I confirmed this through the suggested URL removal tool), so I tried the second one (using "Request Indexing" inside Console) and am awaiting result (45 minutes since recrawl requested, not showing up as indexed via the "site:" parameter/operator at the time of this writing), but I now know (so do you) that after I (you) have tried all else, I am (you are) supposed to visit the Webmaster Forum and explain my (your) problem there in the hopes the solution will be found there in anybody's (possibly a Google staff member's) response.


Dynamic Partition on tabular model 1200 using visual basic 2015 in visual studio

Question: I am using visual studio 2015, sql server 2016 and tabular model 1200. I am trying to create a dynamic partitions on the existing cube by creating SSIS package using script task and visual basic coding. So can any one specify the approach to create a dynamic partition every month and process the created partition every night. I searched through online and I didn't find any example with this environment.
Answer: I would study this white paper and the AsPartitionProcessing sample for ideas. Ignore that it targets Azure Analysis Services as it should work against your SSAS instance if you use that servername instead of asazure:// as the servername. It uses the Tabular Object Model (TOM).


Galaxy S3 mini (i8190N) stuck in boot-loop after flashing custom ROM

Question: I've got a S3 Mini (i8190N) & I tried to install a custom ROM to it which failed. My phone will boot but then before the ROM/OS starts it reboots so it's stuck in a Bootloop. I cannot get into Recovery 'cause when I try that it simply just reboots. I can get into download mode!
I'vve had enough messing about trying to find a custom ROM; I don't think there is any out there. (The one I tried was mentioned later on in the thread that it isn't compatible with the model I've got.)
Comment: So what's the actual question here?
Answer: there could be various reasons for bootlooping like installing ROM which has size larger than your phone's HBOOT,
or a bad ROM.


Single Leg X or Ashi Garami

Question: is Single Leg X or Ashi Garami the same thing or is there is slight difference between them. I see some guys mixing up the two names so now I'm confused. Can anyone make this a little clear for me ?
Answer: This is what Eddie Cummings calls "basic Ashi garami". Note that he is on his side with his chest facing outwards, outside foot on the hip and inside foot hooking the far thigh; opponent's trapped knee is also pointing slightly outwards.
Now, compare that to Marcelo Garcia's Single X-guard and see that the main difference is that Marcelo's chest is facing towards opponent and the opponent's knee is bent inwards rather than slightly outwards. While generally in Ashi garami the inside foot hooks the far thigh and in Single-X it hooks the near thigh, these positions allow variations such as Marcelo hooking the far thigh, Marcelo hooking the near thigh and underhooking the ankle, Marcelo underhooking the ankle and hooking the far thigh, Eddie hooking the near thigh.
Watching more competition/rolling tape for both competitors, I am getting the impression that every variation that could be labelled as differentiating between Single-X and Ashi garami is negligible. Aside from the opponent's base (feet/knee/butt), the main distinction I see is in the purpose rather than in the geometry of the position, with the surrounding technique systems making the real difference. Even though an ultimate answer should not rely on footage from just two guys, I think their mastery of the position shows well enough how many variations of angle there can be and how one approach blends into the other, while keeping the same position in a more general sense.
The reasons for which I advise against seeing them as different positions are:

Simplification: remembering one more position is more work, and differentiating them is even more work. The controlled leg can be overhooked or underhooked, held at the ankle or at the heel, the inside leg can hook the near thigh or the far one, the chest can be pointed towards the opponent or outwards; see this example for something hard to classify.
The risk is oversimplification: in fact we have half guard, knee shield half guard, deep half guard, lockdown half guard, reverse half guard, quarter guard. Since not every technique is available from each of these positions, there is a need to distinguish them. This leads onto the next point:
Interconnection: as pointed out by Dave Liepmann, Single-X has been associated with sweeps and Ashi garami with leglocks. Realizing that you can sweep from Ashi-garami and go for a heel hook from Single-X is advantageous. This is possible because every technique is available from one position is also available from the other, with the only obstacle I see being the opponent's base: standing, kneeling or sitting.

Finally, in the case we consider them as distinct positions then this technique would maybe be a transition rather than a sweep. This would lead to problems like the ones that surrounded whether or not to award sweep points to 50/50 sweeps, which eventually needed a special treatment (see 5.7.6).
Comment: My use and understanding is that SLX puts guardiero's bottom/inside foot hooking the thigh of the same leg as the guardiero's outside/hip-blocking foot. Isn't the opposite-thigh hook reserved for when the sweep has been executed and the guardiero is preventing a stand-up?
Comment: I guess my current impression is that orthodox SLX is both of my legs on one of my opponent's legs with me facing them, whereas orthodox AG is my chest facing outwards, one leg reaping and the other hooking under the far leg. While both allow for tremendous variation and leaving the position for specific reasons, those seem to be the "base" of each game/position. That would make them very similar but not identical. It's almost like both ashi-garami and single-leg x-guard are instantiations of a more fundamental conceptual position.
Comment: That is a good use, but it's not the only one. If the opponent is standing then inside foot usually hooks the near thigh, but the far thigh can be hooked to [stop a backstep pass](https://youtu.be/cSi2ESHg1w0?t=2m56s). On the other hand, if the opponent is on his far knee you can use your shin to stop a pass to mount, as [advised by Marcelo](https://youtu.be/Rux8Qf9eskE?t=54s).
Comment: Answer updated in order to address your comments. Thank you for being maieutic.
Comment: Thanks for bringing the knowledge (and links! wow!) necessary to have this level of discussion. These details are almost all new to me, as is my word of the day, 'maieutic'!
Answer: My current understanding is that basic Ashi Garami is essentially the same leg configuration as Single Leg X guard (SLX), but that because the position is often used with a different strategy, some people keep the two mentally separate. This might be useful or it might hinder understanding--I don't know. I haven't studied Danaher's system in depth, and it's extremely likely that people who do have strong opinions regarding nomenclature and the relationship between the positions.
This breakdown of the positions shows the standard Ashi Garami to be equal to SLX. To me, this isn't a position that one would hang out in while using SLX, since people are usually wearing their "guard hats" while playing SLX, and are looking for the sweep. But viewing it as ashi garami opens up leglocks and nearby IBJJF-illegal leg control positions that aren't part of old-school SLX play.
Comment: Looking at Danahar's system you can see there are some small key details about the differences between single leg x and ashi when applying leg locks @Dave Liepmann
Comment: @ThatOneQuestionn I'd be interested to read links; I haven't yet seen his system described in detail.
Answer: Do you differentiate between anaconda guard (ashi gurami), and single leg x where the hook is behind the knee instead of on the hip like in a footlock position?
At my club we call ashi garami anaconda guard, much easier to pass this guard than the single leg x where the hook is behind the knee so it cannot be easily pushed off.

Single Leg X or Ashi Garami


Repartiera meaning (or what is subjunctive preterite imperfect?)

Question: I'm to the point in my Spanish study that I'm reading books.  I often come across words that I might know (such as repartir - to distribute) but the specific form is confusing.  I'm hopeful that someone can, first, help me understand this specific instance and, second, recommend a way to understand what all of this means.  Simply looking at verb conjugation charts does not help.  Most sites on the 'net seem to only provide this.  Do I have to go back to school to understand this?  I did well in English but these forms are lost in the cobwebs.  How did you overcome this issue and effectively study this?
Thanks!
Comment: @McArthey What would you like to know exactly? I think you should remove all that frustration from your question, as it is quite irrelevant for the spirit of Spanish.SE ;)
Comment: In order to provide an explanation for this specific instance, it would be helpful with context for this specific instance.
Comment: I don't have the book in front of me but a representative sentence would be, "Sería mejor que repartiera periódicos en vez de buscarte trabajo."
Comment: +1 for the laugh.  I will edit in an attempt to clarify after I have another cup of coffee.
Answer: This question is over one month old, but let me enter the conversation, as I do not fully agree with any of the previous answers.
The original sentence seemed to be

Sería mejor que (yo) repartiera periódicos en vez de buscarte trabajo

which might be translated as

It would be better (for me) to distribute newspapers instead of looking for a job for you

So let's go for it...

"Repartiera" is not conditional, but subjunctive (distributed)
"Sería" is conditional (would be)
"Repartiera" is not present tense, but past tense (present would be "reparta").
Why "repartiera" (subjunctive?) and not "repartia" (indicative past)? We use subjunctive when something is a wish or depends on a condition, and indicative to express facts. Let me include a few examples:

I distributed newspapers when I lived in XXX = Yo repartía periodicos cuando vivía en XXX (a fact: indicative)
I wish I distributed newspapers, as I would have more spare time = Ójala repartiera periódicos, porque tendría más tiempo libre (a wish: subjunctive)
If I distributed newspapers, I would have more spare time = Si repartiera periódicos,  tendría más tiempo libre (the beginning of a conditional sentence)
Comment: Note that you can also say *yo repartía* as *I would distribute*, seen as a repeated action in the past.
Comment: Clarification: Subjunctive comes from subjunction, which means that a sentence is *included* or *subordinated* in another sentence. We use specific tenses for subjunctions, like this case. There's no direct equivalence in english.
Comment: Anyway, saying "Seria mejor que yo repartiera" is not to well-constructed in spanish. By the context, which is well-translated into english, the spanish sentence should be "Seria mejor que yo reparta" since it is a potential situation to occur (in quichua is easier to explain), and not regarding a frequent action done in the past.
Answer: Stealing @McArthey's sentence, I agree with the sample sentence. Repartiera is more like "To Distribute" or "To Hand Out" in a preterit or past representation of a verb.
So translating his sample sentence is like "It would be better to [pass out | hand out | distrubute] newspaper instead of looking for a job."
Comment: ¡Bienvenido a Spanish.SE! Consulta nuestro [FAQ](http://spanish.stackexchange.com/faq) para conocer el funcionamiento del sitio. Animamos a los usuarios a que las respuestas sean elaboradas y con referencias que las soporten, obviando las opiniones personales. Puedes editar tu respuesta para reflejar esto. ¡Esperamos que contribuyas a menudo al sitio!
Answer: In the sentence "Sería mejor que repartiera periódicos..." the word "repartiera" is in conditional form, indicating that it's an improbable thing to happen...
The sentenced is a transformation of this one: "Si yo repartiera periódicos sería mejor que buscarte trabajo".
Sorry for my english ;-)
Answer: From your comment "Sería mejor que (yo) repartiera periódicos en vez de buscarte trabajo."
'Repartiera' corresponds to the 1st person subjunctive present.
Comment: Agreed.  It's also worth mentioning that "sería" is a conditional.
Comment: "Sería mejor que (él) repartiera periódicos en vez de buscarte trabajo."


Is tor the solution to being stalked through Facebook?

Question: I have had a stalking problem for several years.  My stalker has started setting up random Facebook accounts and sending me 'other' messages; I never respond, but I think that, just be creating that chat window, he is able to search my IP address and find out what city I am living in. I have downloaded torbrowser. If I use it to connect log-in to Facebook, will that hide my IP from detection?
Comment: As Stig Atle wrote, the answer is yes. Furthermore it might be helpful for you to use the address https://facebookcorewwwi.onion/. Facebook "thinks" you're coming from 127.0.0.1 (localhost) and sets your default location to London, England.
Answer: I feel the Tor FAQ answers this question:
https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq.html.en#AnonymityAndSecurity

Generally speaking, Tor aims to solve three privacy problems:
First, Tor prevents websites and other services from learning your
  location, which they can use to build databases about your habits and
  interests. With Tor, your Internet connections don't give you away by
  default -- now you can have the ability to choose, for each
  connection, how much information to reveal.
Second, Tor prevents people watching your traffic locally (such as
  your ISP) from learning what information you're fetching and where
  you're fetching it from. It also stops them from deciding what you're
  allowed to learn and publish -- if you can get to any part of the Tor
  network, you can reach any site on the Internet.
Third, Tor routes your connection through more than one Tor relay so
  no single relay can learn what you're up to. Because these relays are
  run by different individuals or organizations, distributing trust
  provides more security than the old one hop proxy approach.


passing POST payload in Content Body

Question: I'm unhappy at the prospect of passing sensitive data like contact details as URI parameters for a POST (where they will show in logs, etc.). Is it possible to pass the details in the content body instead? This is standard practice for RESTful APIs and I'm surprised that it is not the standard for civi.
Answer: Yes the civicrm extern/rest.php will merge GET and POST parameters.
Regarding security, while yes it is better to send private data in POST, it's not necessarily that much more secure since POST data can be logged too, just you're right not usually by default. See also https://security.stackexchange.com/questions/30754/is-there-a-difference-between-get-and-post-for-web-application-security. For real privacy it would need to be encrypted, and then have some way to decrypt it at the civicrm end.

passing POST payload in Content Body


Does casting Fly on a creature who is falling cause fall damage?

Question: Based on this question How would using Thunderwave to stop falling damage work?:
Would casting fly on a creature already in the middle of a fall cause it to take fall damage before it was able to use it's fly speed to move?
Answer: The only guidance we get from the rules is the section on Flying Movement in the Combat chapter:

If a flying creature is knocked prone, has its speed reduced to 0, or is otherwise deprived of the ability to move, the creature falls, unless it has the ability to hover or it is being held aloft by magic, such as by the fly spell.

So in a sense, Fly makes you immune to falling. However the rules are silent on whether the creature would stop falling abruptly (which would amount to the same thing as hitting the floor). But we do know Fly doesn't make you immune to effects that move you (e.g. Thunderwave) so that's unlikely to be the case.
In the end it's still going to be the DM's call, just like it's up to the DM to determine whether a fall is so long that it spans multiple turns. The most logical interpretation to me is that the creature would slow to a stop, but at what rate is anyone's guess.
Comment: It is worth noting that there are now official and optional rules for falling speeds described in Xanathar's Guide to Everything. Your answer would probably be improved by including them.
Answer: It's Not the Fall That'll Kill Ya...
Player's Handbook p183

At the end of a fall, a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it fell, to a maximum of 20d6. The creature lands prone, unless it avoids taking damage from the fall.

The important bit here is the intent: At the end of a fall, the creature lands prone (unless it avoided damage). The 'end of a fall' is the landing; no landing, no end of a fall. If you don't land and are no longer falling, the fall didn't 'end' in a way that causes damage.
Of course, the newly flying creature would need to be capable of interrupting its fall before it lands, however, so if it can't move in time to avoid landing, it still lands and takes damage.

However, 'Landing' is Undefined
If the fall ends for a reason other than landing, the DM has to decide what happens. If the fall was arrested because there was a rope tied around the character's waist, or attached to a climbing harness, then the character might take less damage, or even none. If that rope were around the character's neck instead the character might take much more damage, or even have to save or die.
Comment: So ask yourself, "What constitutes the end of a fall?" Because if it requires you hitting the ground, would you take no damage if you fell 600 ft with a rope tied around your neck tied to a 800 foot cliff?
Comment: @LinoFrankCiaralli You'd take no *falling* damage. Your example doesn't deal 20d6 bludgeoning damage, but forces a save or die for a normal living creature with a head and skeleton. If the rope weren't tied around your neck, but attached to a good harness, barring killing catgirls with physics, you'd not have landed at the end of the 600' fall, so still not have taken damage.
Comment: Put it in your answer please.
Comment: @LinoFrankCiaralli Sorry, I edited that (or something like it) in.
Comment: It says "at the end of a fall" in the first sentence.  The second sentence talks about landing, and how that relates to taking damage from the fall.  Damage read as unrelated to landing, just by falls ending, is a pretty plain reading of the two sentences.
Answer: It isn't the fall that kills you.  It is the end of the fall.
Is your fall over?  Are you somehow immune to falling damage?  If the answer is Yes and No, then "ouch".

At the end of a fall, a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it fell, to a maximum of 20d6. The creature lands prone, unless it avoids taking damage from the fall.

If you are falling and it ends, you take falling damage.  There are some cases where you become immune to falling damage.  Featherfall, for example.
Suppose there are some creatures that are falling.  If they are not falling later, between those times the fall ended.  And when a fall ends, you take falling damage.
The second sentence is about landing.  One way to end a fall is to land.  If you take falling damage in your fall, and your fall ends in landing, you land prone.
By RAW, the Fly spell does not make you immune to falling damage.  Flight in general, especially spells that let you hover, does make it more difficult to fall.
If you end your fall once you are under the influence of the Fly spell, your fall ends.  And "At the end of a fall, a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it fell, to a maximum of 20d6." you take damage.
So by rules as written, catching yourself with a Fly spell causes falling damage.
Now, it may be reasonable to permit someone able to fly to "catch" someone (or themselves) falling and slow them down gently avoiding the falling damage.  But I am unaware of rules in 5e D&D that describe that case, so it would be up to the DM.
Other editions of D&D provide flying creatures limited resistance or immunity to falling damage; I believe 4e explictly grants falling creatures the ability to reduce falling distance by their flight speed.  So when you knock a flying creature prone, it "stumbles" to the ground instead of dropping like a stone.  3e D&D even has stall and recover mechanics.  Either of these mechanics can be plundered if you need someone else to make up rules for you.
Answer: It depends
This question boils down to three smaller questions:
1. Is there time to cast fly before the creature falls and takes damage?
Xanather's Guide to Everything now clarifies this in two ways. Firstly, it provides an explicit explanation of the RAW and provides an optional rule for long falls.
1a. RAW - No

The rule for falling assumes that a creature immediately drops the
entire distance when it falls. (XGtE)

Using just the standard ruling, no matter how high the person was, they will have already fallen the entire distance before anybody could have a chance to cast fly on them (unless they had a readied action).
1b. Optional RAW - depends on the height of the fall
However, it also provides an optional rule for long falls that says:

When you fall from a great height, you instantly descend up to 500 feet. If you're still falling on your next turn, you descend up to 500 feet at the end of that turn. This process continues until the fall ends, either because you hit the ground or the fall is otherwise halted. (XGtE)

In this case, the answer depends on how high the creature is falling from:
Less than 501 Feet - No
This case is the same as the standard RAW above; they fall and take damage instantly before fly can be cast.
Greater than 500 feet - Yes
In this case the creature would fall 500 feet instantly but not hit the ground since they have not reached it yet. They will not fall the rest of the way until the end of their turn thus giving other and themselves opportunities to halt the fall with fly.
2. Would fly stop the fall? - Yes

If a flying creature is knocked prone, has its speed reduced to 0, or is otherwise deprived of the ability to move, the creature falls, unless it has the ability to hover or it is being held aloft by magic, such as by the fly spell.

In this description of falling, a creature under the effects of fly are specifically called out as an exception to the rule. Essentially as another person said, a creature under the effects of fly is immune to falling.
3. Does the creature take damage from stopping the fall using fly?
This one has no clear answer RAW unfortunately. The creature has now come to a stop because they are now held aloft by magic and thus aren't capable of falling. But they would come to an abrupt halt. In real life, this would cause at least a jerk depending on how fast you were going initially, but D&D is not a simulator.
The ambiguity stems from the fact that "landing" is not defined in-game. However since 5e uses common definitions it is valid to look at those: to land: "to bring to or set on land". Thus, if something is not hitting a solid surface or land it is not landing and if it is not landing then it does not take damage.
I think it is reasonable to assume the fall damage comes from the deceleration against a solid object and that, as such, no damage is warranted here since there is no solid object stopping the fall. There is nothing describing how fast a person coming under a fly spell decelerates, so it would be misleading to assume it is either rapid enough to cause damage or slow enough not to. Could be either or could be in between. This is the way I would adjudicate this. However, as there is no RAW on this, the DM will have to adjudicate it as they see fit.
tl;dr The only way this would work would be using the optional rule from XGtE and casting fly on a creature falling from greater than 500 feet.
Answer: Casting "Fly" on a creature gives them voluntary control over their movement in the air; they can easily slow or redirect their speed instead of slamming to a sudden stop.
If you cast it in such a manner that the spell completes only a few feet from the ground, they might need a dex save to "miss the ground", considering built up speed and direction of travel, but that's an edge case, and regardless, if they remained alive/conscious upon hitting the ground, could return to the air during their next movement phase.
In the linked question, Thunderwave causes a "wave of thunderous force" to violently smack the target(s) away. The wave of force also deals damage in passing, like a shockwave from an explosion; it's simply damage coming from a second direction, not something which would effectively stop the fall.
While the rules are brief, to the point of being slightly vague, it's a situation where the authors return to classical styles of adjudication and expect the DM to make a call based on common sense.
A "gentle stop" (or simply avoiding hitting something entirely) causes no damage -- dropping a tissue paper held high to the floor causes it to fall slowly, and the impact with the ground causes damage so slight as to be imperceptible.
A "hard stop" is the actual source of the damage -- instead of the tissue paper, drop an uncooked egg. The difference is messily obvious.
Comment: This is a valid opinion, but you do not use any rules to support it.
Comment: yea, "when does a fall end" is sort of a messy grey area, left quite vague in the books. it basically requires a DM ruling if anything other than the obvious result occurs.


Earliest scriptural reference to atma

Question: The question is more or less in the title - what is the oldest scripture to reference the term atma? I know some of the Upanishads expound on the concept; are there even earlier references?
Comment: You can find a lot of references [here](http://www.sanskrit-linguistics.org/dcs/index.php?contents=dictionary&limit=20&first_letter=%C4%81&page=53) (ātman - 11391). And the references from Rig Veda [here](http://www.sanskrit-linguistics.org/dcs/index.php?contents=fundstellen&IDWord=57749#39).
Answer: The earliest reference of Atma can be found in Rigveda. The Rigvedic verse 10.97.11 says,

यदिमा वाजयन्नहमोषधीर्हस्त आदधे ।
आत्मा यक्ष्मस्य नश्यति पुरा जीवगृभो यथा ॥११॥
When, bringing back the vanished strength, I hold these herbs within my hand, The spirit of disease departs ere he can seize upon the life.

Yasakacharya who is considered as great Etymologist, has given the etymology for this Rigvedic verse in his work "Nirukta" verse Nir III. 15 :

आत्माऽततेर्वा आप्तेर्वा । अपि वाप्त इव स्यात् । यावद् व्याप्तिभूत इति ।
Nir III. 15
The word åtman is derived from the root ata meaning constant motion or the
root apa standing for permeation. Thus permeation is accepted as the very nature
of åtman.
Answer: According to Wikipedia

The earliest use of the word "Ātman" in Indian texts is found in the Rig Veda (RV X.97.11). Yāska, the ancient Indian grammarian, commenting on this Rigvedic verse, accepts the following meanings of Ātman: the pervading principle, the organism in which other elements are united and the ultimate sentient principle.
Other hymns of Rig Veda where the word Ātman appears include I.115.1, VII.87.2, VII.101.6, VIII.3.24, IX.2.10, IX.6.8, and X.168.4.

Quoting couple of verses from RigVeda mentioned above:

RV X.97.11 yadimā vājayannahamoṣadhīrhasta ādadhe ।
ātmā yakṣmasya naśyati purā jīvagṛbho yathā॥11॥
RV I.115.1 citraṃ devānāmudagādanīkaṃ cakṣurmitrasya varuṇasyāgneḥ ।
  āprā dyāvāpṛthivī antarikṣaṃ sūrya ātmā jagatastasthuṣaśca॥1॥
RV VII.87.2 ātmā te vāto raja ā navīnotpaśurna bhūrṇiryavase sasavān ।
  antarmahī bṛhatī rodasīme viśvā te dhāma varuṇa priyāṇi॥2॥
Comment: It is recommended to directly quote scriptures rather than Wikipedia. [Here](https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/a/15425) you can find list of some online sources to get Hindu Scriptures.
Comment: Upvoted. @Pandya, why is Wikipedia not deemed a good source?
Comment: @Vidyut Because Wikipedia articles can be edited by anyone over the globe. They can take reference from a news article too which may not be true.
Comment: @TheLittleNaruto This wiki article quotes references. If I don't give wiki link, it will be like stealing credit.
Comment: I have added Sanskrit text of Rigveda verses  (highlighting mention of Atma) mentioned by Wikipedia so that the source is now verified by citation of scripture.

Earliest scriptural reference to atma


Are mutual funds safe from defaults?

Question: Mutual funds are great way to diversify your investments (e.g compared to individual stocks). I am investing a significant part of my savings in a mutual fund, and understand that investment has risks (e.g. the stock market might go down like crazy). However, is it safe from the risk of default (e.g. the funds manager just not giving you your money when you try to redeem)? In the US, are there regulations that make this very unlikely to happen? Or should I try to "diversify" again by investing with multiple funds manager?
Answer: The only way for a mutual fund to default is if it inflated the NAV. I.e.: it reports that its investments worth more than they really are. Then, in case of a run on the fund, it may end up defaulting since it won't have the money to redeem shares at the NAV it published.
When does it happen? When the fund is mismanaged or is a scam. This happened, for example, to the fund Madoff was managing. This is generally a sign of a Ponzi scheme or embezzlement.
How can you ensure the funds you invest in are not affected by this? You'll have to read the fund reports, check the independent auditors' reports and check for clues. Generally, this is the job of the SEC - that's what they do as regulators. But for smaller funds, and private (i.e.: not public) investment companies, SEC may not be posing too much regulations.
Comment: One thing you can do is choose a fund that has been around for a while and has many fund managers.
Answer: There are very strict regulations that requires the assets which a fund buys on behalf of its investors to be kept completely separate from the fund's own assets (which it uses to pay its expenses), except for the published fees. Funds are typically audited regularly to ensure this is the case.
So the only way in which a default of the fund could cause a loss of invstor money would be if the fund managers broke the regulations and committed various crimes. I've never heard of this actually happening to a normal mutual fund.
There is of course also a default risk when a fund buys bonds or other non-equity securities, and this may sometimes be non-obvious. For example, some ETFs which are nominally based on a stock index don't actually buy stocks; instead they buy or sell options on those stocks, which involves a counterparty risk. The ETF may or may not have rules that limit the exposure to any one counterparty.
Comment: If the bond defaults - the fund doesn't, it just reduces the NAV.
Answer: There is a measure of protection for investors. It is not the level of protection provided by FDIC or NCUA but it does exist:
Securities Investor Protection Corporation
What SIPC Protects

SIPC protects against the loss of cash and securities – such as stocks
  and bonds – held by a customer at a financially-troubled SIPC-member
  brokerage firm. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which
  includes a $250,000 limit for cash. Most customers of failed brokerage
  firms when assets are missing from customer accounts are protected.
  There is no requirement that a customer reside in or be a citizen of
  the United States. A non-U.S. citizen with an account at a brokerage
  firm that is a member of SIPC is treated the same as a resident or
  citizen of the United States with an account at a brokerage firm that
  is a member of SIPC.
SIPC protection is limited. SIPC only protects the custody function of
  the broker dealer, which means that SIPC works to restore to customers
  their securities and cash that are in their accounts when the
  brokerage firm liquidation begins.
SIPC does not protect against the decline in value of your securities.
  SIPC does not protect individuals who are sold worthless stocks and
  other securities. SIPC does not protect claims against a broker for
  bad investment advice, or for recommending inappropriate investments.
It is important to recognize that SIPC protection is not the same as
  protection for your cash at a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
  (FDIC) insured banking institution because SIPC does not protect the
  value of any security.
Investments in the stock market are subject to fluctuations in market
  value. SIPC was not created to protect these risks. That is why SIPC
  does not bail out investors when the value of their stocks, bonds and
  other investment falls for any reason. Instead, in a liquidation, SIPC
  replaces the missing stocks and other securities when it is possible
  to do so.
Comment: This covers misconduct by a **broker** (and is quite likely relevant for ETF holdings) but not the mutual fund itself.
Comment: This protects you from broker failure/misconduct, but your investment losses are not covered by SIPC

Are mutual funds safe from defaults?


osascript -e command for displaying a text in status bar?

Question: Doc has reference to how to display a notification alert but not sure if there is an option to display a message in status bar that can be updated like a price ticker.
Answer: There is not a way to use AppleScript to put something in the menu bar, as far as I can tell, and I looked for a long time.
There are two apps that will put stuff into the menu bar, based on scripts of various kinds:

BitBar
TextBar

BitBar made a big splash a few years ago, but it's pretty much dead now.
TextBar is less well-known, but it's a much better app, in my opinion, and the developer is very responsive. You can find examples on GitHub of the types of things you can do with it.
Comment: I urgently _SUPPORT_ your suggestion! I know (and use) BitBar since a month – _GREAT_ examples ! I was looking for a way to display the # of desktop I'm "on". . . . This is the _VERY_ simple bash script: `osascript /Users/myName/.config/bitbar/Workingspace_Desktop.app` which calls a short Applescript that just gets the name of my BG picture, compares it to a list and "return"s a result that I "formatted" IN the AS like: `[ 3 ]` . . . It is _perfectly doable_ to display changing texts … BitBar's _EXTRA_: by the script's name you specify intervals of execution (mine: 2 seconds) >> so _EASY!_
Answer: Macs don't have a status bar; if you mean the menu bar, then no, definitely not. But as you mentioned, it is pretty trivial to use notifications with Scripting Bridge:
<code>osascript -e 'display notification "All questions have been answered." with title "Alert: Question Answered" subtitle "Notifications could be like a stockticker?" sound name "Ding"'?
</code>
Comment: _"definitely not"_ ?  How sure are you about this ?  I suppose _"definitely"_ implies you're 100% sure, but I wonder _why_ you're so sure of this...?
Comment: I'm afraid you are wrong with "definitely not"… see my comment directly at the first answer ! … Whereas "notifications" _ARE_ definitely _NOT_ what the OP asks for: you _CANNOT_ have a continuous flow of information, but could only use "banners" – _which would annoy ME_ if they pop up and fade away all the time.


Does breakaway torque match tightening torque?

Question: When you don't know the correct torque for a fastener does the torque required to loosen it equal the correct torque to tighten it to? Presuming it's not rusted on, that is. Or, if you can't use it directly is there a rule of thumb?
Answer: No, absolutely not. During tightening the torque you're putting in gets "used" in three ways:

Overcoming friction between the head of the bolt and the joint surface
Overcoming friction between the threads
Stretching the bolt/compressing the joint via the "ramp" action of the threads. This is the actual "tightening" action, though in typical bolted joints only about 10% of the torque you're putting in goes to this factor; the rest is used up in the friction described above.

During loosening, you still have the two friction components to overcome, but obviously you're not working to stretch the bolt—in fact the ramp effect kind of helps to loosen the joint.
You can sometimes establish a relationship between  tightening torque and loosening torque for a given joint, but it's not very precise.
Sometimes people talk about "restarting torque", ie the torque required to tighten a bolt just a little more than it has previously been tightened. In this case, the physics is more similar to the initial tightening, but restarting torque is still not equal to tightening torque, because typically "static" friction (what you're working against to get the bolt moving from a stop) is greater than "dynamic" friction (keeping the bolt moving  during tightening).
Comment: How do you "love" a bolt?
Comment: So, if the engine for example with cast iron block and aluminium head, the change in temperature will cause the head to expand more than the block and change the load on the fixing which means item 3 on your list will still be relevant.
Comment: Relevant to your #3, you couldn't use the untightening method to try and gain a torque value on a torque to yield bolt, either. Since they've already been stretched to the yield point, it's kinda moot to even try.
Answer: In theory yes, but there are other factors apart from corrosion that you mentioned : such as temperature : different metals expand at different rates so if the part was torqued at 12 Deg C then the ambient T rose to 25 Deg C it could increase the clamping force...
Edit : "in theory" means that there is no dirt, corrosion (mentioned by the OP) and the correct lubricant (if any) is used as specified.
Comment: I would argue that "in theory" would be an **absolute** **no** simply due to debris, galling, and galvanic corrosion.

I believe it's AvE who has a video demonstrating that torquing two stainless fasteners (a nut and bolt) into each other without lubricant become a single piece of metal due to some kind of metal wizardry.
Comment: @soolus don't you clean threads before putting things together? Oh, since you mention stainless, what is the correct lubricant?
Comment: In an ideal world, yes, I would chase threads, but nothing is ever truly clean in my shop, hah.  Figure two brand-new bolts from a hardware store, you'll still experience some level of galling and thread deformation when you're torquing it.  As far as stainless, geez I don't know, I've always just used your every-day copper antisieze with relative success.
Answer: Temperature, mechanical welding, corrosion, solvents or lubricants involved, as well as many other variables will change the force required to loosen a fastener.
There are many torque charts such as this one, one here, and even for SAE here, as well as calculators out there that will give you a general idea of the proper torque specifications for tightening, though keep in mind these assume like materials.  If you have a steel fastener going into a brass rivnut or aluminum casting, you're going to want to use substantially lower values.  Most non-critical fasteners can live with "good and tight", whereas most large fasteners are fine with one or two ugga-duggas.
Comment: Are these torque charts you reference for tightening?
Comment: Yes, I'll update that for clarity.
Comment: Those are great references! I'd like to point out on the chart, it does state these are the "max torque value assuming clean dry threads". If lubricated (it says oil, but would throw anti-seize into this mix as well), decrease values by 10%. Also, coarse/fine pitch makes no difference. I also wonder if there's something similar chart for SAE? The world does not live by Metric alone!
Comment: Sorry, was being clever with the linking.  There are three linked charts in that string, the last of which being SAE.  There's a little engineering pocketbook every toolbox should have that has all this information in it as well, I forget what it's called..
Comment: Zeus tables spring to mind : drill sizes etc