"_____" expert.

[Daecon]

How does one get a [whatever] expert title, and how do they prove that they really are an "expert" in whichever field?

 

Why should I believe that someone really is a resident/physics expert or whatever?

[timo]

How does one get a [whatever] expert[/i'] title,

The mods invite you for a drink, it quickly becomes a few more drinks, and when you wake up the next morning you have that blue star tatooed on your forehead and can´t rub it off anymore.

 

and how do they prove that they really are an "expert" in whichever field?

There is no formal test if you mean that. It´s just about whose contributions the mods and the other experts found valuable and about not realizing it´s a trap when Dave offers to buy you the 3rd beer.

 

Why should I believe that someone really is a resident/physics expert or whatever?

Why should you even want to know?

[Daecon]

I'm just being bitter because I don't have a [something] Expert title of my own.

 

[ajb]

What area are you an "expert" in Transdecimal?

 

Expert is a bit of a relative term I think.

[Klaynos]

http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11190

 

obviousely no search expert he be!

[timo]

There´s also the inofficial translation to english:

 

What do we get out of it?

 

Experts basically mean the following:

 

- While being an expert doesn't make people infallible' date=' if they're involved in an intense debate the expert is more likely to be right, [/quote']

Experts tend to have better excuses than "oh sorry, I thought you were talking about 26-dimensional supergravity" or at least express them in a way that it´s not obvious that they read one of Brian Greene´s books.

 

- The expert's interpretation of an [acr=Original Post]O/P[/acr] is likely to be the most relevant one,

... the most pedantic one ...

 

- Experts have some moderation abilities in forums within their area of expertise, meaning that they can bring discussions under control,

Experts have a special subforum where they can whine about people posting crap until a moderator finally can´t stand the whining anymore and reacts.

 

- Experts can generally be trusted to provide good information and relevant citations.

... will bombard you with arxiv links if they don´t have a clue themselves.

 

 

 

 

Who can be an Expert?

 

Anyone with post-graduate qualifications, or equivalent experience, who we have observed making useful posts of consistent quality over the duration of their membership.

Anyone who likes to have a few beer but cannot take as much as Dave. The old recruitment method of simply clubbing down people has been abandoned as only Martin was sufficiently naive to fall for the "hey, come to that dark sidestreet, there´s something interesting I want to show you"-trick.

 

As with moderator positions, please do not send us 329 messages asking to be a resident expert.

Anyone who even asks for having a blue star tatooed on his forehead must be completely nuts.

 

Please bear in mind that most of the forum staff (moderators and administrators) are also qualified experts in at least one area. To avoid confusion and really ugly profiles, we are not currently adding staff to the various expert groups.

Rember that WE are the bosses in here (signed: The admins and mods).

 

 

Pre-register now for the Armada Wars beta test. Reserve your name!

Help me win the free battlecruiser!

[Bettina]

Atheist, I hope you were joking because I laughed out loud... :-)

 

However, if you get into trouble, I don't know who posted this with my name on it...

 

Bee

[ajb]

It looks like I am indeed qualified to be an "expert".

 

Does such a position come with some kind of reponsability or extra duties?

 

If so, I am quite happy being a "non-expert".

[swansont]

I know that in prior discussions (before all the alcohol kicked in, anyway) number and quality of posts was one of the factors. No sense in Sneetching someone if they aren't going to contribute.

[Martin]

It looks like I am indeed qualified to be an "expert".

 

Does such a position come with some kind of reponsibility or extra duties?

 

If so' date=' I am quite happy being a "non-expert".[/quote']

 

AFAICS you have qualifications in spades

and you sound like you are willing

also there are no special duties

(experts simply volunteer time at their pleasure: to the extent that it is conducive to their happiness and well-being)

 

I remember being impressed by what mathematics you were talking with Matt Grime over in math forum. (I'm a retired mathematician whose memory and ability to concentrate decayed so long ago that I no longer miss them , but I am still somewhat able to judge level and ability)

 

If you could do expert in physics---write PM to swansont telling him your present station on the academic ladder and expressing provisional willingness.

 

He will then tend to do nothing for a long time---but he will be aware of your existence. After a long long time has passed, he will give a kind of grunt, or clear his throat, and you will find that you are an expert.

 

I'm not sure there is any need for more math experts because Matt easily handles all the traffic. But physics experts are a real asset because they tend to STIR UP STUFF as well as just answering questions. IMHO a board can use all it can get. so if you think you could do physics expert I invite you to let swansont know (he's the senior one)

=================

 

Ah! hello swansont, I didnt register that you had already replied to ajb.

I got distracted with something else while writing this. Anyway I hope you would consider a PM letter from him, if he feels like communicating about this.

[YT2095]

AFAICS you have qualifications in spades

and you sound like you are willing

also there are no special duties

(experts simply volunteer time at their pleasure: to the extent that it is conducive to their happiness and well-being)

 

I remember being impressed by what mathematics you were talking with Matt Grime over in math forum. (I'm a retired mathematician whose memory and ability to concentrate decayed so long ago that I no longer miss them ' date=' but I am still somewhat able to judge level and ability)

 

If you could do expert in physics---write PM to swansont telling him your present station on the academic ladder and expressing provisional willingness.

 

He will then tend to do nothing for a long time---but he will be aware of your existence. After a long long time has passed, he will give a kind of grunt, or clear his throat, and you will find that you are an expert.

 

I'm not sure there is any need for more math experts because Matt easily handles all the traffic. But physics experts are a real asset because they tend to STIR UP STUFF as well as just answering questions. IMHO a board can use all it can get. so if you think you could do physics expert I invite you to let swansont know (he's the senior one)

=================

 

Ah! hello swansont, I didnt register that you had already replied to ajb.

I got distracted with something else while writing this. Anyway I hope you would consider a PM letter from him, if he feels like communicating about this.[/quote']

 

you may ignore the above.

that is NOT how it works at all!

[Martin]

you may ignore the above.

that is NOT how it works at all!

 

my goodness! then the process is somewhat of a mystery to me

you had indeed better ignore what I said, ajb!

[Sayonara]

The resident experts do play a role other than just helping members.

 

I have my eye on a particular member at the moment who I believe needs to be elevated to the heady levels of expertydom.

 

Dave, bring forth the giant beer can!

[ajb]

you may ignore the above.

that is NOT how it works at all!

 

 

So how does it work?

[YT2095]

Admin have to do it, Neither Swansont nor Martin, or even Me can do this.

 

a Candidate is disscused and then a vote takes place, Admin sort out the Techy side of it.

 

appeals to Swansont will NOT get you expert status, nor does he have the "power" to grant it.

[swansont]

AFAIK the only "powers" any of the resident experts have (me included, as YT notes) is their opinion in recommending someone or not, to which the admin folks will apply the appropriate weighting factor. If they decide that no new experts are needed at this (or any) time, that weighting factor will probably be zero.

[Martin]

The resident experts do play a role other than just helping members.

 

I have my eye on a particular member at the moment who I believe needs to be elevated to the heady levels of expertydom.

 

Dave' date=' bring forth the giant beer can![/quote']

 

Hey Sayonara, I like your attitude!

 

have a look, may ring some bells for you

http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?t=21872

 

English education system seems to be working well these days. Very interesting PhD thesis area indicated here:

http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?p=289115#post289115

 

Big conference in Noncommutative Geometry going on at Cambridge this week

landmark paper by Alain Connes, companion paper by John Barrett of U Nottingham. I wonder if ajb knows of this conference.

Yes I remember now. he does. manchester.

 

Alain Connes has pulled the Standard Model out of sheer (noncommuntative) geometry which is as close as you get to thin air or a magician's hat. strings in the dust (IMHO)

 

Nice to have someone around to talk about that with

 

Beercan ho, say I!

[Dave]

Just thought I'd try and clarify this a little bit

 

What qualifies someone to be an expert on SFN? Basically, if you know what you're talking about in a particular field, have made a good contribution to SFN and have been noticed by other experts/moderators/admins, then sooner or later a thread will pop up in the staff forums suggesting that member x receive expert status in a particular field. If everyone's in agreement then generally that person will get promoted, assuming they want it.¹

 

What's involved? As much or as little as the experts want. All of the guys here do a great job in getting involved in SFN's community, and that's exactly why we set up the expert position.

 

Ideally I'd like SFN's member-base to grow before we employ too many more experts, as I think it'd dilute the position too much. But we're always on the lookout

 

1: Actually, this is a complete lie. All experts are subject to at least near-fatal alcoholic intoxication so that they don't realise what's going on, and then POW, it's too late. Bring on that beer keg!

[timo]

my goodness! then the process is somewhat of a mystery to me

you had indeed better ignore what I said' date=' ajb![/quote']

No need to worry, it´s rather usual that one cannot remember everything after being clubbed down.