Post your short questions here. No need to start a thread everytime.

My take on that was that it is okay to bring up science where it is appropriate for the topic, but you shouldn't get too deeply into the scientific details in a non-science forum.I could be mistaken, of course.I think the comment was a reaction to the thread having drifted way, way off topic -- not merely off-topic for the thread, but off-topic for that forum.

I think you can start a new coffee room thread yourself. Just click on "New Topic".I'm not sure it is a good idea. IMO that discussion had just about run its course, and maybe it is better to let it lapse.

I doubt that it is related to chat.The main page shows only 74 messages in that thread. But yours is 76. The index for your own postings does show that.message 76 seems to be empty. Maybe that confused the software.

Maybe there is a hanging lock on the egg thread.When I posted a "bump", my browser hung waiting for a response. The
bump is posted. Probably some control info was not updated, and that
hints at a hung lock

What you describe is similar to what happened to me with my "bump" post yesterday. I posted. The browser hung. In another window, I determined that the post had been successful, so I hit the STOP button in the original window. If I had done a RELOAD, it probably would have posted a second time.It looks as if your post was successful as Message 79, but hung in the way I described. And now you have also an empty Message 80 in that thread.I'm still guessing that this is a hung lock. Maybe there is a hung process somewhere that needs killing by someone with root access to the server.

On a WinXP box, you can use:

Commenting here, to avoid going off topic in referenced threadIn Message 125 arachnophilia said: peer review is imperfect, as is any other human endeavour.No need to lose faith. Just learn to recognize the limitations. Treat peer review as a first filter. You then have to apply your own second filter.

I agree it's poor. Unfortunately, peer reviewers are often unpaid volunteers who have other demands on their time. It's hard to avoid that, if you want the best people serving as referees.

You could try sending him email

You failed to close the quote on your "href=".I can try fixing it.

I recommend using the "Preview" button, and taking a good look at your message before you submit. You might miss an occasional typo, but you will usually stop the catastrophes before they occur.

---

What shall it profit a nation if it gain the whole world, yet lose its own soul.
(paraphrasing Mark 8:36)

In my real life, I supervise departmental unix computers (computer science department). I have occasionally suspended a student as a way of getting that student's attention so that he/she will have a short discussion.My best guess is that Admin was attempting to get Brian's attention, with respect to opening an email dialog. At least that's what the evidence suggests to me.

A couple of members have made a considered decision to not capitalize.I personally disagree with them. I have the strange idea that the purpose of posting messages is to communicate, and that adhering to standards, such as capitalization, significantly enhances communication.

---

Regime change in Washington - midterm elections, Nov 7