Is it risky to complain on an employee satisfaction survey?

Question: I've been told that it is never good to complain on an employee satisfaction survey--even if partly anonymous. The reasoning is that HR may attempt to rectify the situation, which means attention will be focused on my boss, who will then be suspicious and perhaps even guess correctly that the "complainer" is me.
Comment: I think it depends a lot on the company culture.
Comment: @RhysW - if the problem is a boss problem, then HR's attempt to fix might be some kind of training for said boss. If the boss doesn't like that, he/she/it may take it out on whichever employee he thinks complained.
Comment: @MichaelKohne - Who wants to go through all that? (harrassment reporting) And, who do you think they'll side with, the peon or the boss?
Comment: Don't complain, suggest improvements.
Answer: Be honest, balanced and fair. Offer constructive criticism/feedback, including offering possible solutions instead of just complaining about problems. Give praise for things that are done well in addition to pointing out areas for improvement.
If no one brings issues to the attention of people who can get them resolved, they will only get worse. Management should welcome constructive feedback and use it to make the company a better place to work.
If you truly fear retribution, file a more anonymous addendum to the survey by typing, printing & hand-delivering a statement in an unmarked envelope, after hours. But if someone is really bent on figuring out who submitted it, they could probably figure it out from your writing style if they know you well enough.
Answer: Yes it is risky to complain. Complaining is essentially a way of saying 'I don't like this, fix it' which is always risky.
What you DO want to do however, is provide feedback. Feedback says

I don't like XXX because of YYY though i think we could improve this
  issue by doing ZZZ

This is much more diplomatic and constructive. Remembering that this is your workplace you want it to be comfortable and you want it to help you be efficient in your job, it is in your best interests to try to improve it but Always try to provide feedback constructively, it shows that you view this as an issue and that it is impeding you to the point where you have come up with a solution.
This also opens the door right up for them to say,

Right, here is a potential solution we have been given, do we think
  this is right?

In my experience you should provide fair feedback, if you think they are doing something right, say so, if you think they are doing something wrong, also say so, your opinion does matter in a work environment, they are even trying to encourage your opinions out of you with these surveys so by all means give that feedback!
Remember to be positive about it, negativity leads to conflict more often than not, in my experience at least.
Answer: I build a employee survey platform. The short answer is maybe.
Our platform is completely confidential. We do technically know who you are. This is for the purposes of analytics - plus making sure you only respond once.
We don't reveal any individual answers. All data is presented in aggregate to preserve confidentiality. Comments aren't attributed.
This doesn't not protect you from:
1. Revealing your identity by making it obvious from your comments.
2. Revealing your identity by doing something outright illegal or inflammatory - e.g. a direct threat of violence.
This would be the norm at most professional survey vendors. If you have any questions over the confidentiality, the simplest approach is to ask - will I be identified? This should have been communicated (or provided). At the very least you should be provided with details on how to ask.
Answer: While some of this has to do with the corporate culture, your bosses personality and whether you believe they are simply going through the motions or not as others have discussed, some of it depends on the nature of the complaint. (Note most HR organizations do try to keep the surveys annonymous, but by the nature of identifying the demographic information some people are less annonymous that others - I am the only female over 55 in my department for instance)
In my experience it is rare for anyone to get into trouble with the numeric ratings for a department or working group(rate the HR department on a ascale of 1-5) even when they rate very low. Where you need to be careful is on the questions (or in your comments) where the items are easily personally identifiable. For instance if you say there is a lot of sexual harrasmenet in your department and you are the only woman in the department, it will be obvious who said that. In this case you need to treat the questions just as if you were reporting an issue in person. If you would go to HR with this issue (or have done so), then reporting it on the survey will work for you. If you would be afraid to report the issue in person and your answer will be readily identifiable to you, then don't bring it up on the employee survey.
If you want to make comments that are negative and specifically about a person (not just a general dislike of the current health insurance for instance), do not make them unless you would feel comfortable bringing them to your boss in person.  And if you would feel comfortable talking to your boss in person, why haven't you? That is usually a better way to get issues resolved than in an annonymous survey.
I would concentrate my negative feedback to organizational entitites outside my own and to things which affect the organization as a whole such as benefits, payraises, etc. Keep specifics about a specific person or personal situation to yourself and handle through other channels in the workplace if you feel you must.
Comment: Totally agree with this, and don't want to write my own answer.  I'll only add the somewhat cynical idea that if you ask for help in an organizational area, be prepared for "help" that isn't so helpful.  In a perfect world, management would take good action and really make an impact in areas that are raised as issues.  But in reality, management's idea of "help" and yours may make you less happy.  This is a good case for being constructive - if the only alternatives you think of to the currrent situation are worse, is it really so bad?
Comment: typos gone awry!!!  But clearly that is what we should be.
Comment: What?!  I never realized you and I both fit the female demongraphic!!  Weird.  I see some of the guys coming up the reputation stack, but how interesting that the first two top posters were both women on a tech-heavy site...
Comment: Giggling at the use of the term female demongraphic!
Answer: I feel compelled to answer this question (even though I realize it's old) because Googling "anonymous employee satisfaction survey" is what brought me to this site.  I am VERY surprised that I haven't seen any honest answers from management anywhere on the internet.
I am employed at a company that assures us our surveys are anonymous.When I first started working at the company,we could take the survey from any computer, using a common internet link.  Now we are told that we are identified, "but only to the independent consultants who perform the survey," and are repeatedly told the answers are not connected to individual employees.
HOWEVER, one of my managers SHOWED us his copy of the results, and every answer was linked to a specific employee without use of the employees name.  So much information was given about each employee that the manager could easily identify which employee gave which answer.  For instance, an employee would be described as "a 42 year old female in XYZ department who has been employed by the company for 17 years and has been in her job title of Unit Secretary for 3 years and works on day shift."
The company pretends to be upfront with us by reminding us that any freeform answers we write out (as opposed to multiple choice answers) may be tied to us if the subject is something we've discussed with our supervisors in the past.  However, the truth is that EVERY SINGLE ANSWER on the survey is directly linked to each individual employee so that the manager can identify which employee gave what answer to every single question.
In other words, there is NO anonymity, NO confidentiality. The above answer stating that employees should complete the surveys as if their supervisors were looking over their shoulders is a correct one.  So why do employers bother?  In my industry, apparently accreditation is partially based on employee engagement, so the company has a vested interest in both participation rates and "nice" answers.
Comment: As others have already said, there is some risk of confidentiality not being honored. You need to understand your own company's culture to judge the size of that risk. And as others have noted, even in an open survey there are ways of phrasing issues that make them easier to accept and act upon rather than resent or dismiss. As it happens, I do trust my own employer in this regard, but --just as here! -- discuss how things could be made better, rather than just venting your feelings. If in doubt: write it, set it aside, reread a few days later, then decide whether to send, edit, or discard.
Answer: It all depends on how the survey results are used by the HR/employer.
In case you have participated in earlier surveys and have seen some of the comments/suggestions from employees are indeed acted upon by the management, then you can be honest and give a fair feedback. In case you are new to this organization, you might know if this happens from offline discussions with others in your organization on how much responding to these surveys matter.
If this is just one of the things from HR, just to show that they do seek feedback from employees, but historically they have never taken any actions, then it does not matter.
But I would like to caution you, since the survey is not completely anonymous, there might be a risk involved if your inputs are some what skewed from the others and if your inputs indicate something which says that all is not well and you are unsatisfied. The results could be drilled down by HR/your manager and your manager could be able to find out what/whose inputs has made the score come down (if there is a score and your manager is being evaluated using this score).
So it is better to give constructive feedback and ensure that any feedback on issues which are personal to you is not mentioned in your responses. Please be as generic as possible.
Answer: I am sure it is different from place to place.  I had one bad experience a couple of years ago when working at a company that I first considered a results driven meritocracy until they hired a manager from outside who was nearly 60 years old, old school, and forcing conformism and military-style drills on everyone.  They handed out something like team effectiveness surveys with questions such as "How do you rate communication style" and "How effective is the workflow management" etc. to which I gave my objective assessments, not personal complaints.  The survey was communicated via email to HR and I was under the impression it would be anonymous, as much as the small environment allows.  Next team meeting, the authocratic manager brought everyone's survey sheet printed out with the names on them and laid them on the table like cards in a poker game, hinting at the correlation between the survey feedback and the person's committment to the infalliibility of the team supervision, i.e. dogmatic and unquestioned obedience.  Next month, I was laid off.
YMMV -- and hopefully does from mine
Answer: It all depends on the size of the team and whether you've publicly voiced your concerns before. If your boss manages a large team and you feel there's little chance of you being singled out, you should leave the feedback. But make sure they're using a third-party tool that protects your anonymity. If they collect the feedback on their own servers, they can potentially tie it back to you.
Incogneato (a company I am involved with) is one tool many companies are using to collect anonymous feedback (you can even respond and have a conversation anonymously),


Would you go about marketing a subscription based site differently?

Question: Do you think that subscription based sites, that offer software as a service model, should be marketed differently than a content specific site.  Beyond contacting bloggers, blogging yourself, and going to trade shows and events, how would you directly engage a paying client base to "spread the word" beyond affiliate marketing stuff?
Comment: This probably belongs on onstartups.com
Answer: If you have some people already using your software, get them to do a testimonial for you. how did it help them? what was there problem? how was your product better than the others?
Its just a small tip but It works especially well if you have some well known clients you can stick the logo of on your site.
Answer: I don't think it would be that much different really. I would still have a on-topic blog and use that to help engage others in the domain - so it's still a content site in that respect.
To get customers to spread the word you'd have to follow Seth Godin's advice: do something remarkable.  You don't have to do something unique but you do have to do something that makes people take notice and want to tell their friends about it.
Answer: I'd be sure to offer free trials/demos so people can see the value first hand. Create videos of how to solve common pain points quickly by using your software.


SOUND OF HEAVEN

Question: Hey guys. I am currently working on a film. Its still in its pre-production stage. There's a scene in which the protagonist is in an empty room, which HE thinks is HEAVEN. The script mentions that the room has a particular tone to it which is obviously diffrent from that in a normal room. The first sound that came to my head was a drone sound. I also tried layering the sound of the drone and the Didgeridoo and  play around with the pitch. Also tried worldizing it by taking it out in a large empty basement and re- record it to get the natural reverb to it.
So my question here is are there any more suggestions i could get from you all? May be some other approach i might use to get the right sound?
Thank You.
Answer: This is a perfect opportunity to get inside your protagonists head and use sound to tell the story more effectively. I imagine we all have a different perception of what heaven sounds like...why not try to nail your protagonists POV. This was well done in the movie Contact for example.
My perception of the sound of heaven might include a collage of my favorite music, the sound of my wife's voice, the ambience from my favorite geographic spots on Earth, my mother singing etc..
Answer: Since its something in his head, I would start by trying going in the completely other direction, then big.
You could try an approach with a deadening treatment to the voice and objects surrounding him. (Like how a voice sounds like in an anechoic chamber).
Sounds fun.
Best wishes,
Mikkel
Answer: what does your character consider to be "heaven"?
Answer: A good afterlife sound would be like the high-pitched, whining noise that you sometimes hear made by the plumbing in old houses, flophouse-type hotels etc.
Answer: You mention that he "thinks" it's heaven. I haven't read the script, but if's its not, you could do a blend between reality and dream. Part beautiful, or what he'd think is heaven, with a hint of truth in the distance.
A fairly extreme TEST could be a large walk in refrigerator. One with a fairly quiet motor / AC, but with that cold 'wispy' air sound.. Pitch it up high and maybe dull the attack, with verb. This has made some interesting sounds for me personally.

SOUND OF HEAVEN


Can I serve as a reference for someone applying to fill my position?

Question: I work as an administrator at a university and will soon be resigning from my position (the job has already been posted). A student who I formerly supervised is applying for my position and has asked if I would serve as a reference. Is there a conflict of interest in doing so? I am not part of the hiring committee and, while I don't think this student has enough experience to be called in for an interview, I would gladly speak to my experience as her former employer if she was offered the job.
Comment: Thank you, everyone, for your input here. This has been very helpful in thinking through this situation; I am moving forward with the student listing me as a reference. My main concern was that my being listed as a reference might influence the search committee, but that is out of my hands.
Answer: There's no conflict in my mind, and given how hard hiring can be, I would value your input if I were on the hiring committee.
Answer: I would say that when your student applies he or she should have sufficient external references and add you in addition to that. Your opinion, as an insider will be much valued by the hiring committee as indicated by others, but you may be biased. I think a conflict of interest may be a bit exaggerated, it's just a possible bias.
Answer: If there were to be a conflict of interest for anything, that she was your (PhD?) student would be the first concern.  (Your title indicates your main concern is otherwise.)
Indeed, advisors are not often allowed as reviewers for things like grants and tenure applications, but it looks more strange than not for an advisor (at least for recent PhDs) not to be a reference for job applications.  That you have held this position makes you even more natural for a reference.
Comment: Note that, in business, "conflicts of interest" typically just need to be disclosed so additional relationships are public.  From this point of view, the only sort of unethical conflict of interect would be if both of you tried to hide your student-advisor relationship, which would make no sense.
Answer: I think there is a slight conflict of interest to the disadvantage of the applicant. You might be more negative in a reference addressed to your own employer (to whom you may feel a duty to help as much as possible with their hiring process), than you would be in a reference addressed to a perfect stranger (to whom you only owe a general duty not to defraud them).
People recommend other people to their employers all the time, so this is something the hiring committee should be able to deal with. However, if you plan to actually say anything negative about the candidate in your reference ("I don't think this candidate has the experience to be interviewed for the role, let alone hired"), then you should make sure that the candidate fully understands the situation before choosing to use you as a reference. They might have other referees they'd prefer to use in that case.
As Kimball says in a comment, the existence of this conflict of interest isn't an ethical problem provided all parties understand it. The hiring committee knows your job and expects to take account of your relationship to the applicant when considering a reference, so no problem there. The student knows your job, so the only risk is if they don't appreciate the implications of that. After that, if either of them thinks you're too conflicted to use as a reference then they won't ask you for one, you don't need to recuse yourself.
Answer:
I don't think this student has enough experience to be called in for an interview

You would be doing the student a disservice by not gently communicating this to her.  There's no point in setting her up for disappointment.
If she wishes to apply, in order to gain more experience with interviewing -- yes, please supply a polite recommendation.
Make sure you offer (to the student) to write recommendation letters for any other positions she may apply to.
Comment: The student has asked if I would serve as a reference (no letter required). Knowing the hiring process at my institution, I would only be called if she were being offered the job. If writing a letter, I would certainly have a conversation about a student's level of experience if I did not think he/she was qualified (as you suggest). In this case, I see it as good practice for her to be applying for professional positions in our field (the arts) and, considering I am not on the hiring committee, she very well could be called in to interview depending on the pool of applicants.
Comment: @dclarke, let's think it through, with sort of a flow chart in mind.  If she gets offered the job (no matter how unlikely you think that is), what will you do?
Answer: This problem is not specific to Academia. This is quite typical in Industry as well.
The hiring committee has

on the one hand detailed information about the capacities of one applicant (your ex-student) - initially to her disadvantage (not enough experience)
on the other hand a bunch of candidates with more or less boosted CVs.

I said initially to her disadvantage because if the hiring committee is not experienced in such positions (and they may not be), some hand-waving candidate with better experience (on the paper) will win.
Now, if all candidates are the same she will definitely have an advantage because both her weaknesses and strengths are tangible.
I would talk to her about her experience to prepare her for disappointment if she is not chosen. I would also send a recommendation letter to the committee (not via her) to explain her strengths and weaknesses. It will certainly be a candidate which will stand out (this is the bit about "conflict of interest") but having hired a lot I always valued inside information from someone who has actually worked with a candidate.


Does LastPass' multi-device functionality significantly compromise its security?

Question: I think LastPass is a great consumer product because it allows users to conveniently utilize unique strong passwords for each site they use it with. It does encryption locally, but the fact that I can set it up on one computer/device and then use it on another computer/device seems to indicate that there must be some security trade-off for its consumer-friendliness. For example, the salt element of the password derivation algorithm presumably must reside on their server rather than on my own computer/device. Is my understanding correct? (Pardon me if anything I've said is uninformed, I'm not a cryptographer).
Answer: If you're looking to compare a cloud service like LastPass to a local application such as KeePass, then yes, there is a security tradeoff.
With an application such as KeePass, where you have full control over the storage of your password database (presuming you're not putting it up on DropBox or something), the only attack surface you have to worry about is your own system and the devices on which your password database is stored.  Generally speaking, these are not likely to be subject to targeted attacks (or, as the media likes to call them, APTs).  As long as you follow regular security best practices on your system (apply software updates, use antivirus, keep a properly configured firewall and/or router between you and the Internet, etc.), your password database is probably safe from Internet-based threats.
Note that I am not comparing local threats (involving physical access) here, because this is something that affects both options pretty much equally - you must have a local copy of your password database somewhere in order to use it, so you will be equally vulnerable to physical threats regardless of whether you use a cloud-based or local-only solution.  That is not to say these systems are especially weak against local threats - protecting the database with a strong password and encryption algorithm largely mitigates this - but that one is not likely to be much better than the other in such scenarios.
In the case of LastPass and other cloud-based password managers, the attack surfaces and associated threats are much larger.  Their systems are always on, and are very high-profile and high-value targets.  If someone ever totally pwns LastPass, there's no telling what sort of systems they might find access to.  While I'm sure they take their site security very seriously, they are likely subject to just as many attacks as any of the other user-trusted services that have been hacked recently.  As the saying goes, it's not a question of if they will be hacked - just a matter of when.  On top of that, you still have to worry about the security of your own system(s) which synchronize with LastPass.
Are LastPass or other clould-based solutions a tradeoff of security for usability, compared to locally-managed options such as KeePass?  Absolutely.  Is it worth it?  That's for you to decide.

EDIT:  To clarify on the issue of what is stored on LastPass' server...
They don't just store data for hashing/salting your master password on their server.  Though that is an important, key piece of information to be worried about, the real concern should be that they need to store everything that you want synchronized between your devices on their systems.  That is, if someone ever does hack LastPass and cracks your master password from their database, they will be able to access all passwords and other details that you have synchronizing between your devices without ever having to actually touch your own devices.
With a locally stored database, like KeePass uses, you don't have to worry so much about such attacks.  That is not to say it would be impossible for someone to break into your KeePass database over the Internet.  It's just much less likely they will be trying to, and it is a much easier threat for you to mitigate yourself.  (Besides, if an attacker across the Internet can crack open your KeePass database - and you use the same system to log into the things for which the database holds passwords - you're probably pwned enough already that it wouldn't matter anyway.)
Comment: Thanks. How about the specific security issue I asked about?
Comment: @Dan I'm not sure what part of your question is left unanswered.  Could you clarify?
Comment: Sorry, I guess you did in fact answer, my mistake. Thank you kindly. :)
Answer: Against a one-time compromise of their database, LastPass is safer than losers like LinkedIn because they use an appropriate password hash (PBKDF2).  This means each password attempt has a certain cost in CPU time, e.g. 1 second on a certain CPU.  (They actually let you tune this cost yourself).  It would then take roughly 5 CPU-days to guess a 20-character "fully random english" passphrase... and 1.5 CPU-years to guess a 30-character one.
If I understand their system correctly, a persistent compromise of LastPass would be no worse.  Which is nice.
Source: http://helpdesk.lastpass.com/security-options/password-iterations-pbkdf2/
If the alternative is to use the same password across a large number of sites, in order to have a hope of remembering it, then LastPass is much better.  At least one of those sites will be as clueless as LinkedIn or Blizzard, and can be expected to leak the password at some point.
Answer: Using LastPass across multiple devices doesn't necessarily make it weaker, although you do not have access to some two-factor authentication methods with some devices. For example, I can't (easily) use my yubikey with my phone. However, there are some countermeasures that help, such as the ability to restrict login only from certain mobile devices or trusted computers.
As for salts, they state that they use a 256-bit salt on the server as well as client-side salts that are stored locally, although they don't clearly state how those are synchronized across devices. Most likely each device has it's own local salt. This could easily be verified as the client side code is all visible in javascript.
Furthermore, as for PBKDF2, they perform a number of rounds locally (using PBKDF2 and SHA256) before sending the hash to the server, where more rounds are performed on the server side. You could argue that the process of splitting this up could make the encryption stronger than local-only solutions. In other words, if someone compromised either your local database or their master database, there would be elements of the hash (for example, the salt or the derived hash of the password) that would not be available. In the case of a server compromise, they would not know the salts or the number of rounds used to create the SHA256 hash sent to the server.
Comment: Looking in to this a bit more, it appears that the client-side salt is actually SHA256(username+password). Here is a page that reveals quite a bit about how the client-side encryption works: https://lastpass.com/js/enc.php
Answer:
For example, the salt element of the password derivation algorithm presumably must reside on their server rather than on my own computer/device

LastPass uses PBKDF2 with SHA-256 for their password hashing. Your data key is calculated as follows:
DK = sha256("firstname.lastname@example.com" + password)

This is not sent directly to LastPass, it is hashed first:
key = sha256(DK + password)

and they store this value hashed with a salt on their server:
stored_value = sha256(key + 256 bit salt)

See here for further details on how LastPass secures your data.
The trade-off from a password manager that is local only, such as KeePass is that your data is "in the cloud" rather than on your local machine only. However, many people like to have portability so they will put their KeePass database on Dropbox. However, the difference here is that when you unlock your password database you do not give your key to Dropbox.
With LastPass, you give your key to the local LastPass application that stretches and hashes it and then sends it to the LastPass server. LastPass also offer a browser extension and allow you to log into the website directly. In each case the hash is calculated in the same way. Now, if LastPass was compromised in such a way that they could push out some new client-side code to send the unhashed password to the attacker instead, this is a type of attack that would be possible on LastPass but not KeePass. The risk of such an attack is very low, assuming LastPass have a secure, monitored network with intrusion detection systems in place. This is your risk to judge when using the software, which is the price you pay for convenience.
As you say in your question, having your database synced on multiple devices increases the risk that they are subject to attack. Having a strong key for your account is critical to the security of your database. The mobile app also allows you to remain logged in, and to secure the app from access via a PIN or fingerprint. Of course this is a lower security level than that of your master password in terms of access, however there is also less chance of someone else seeing you type your master password when out in public. The fingerprint option also means that if someone steals your phone they cannot enter any PIN. They would need to execute a memory attack on the phone to read your database, and whether that is feasible or not is unknown.
Also, having the application installed on many devices increases the chance of malware compromising your password or the database itself. You can protect against any password sniffing by using a Yubikey or other two factor authentication tool, such as Google Authenticator. LastPass also allow you to protect your offline databases with the Yubikey, by encrypting the local version with the public identifier as well as your password.
In my opinion LastPass offer good security with reasonable convenience. For most end users, convenience is key (see what I did there?) when using a security product. I think there's more chance of getting regular users on board with security with the extra convenience of accessing their password from anywhere, rather than only allowing access from their main PC (or memory stick they may forget, or cloud that they may never be bothered to setup). For others, the extra risk of their vault being held by a third party is unacceptable and will go down the KeePass route.
Comment: "if LastPass was compromised in such a way that they could push out some new client-side code to send the unhashed password to the attacker instead, this is a type of attack that would be possible on LastPass but not KeePass"   Unfortunately incorrect.   KeePass establishes an outbound network connection to check for new versions, a compromised client could exfiltrate secrets via that connection that normally carries no secrets just as easily as a compromised LastPass could reveal secrets over a connection that normally carries only a hash of the secrets.


Can we use mongodb store state?

Question: I read chainbase and fork database, I understood chainbase which stores user state and fork database which stores blocks. So Can I use mongodb to store user state and ignore chainbase? If it can, we do not more RAM, right?
Answer: Well, it depends.
But you've already got the right path to reduce RAM usage.
The first thing is whether the user state you mention is intend to be stored on the blockchain or not, fully or partly?
What is the difference?
To be simplified:

on chain data is what in the RAM. Smart contract can interact with the on chain data. It is also "protected" by the blockchain.
off chain data is what not stored on the blockchain. Many decentralized exchange are doing off chain matching. They may have an off chain database for the task. As it is not on the blockchain, when a success match send back to blockchain, a validation process should involved.

So you will need to clearly split the user state, decide which part must put into chainbase and which part can be put into off chain mongodb. Cryptography algorithms may help you reduce the ram usage like moving data off chain and protect them with their hash on chain.
Comment: Thank @twksos, I am not clear with your comment: " **Cryptography algorithms may help you reduce the ram usage like moving data off chain and protect them with their hash on chain. ** ". Please kindly explain it. Anyway, thank you very much, I will determine information of state base on your comment

Can we use mongodb store state?


How far down should sheetrock come in a shower tub installation?

Question: How far down should sheetrock come in a shower/ tub installation?
Answer: Ideally, drywall should be in the next room, or at least around the corner. Tile backer board (not green drywall - cement-based products in 3x5 sheets) is much better for the job. If you think you simply can't do that, stop the drywall at the top of the tub surround or shower enclosure and switch to backer board from there down. And use moisture-resistant drywall, at least.
Comment: This depends.  Some show systems call for installation into sheetrock.  I always regard the bottom foot if I do it.  I understand why because if you feel the walls in a plastic system over backerboard if sounds/feels like you are in a tin can.
Answer: It should (be backer-board) rest on the flange, like this picture:

Picture says it all, click here if you want to read more words.
Answer: I have seen many tub/showers where the tile ends a few inches above the shower spout and the last foot or two is drywall and I've never seen a problem with that. But in my bathroom renovations I use backer board and tile up to the ceiling. I feel comfortable using regular drywall on the ceiling as long as you have good ventilation.
Answer: You can bring sheetrock right down to the flange just like in the picture as long as you aren't going to tile over it.
I would suggest using sheetrock over backer board on surfaces which you intend to paint. Backer board has a rough surface and is difficult to get a good result from painting which is why many installers just run tile right to the ceiling.
I also have a few other suggestions. First thing is that you should install a vapor barrier behind the whole area behind the tub/shower right up to the ceiling. This will help prevent moisture from propagating through the sheetrock and into the wall cavity behind it. This will also help prevent the growth of mold inside the wall.
You definitely need to use sheetrock that is rated for moisture. It is either colored green or blue. The blue board is a bit better since it doesn't have paper on the outside of it and is mold resistant.
Another thing which is really is a rookie mistake is to use paper tape on the seams. Paper tape gets water logged over time and begins to peel. It also is where mold loves to grow because they feed off of the organic compounds in the paper. The proper tape to use in wet areas is made of a plastic webbing. They sell it at most home stores and it should be located in the same area.
You should also be sure to countersink the heads of the drywall screws deep enough so you can get a thick coat of compound over them, otherwise they will rust. I would also suggest using a good primer and paint which is specific to kitchen and bathrooms.


Difference between Riba and Rent

Question: As stated in the title the question is about the difference between accepting riba and accepting rent. according to my understanding riba is when you give loan of some commodity to a person and during payback you accept some extra amount for providing the service. It seems the act of giving rent is also essentially the same. More clearly practicing riba is like renting the particular commodity. Please someone clarify me about this.
Comment: @servantofWiser No actually my doubt is in the approach how today's scholars define riba. In my small understanding if riba is meant to be only "interest" not "usury" in that case it may rule out the basic principle of renting. And renting is considered to be a fair trade ("Allah has permitted trade but forbidden riba") . I can not come out of this dilemma.
Comment: the concept of money as we understand today for the was not there during our prophet's (s.a.w.) time. That's why I used the word "commodities". In the hadiths riba is also related to loan of dates and barley and few other commodities. I can give you links if you want. Since riba is forbidden that implies that I can not give my money to someone as an object "rented" by someone for his personal use if I claim that I will charge you for the usage. That makes rent partially forbidden too. Doesn't it?
Comment: Yeah, plz give those links we would highly appreciate it. And also to notify users who answered, try commenting below their answers, else they won't be knowing you commented.
Comment: @servantofWiser here it goes.....http://www.ibrahimm.com/Islamic%20Banking/RIBA%20IN%20HADITH.htm .......
Comment: **From Abu Burdah ibn Abi Musa : I came to Madinah and met 'Abdallah ibn Salam who said, "You live in a country where riba is rampant; hence if anyone owes you something and presents you with a load of hay, or a load of barley, or a rope of straw, do not accept it for it is riba."**, is this your doubt?
Comment: Here it is [Is Riba usury or interest?](http://www.paklink.biz/articles/riba.html)
Comment: Even 0.1 % interest rate is not allowed as it is excess than what we gave. [Riba](http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/index.php?page=articles&id=157155)
Comment: link given by @servant-of-Wiser does not work. it in archive: https://web.archive.org/web/20180911082150/http://www.paklink.biz/articles/riba.html
Answer: The basic difference Riba and rent is that ...
In the case of Riba, the commodity which you were talking about is money, and in the case of rent, the commodity is property.
So, profit obtained by renting property is allowed in Islam as opposed to earning profit by renting money, which is lending and earning interest.
Hence they're not the same.
May the creator guide us all.
Comment: No actually my doubt is in the approach how today's scholars define riba. In my small understanding if riba is meant to be only "interest" not "usury" in that case it may rule out the basic principle of renting. And renting is considered to be a fair trade ("Allah has permitted trade but forbidden riba") . I can not come out of this dilemma.
Comment: @SKASFAQHOSSAIN you are right, the terms do have a difference regarding meaning. But to conclude, both usury and interest have the same concept of excess money, making them haraam. dont forget, you cant translate a word from the quran like that and expect to keep the same meaning, which is why there is so much dispute in today's society between scholars.
Comment: Riba is not only about money  that I mentioned in the comment section just below the question and I also gave references in support of that. and when it is not only about money, at that scenario I also stated an instance in that comment section where the meanings of both the words coincide. For me it didn't seem black and white.
Answer: I'd like to answer your question using a few Hadiths:

It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "The Messenger of Allah said:
  'Gold for gold, weight for weight, like for like; and silver for
  silver, weight for weight, like for like. Whoever gives more or takes
  more has engaged in Riba." Sunan an-Nasa'i 4569

It is considered Riba when two identical items are being exchanged over a period of time for unequal quantity or weight.

Narrated Ibn Shihab: From Malik bin Aws bin Hadathan that he said: "I
  once said: 'Who can change some Dirham?' So Talhah bin 'Ubaidullah -
  and he was with 'Umar bin Al-Khattab - said: "Leave your gold with us,
  then return to us when our servant comes and we will give you your
  silver." 'Umar bin Al-Khattab said: "No! By Allah! Either give him his
  silver or return his gold to him. Indeed the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)
  said: 'Silver for gold is Riba, except for hand to hand; and wheat for
  wheat is Riba except for hand to hand; and barley for barley is Riba
  except hand to hand; and dried-dates for dried-dates is Riba except
  for hand to hand.'"
[Abu 'Eisa said:] This Hadith is Hasan Sahih. This is acted upon
  according to the people of knowledge. And the meaning of Ha' Wa Ha' is
  hand to hand. Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1243

Again we see that incase of similar items wheat, barley, dates if they are not exchanged simultaneously it is considered riba. 1400 years back, silver and gold were considered currency. Hence, even though physically different they are considered identical (group as money) and if loaned should be return in the same quantity to avoid it being considered Riba.

Usmah bin Zaid Narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: "There is no
  Riba except in credit.' Sunan an-Nasa'i 4580

Above Hadith again stress on the time period.

Narrated Abu Sa`id al-Khudri:
Once Bilal brought Barni (i.e. a kind of dates) to the Prophet (ﷺ) and
  the Prophet (ﷺ) asked him, "From where have you brought these?" Bilal
  replied, "I had some inferior type of dates and exchanged two Sas of
  it for one Sa of Barni dates in order to give it to the Prophet; to
  eat." Thereupon the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Beware! Beware! This is
  definitely Riba (usury)! This is definitely Riba (Usury)! Don't do so,
  but if you want to buy (a superior kind of dates) sell the inferior
  dates for money and then buy the superior kind of dates with that
  money." Sahih al-Bukhari 2312

The above Hadith again displays how transactions may involve riba and how to avoid them.
W.r.t renting housing, it was an acceptable practice during the Prophet's time too (Note: Renting of cultivable land is another issue not covered by below Hadiths)
Hadith 1:

Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Said ibn
  al-Musayyab was asked who was obliged to pay the rent for a woman
  whose husband divorced her while she was in a leased house. Said ibn
  al-Musayyab said, "Her husband is obliged to pay it." Someone asked,
  "what if her husband does not have it?" He said, "Then she must pay
  it." Someone asked, "And if she does not have it?" He said, "Then the
  Amir must pay it." -  Muwatta Malik

Hadith 2:

It was narrated that 'Alqamah bin Nadlah said: "The Messenger of Allah
  (ﷺ), Abu Bakr and 'Umar died, and the houses in Makkah were still
  called free. Whoever needed to, lived there, and whoever had no need
  of them allowed others to live there (without asking for rent)."
  Sunan Ibn Majah - Please note this Hadith is considered Daif but
  shows renting was a common practice.
Answer: No, they are not same.
Riba means when you give loan to someone,then he had to pay back added amount of the pay (based on certain decided percentage), like if he pay in 1 year, he will have to pay 10% more back, if after 2 years, then 25% and so on..
In case of rent, you do not give any money. You take small amount of money of usage of commodity needs, like house, car, bike etc, which is allowed in islam. so Riba is taking more money back on money (haram) rent, getting fixed amount of money on defined intervals of  time on usage of certain commodity things.
Comment: @SKASFAQHOSSAIN now matter how small the interest rate is, charging interest for lending money is Riba and hence not allowed.
Comment: Thnx brother  First of all  I actually meant simple interest (since assuming compound one it is clearly different than others where the percentage of increase is very small say 0.1%. Will then it be called riba? the concept of money as we understand today for the  was not there during our prophet's (s.a.w.) time. That's why I used the word "commodities". In the hadiths riba is also related to loan of dates and barley and few other commodities. I can give you links if you want.
Comment: Using the analysis used in your second passage I can conclude Since riba is forbidden that implies that I can not give my money to someone as an object "rented" by someone for his personal use if I claim that I will charge you for the usage. That makes rent partially forbidden too. Doesn't it? The factor that is important here is that you can substitute "money" with any consumable commodity or a service that is provided by some commodity.
Comment: sorry brother I made few typos in the first comment. what I asked in the first line of that comment is what happens If I consider a simple interest with very low increase rate say 0.1%. Will then it called be riba?
Answer: You are quite correct to point out the apparent contradiction. When one reads the Koranic references to riba, particularly al-Baqarah 275-280, there is usually a reference to justice, equity, charity, or exploitation (ie "redoubling"). Riba embodies an element of unfairness, and this is consistent with the emphasis in Islam on social justice. An interest charge representing a reasonable amount for time value, illiquidity, and credit risk cannot be regarded as exploitation.
The mistake is committed by those who ignore the fact that money has time value - an accepted principle of modern finance. Money represents more than a medium of exchange, it represents productive capital (which it can buy and earn a return, such as the rental property in your example).
I know my view is at variance with the conventional approach ( but not all - see the fatwa of Tantawi on bank interest, Al Azhar University), but it would not be the first time the conventional view is wrong.
Comment: Salam and welcome on Islam SE. Please take your time and take our [tour], visit our [help] to learn more about this site.
Answer: Riba can be easily defined as using the people in the critical time of need ( went the one who is accepting has no choice) to make money,. In the time of the prophet , the clear explanation was loaning money with interest but in the modern time in which we are living there are a lot financial practices which involve riba just like renting a house or and apartment, those people who live in rented property, after a certain time will have paid more money than what is needed to own that property and have to keep paying ,meaning if you invest 120000 in a property and put it to rent for 1000 a month, after 10 year you will get back what you've invested in it and whatever you keep taking from that rent is riba  because in law of fair trade this proprietary that not belong to you anymore as you were paid back of what you've invested, renting generates more interest in long term than loaning,
Comment: This seems to be based on the theory that a person is never allowed to use their own property to make a profit, which as far as I know has absolutely no Islamic basis. You would do well to support this answer with actual evidence.
Comment: You can make profit with your property by selling it if you no longer need otherwise you can give it out , and if the one who is buying can not afford the price because it's high the you can make a payment method without interest where but it's unfair to try to keep that as your property while making profit from it that means that you intentionally invested your money in that in order to generate more in long term , that means someone has to work for you because you own his house for ever
Answer: I totally agree with above answer renting (land/property) is more Haram than to put money in a building society account/bank account. The interest you get from the bank or building society is minimal barely covering the price of inflation the value of your money when put in the bank is going down so in actual fact you get less than what you are originally putting in.
To be honest, the people who think renting property (land/house) or land are often dirty rich profiting on the misery of the poor.  The landlords hold onto the assets for hundreds of years exploiting the poor who are trapped into poverty.  These people circumvent the rules to their own advantage in the name of religion.  It is happening in Pakistan and most of the Muslim world as corrupt Mullah's are landonwers too.

Difference between Riba and Rent


MSI Installer Setup Project :Error 1001.An exception occured in the OnBeforeInstall Event handler

Question: I have a C# Windows Forms application and I have added a setup project to its solution to create MSI Installer.
I would like to provide some custom error messages to the end users when they're installing the software but it's showing
Error 1001. An exception occurred in the OnBeforeInstall Event Handler.

on rollback.
Could you please help me: how to implement custom error messages to the end user in this case?
Answer: Instead of checking conditions in OnBeforeInstall Event Handler, try putting that code inside
Install Event Handler
and for getting out of installation process on failure of your custom condition/check do:
throw new InstallException("Custom Message.");

This will result in : Error 1001.Custom Message.
Another approach would be using Orca with your msi to edit the built-in messages.


How can I make a sound wave effect on a "wall" of cubes through animation nodes?

Question: I want to make an effect of a wall of hexagons (just cubes) move in and out at different points simultaneously, almost like if it had an ocean modifier, or could textrue displacement on a plane, but i want the objects to be individual. doing this with the particle system can be annoying at times to where i have not gotten an acceptable result. I saw a demo on youtube where someone used a random object to push on the cubes with a proximity node in the animation nodes part of blender. I just downloaded animation nodes recently and the nodes he used are no longer in the animation tree, probably because it's been 2 years since the video was made. anyone know how to create the proximity effect with the (2017) current animation node set up?
Comment: Have you seen this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-y8REUdg6I
Comment: I have, but sadly he is using a music node, like the cubes are reacting to sound, i need it to be where i can control the waves, if at least partially. But I appreciate your effort!
Answer: Without using animation nodes you can create a subdivided plane and make it the parent of a cube, then enable dupliverts on the plane to have an instance of the cube at each vertex. As you deform the plane the duplicates will move with each vertex.

To your question of using animation nodes - A Grid Mesh node will give you an array of vertices that you can use for the location of duplicates, while an Object Instancer node will make the duplicates, then use a subprogram to adjust each duplicate. You create a subprogram to be able to repeat a node setup for each item in a list.

Add a loop subprogram - A->Subprograms->Loop
On the Loop Input node add two iterators, one as an object list, the other a vector list.
Add an invoke node with A->Subprograms->My Loop (unless you renamed it), the Invoke Subprogram node will have input sockets for each iterator you have added.
Connect the output of the object instancer to the object list input of the Invoke node.
Connect the vertices from the Grid Mesh to the vector list input of the Invoke node.
Add an Object Transforms Output node.
Enable the location checkboxes to get an input socket for location.
Connect the Loop Input object to the object input of the Transforms Output node.
Connect the vector from the Loop Input to the location input of the Transforms Output node.

Now that you have the duplicates in place you connect in other nodes to alter the location. In this example I use separate and combine vector nodes and add in a number wiggle to alter the z location.

To get the distance between two objects there is a distance node -

Zach Hixson has recently started a tutorial series for animation nodes, you may want to have a look at his playlist
Answer: Sambler's answer works well and is quickly to execute. Here is a slighty different

(unnecessary) complicated method
which allows control using mainly nodes.

Create a cube with dimensions of (1, 1, 1).
Add an animation nodes tree. Add two Integers (X, Y) which we'll use to control the size of the grid (amount of cubes). Multiply the two values to get the needed amount of cubes and connect the result to an Object Instancer, set to the Cube. Add a subprogram taking the Object Instancer List, the X integer and a float (cube size) as input.
In the subprogram control the object's transforms (Object Transforms Output) by connecting the cube size to the objects scale and creating the Location Vector with a Combine Vector node. The X Position is the Modulo of the Index and the X / width parameter. The Y Position is the Result of floor dividing index and x.This is the resulting node setup.

The setup creates a cube grid.

Create a wave controler object.

Create an empty, add a custom property (waveGraph) to it. We'll keyframe this property and create the wave shape with keys in the graph editor.
Add a property to the subprogram for our special controler empty.
Next, get the distance of the empty and each cube in the subprogram with the following nodes.

Disable snapping in the graph editor and key the empty's special property (waveGraph). Get the FCurve from the controler empty. (FCurves from Object > Get List Element > Evaluate FCurve). Set the Evaluate Fcurve node to Absolute Frames. Use the sum of the Vector Distance and the empty's Z Location as the Frame Input. Connect the output of the Evaluate Fcurve node to each cubes Z Positions input.
Now you can shape the cubes by moving the empty and creating the wave shape with the FCurve on it's waveGraph property.

Various easily controled shapes are possible.
Comment: I would keep the grid mesh and get the distance from the empty to each cube, then add the f-curve into z-loc [like this](https://i.stack.imgur.com/hV6Ka.jpg)


error 0xc0000005 when I run TOR

Question: Macbook Pro with a full Microsoft Windows 7 64bits installed but everytime I try to run TOR, it-s unable to go somewhere, and instead I have this bizarre warning:
Unable to run TOR (0xc0000005), and I can't get it past this screeen. And I am also unable to uninstall it. It says the installer stopped working. What could that be? I am fearing it's a harware issue
Comment: This is likely your anti-virus, firewall, trusteer rapport, or similar software that is trying to spy on tor browser and accidentally breaking it.
Answer: So after a little research, I found out that this may be an Windows patch problem.
I'm not sure if this could help, but still try.

Press Win+R, type cmd.exe.
Type this: wusa.exe /uninstall /kb:2859537

This uninstalls the patch that may cause you this trouble.

error 0xc0000005 when I run TOR


Copy app to Rackspace from Different Network

Question: I want to copy files from my system to rackspace (aws), ( there is a way to use scp but i am in my office network, rackspace bought at aws), any package is there ? for this need.
Help me to copy my app to rackspace..
Answer: You can use scp or you could even use rsync.
I often use rsync to connect to a remote machine and send files. You will need to have access to the remote machine (i usually have ssh access via private key).
http://linux.die.net/man/1/rsync
Of course if you're trying to connect to the remote server over SSH (the way rsync does) you will need access to this port (so you'll run into issues if your network blocks access).
You will need to tell us more about your individual setup if this isn't a suitable solution.


If someone has access to VPN and your computer, is there a point of using VPN?

Question: If someone sniffs requests coming from my computer and my VPN's computer, there's no point using VPN, right? Because they can see the time when I made a request to my VPN and they can analyze all of the requests coming from VPN at the specific timeframe and they can guess which request was made by me, correct? That's just theoretically.
Answer: I am going to interpret your question as meaning the attacker can see network traffic from your computer and the from the VPN endpoint.
It depends what you are protecting against.
Generally, the term VPN is used to refer to an encrypted communication channel across an open medium such as the Internet, so if you want to hide the information being communicated, then a VPN is a very good way to protect yourself. Encryption helps this information remain confidential.
If you want to hide the fact that you are communicating, then this won't necessarily help so much, as an attacker with the network visibility you describe can cross-reference requests and responses.
However, if the attacker actually has access to your computer - then you have far bigger problems, as all your communications and data can potentially be viewed, compromised or destroyed.
Answer: As Rory Alsop notes, you're not anonymous to adversaries who see traffic entering and leaving the VPN service, because they can correlate requests from your computer with responses from the Internet site that you're accessing. However, you can mitigate that risk by using a VPN service in another country, and by choosing one whose government is less likely to cooperate with your country's government. And you can mitigate it further by using nested chains of such VPNs. But none of that will help against global adversaries. Against them, your only hope is adding Tor to the mix.
Comment: Tor is just as vulnerable to traffic correlation attacks as VPNs. [This paper](http://www.ohmygodel.com/publications/usersrouted-ccs13.pdf) describes details.
Answer: As both @Rory Alsop and @mirimir wrote it is very difficult to hide what's going on when a VPN is used in this way.
Seeing both cleartext and ciphertext entering and leaving a VPN concentrator will most definitely reveal not only WHO is communicating but also WHAT is being sent. Using a very busy VPN box will mitigate the problem somewhat, the same way that Tor will mitigate the problem somewhat by mixing your data with a lot of other users, as long as the adversary hasn't deployed rouge Tor exit nodes that happens to relay your data.


What knowledge should i possess before testing a web application?

Question: I have been testing a desktop application  for two years.I want to test web application.So, what knowledge should i possess and what should i learn before testing a web application?
Answer: In my experience, functional testing of websites isn't much different from functional testing of desktop applications.
The places I've found that can be different are:

Getting a clean test environment can be more complicated (it can also be next to impossible for extremely large corporate web applications)
There will be additional security concerns because web applications require online  connectivity
Data paths can be more complicated: where a desktop application might use a database, in corporate applications that database will be inside the firewall. For a web application the hosting is likely to be in a DMZ area between the corporate entry point and the firewall, and communication with the database has to go through the firewall. There can also be multiple different services the web application uses for its data, where a desktop application tends to be more of a standalone thing.
You will probably need to know how to set up and use test SSL certificates. Many countries have laws about where SSL must be used - at minimum this will include logging in and any payment detail entry.
Learning basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript will help you. Typically web applications include client-side programming in JavaScript, layout and styling through CSS, and base markup with HTML. Being able to understand these makes tracking down front-end bugs much easier.
Familiarity with multiple browsers and mobile OS emulators is also helpful. Unlike a desktop application, a web application is not in complete control of its appearance.
Familiarity with your web application's data model is essential. Unlike a desktop application, a web application is functionally stateless. Each page is independent of each other page and only knows about the data it's given, its rendering instructions, and the data it sends. This can make a web application behave quite differently than a desktop application.

On the plus side, it can often be easier to automate a web application, both because there are more good quality open source and free tools for web applications than there are for desktop applications, and because HTML is pretty much standardized these days and even if you can't get an automation handle through an ID, you can get it through the Document Object Model or XPath identifiers.
Comment: I would add basic HTTP/REST to the list as well, good list!
Comment: Why isn't Ajax in the list?
Comment: @I19 - It isn't in the list because I'm not perfect and didn't get everything when I wrote this answer.
Answer: There are lots of changes you will see once you switch from Testing of Desktop to Web application. You can study about these points:

Understand the client Server Architecture. How your Website is handling data.
Does your testing needs to cover Security part. Learn about SQL injections or XSS.
Scripts and controls or model which different websites are  following.
Performance or Load Testing.

Hope that will help.


Do airline pilots increase thrust when ordered to increase altitude by traffic controllers?

Question: Do airline pilots increase thrust when ordered to increase altitude by traffic controllers?  Do they simply use flaps, the yoke (or joystick in the case of airbus) and the stabilizers without any increase in thrust.  What is the altitude increase sequence or procedure .  Do they simply rely on auto pilot and if so does it increase thrust too?
Comment: well, ATC hardly ever 'orders' pilots to do something, but if they did: how would expect to climb without adding thrust? trading speed for altitude would be a method, but it won't get you very high. altitude, like speed, is energy and that energy has to come from somewhere
Comment: @Radu094 ' it won't get you very high' It would actually. If you (temporarily) reduce speed, you have energy to spare for climbing. Drag goes up quadratically with speed, so if you reduce speed by 30%, you can use half the energy of your engines for climbing.
Comment: well, it depends on what side of the drag curve you are, mind you, (as reducing speed will increase induced drag) but I see your (valid) point. I was only talking about trading kinetic vs potential energy (eg like a glider) which is not giving you much altitude
Answer:
Do airline pilots increase thrust when ordered to increase altitude by traffic controllers

Yes, without increasing thrust the act of ascending would reduce speed.

Do they simply use flaps

No, flaps are not used to climb. They are used to increase the surface area of the wing in order to allow the aircraft to fly at slower speeds (for example, during approach & landing).

What is the altitude increase sequence or procedure

Generally, and put simply, it is increase thrust then raise the nose.

Do they simply rely on auto pilot and if so does it increase thrust too?

They may well use the autopilot to do it all, but some autopilots do not control the throttle so that would be done manually by the pilot while the autopilot controls the rate of climb.
Comment: Almost all (or all) commercial airliners have an auto-throttle system, which is pretty much a part of the auto-pilot. If the pilot dials in a new altitude, the autopilot will pitch up and the auto-throttle will increase thrust to maintain speed.
Comment: @RonBeyer yeah, I guess my wording was bad there. I adjusted it.
Answer: I'll try my hand at a more 'scholastic'-aviation approach:
The normal procedure taught in flight school for initiating a climb is P-A-T.  That is Power-Attitude-Trim.

You increase power on the engine(s) first.If left alone, the plane will settle (very slowly, google phugoid) into a climb eventually
Because we do not want to wait the few mins or so it takes for the plane to settle into the climb, we use the elevator (via yoke or sidestick) to settle the attitude of the plane directly into a climb position (ie. point the nose higher up). A good pilot will do this without letting the speed climb or drop. 'Call it pitch-for-speed.
Now the plane is in a different power/attitude and even though the plane is (or should be) at the same speed, a little bit of trimming is required to null the forces on the yoke.

now you can sit back and enjoy the climb.
Leveling off after the climb is a A-P-T.... you guessed: Attitude-Power-Trim.
The reasoning for the change of order is that you want to prevent the plane from a nose-up, low-power situation, with speed decaying quickly.
Mind you, in a modern airliner most of these things can be automated via an autopilot/autothrust as described in the other answers.
Answer: Most airliners today use auto pilot and auto thrust when flying in level flight or climbing and descending.
The normal sequence for a climb is to enter a new altitude in the flight computer and then engage a climb mode on the autopilot. In any aircraft thrust is usually increased for a climb and decreased for a descent. The Auto-thrust will adjust automatically in most modes to maintain a desired speed and rate of climb. The autopilot adjusts the elevator or stabilizer to climb or descend to the set altitude.
Comment: Hmm, sounds like you're having to work too hard. Why not just say, "Alexa, flight level 350" or whatever. LOL
Comment: @jamesqf I was just joking. I retired in 1999, and from my old fart standpoint, they've taken all the fun out of the job of being an airline pilot. My last 10 years was spent on 747-100/200s with a 3-man crew and no so-called glass cockpits. When assigned a higher altitude, we dialed (actually turned a physical dial) the new altitude into a little window of rotating digits for reference. Then the flying pilot would disengage the autopilot and ask the f.e. to set climb power. Reaching the new altitude, he'd engage the autopilot with altitude hold and ask the f.e. for cruise power.
Comment: @Terry: Why do you think voice input would be easier than just entering a new desired altitude?  Even apart from the problems posed by a noisy cockpit.
Comment: @jamesqf voice input is reserved for captains only.
Comment: @Terry "Now purchasing 350 flight levels to be sent to your home address"
Comment: @kevin Of course! That's the way it should be.
Comment: @ZachLipton That was good for the best laugh I've had in quite a while!
Comment: @Terry Given only that, how would Alexa know whether to climb, descend or maintain altitude? I mean, sure *you'd* know, but Alexa...
Comment: @MichaelKjörling First you would say, "Alexa, order one complete Alexa autopilot interface for this airplane." There would be a pause, and Alexa would reply, "Sorry, the charge for that is several thousand times greater than your credit card limit. Would you like to try PayPal?"


Minimum amount of days travel insurance policy should cover for Schengen visa?

Question: My father in law is travelling to France, for 4 days, (01/07-04/07). Is there a minimum duration for which the travel insurance needed to apply for a Schengen visa must be valid? In other words, can his travel insurance cover just the duration of the trip, or should it last longer?
Comment: I re-phrased the question trying to clarify it. Please roll back my edits if you feel I distorted your query.
Answer: This is taken up in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) # 810/2009 (otherwise known as the 'Schengen Visa Code'), which says...

The insurance shall be valid throughout the territory of the Member States and cover the entire period of the person's intended
  stay or transit. The minimum coverage shall be EUR 30 000.

and for the case of multiple entry Schengen visas...

Applicants for a uniform visa for more than two entries (multiple entries) shall prove that they are in possession of adequate and valid
  travel medical insurance covering the period of their first intended
  visit.

So any day (or partial day) that the applicant is in the zone, these paragraphs would apply.  To calculate the minimum coverage, add up the days between arrival and departure inclusive and you will meet the requirements of Article 15.
Answer: I was told in Finland visa center that insurance should cover all days of the first trip. Maybe other Schengen countries have other rules


Does Islam have a hermetic background from ancient Babylon?

Question: Does Islam have a hermetic background from ancient Babylon? If not, then why does it copy the philosophy and rituals from them? Especially the astrological principles laid down by that priesthood of Babylonia.
Comment: It is you made that up, I haven't seen such an analogy before... & moreover, how is this possible "The philosophy of monotheism is essentially pagan", my dictionary defines pagan as "belonging to a religion which worships many gods, especially one which existed before the main world religions"
Comment: yes, this is the expected way, also plz feel free to cover the [help centre](http://islam.stackexchange.com/help),
Comment: u need to provide some examples as to which things specifically do you want to compare? other wise it is **too broad**. and also cover this [on topic](http://islam.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic)
Comment: Yes indeed... The philosophy of monotheism is essentially pagan, which means that everyone/everything get effected by the same principle cause. The use of archetypal characteristics of heavenly bodies, such as Moon worship in the form of Salaat ritual, Saturn worship=30 day fasting, Jupiter worship=Zakat, Venus worship=Hajj, Sun worship=Tawaf around Kaaba, Mars worship=Fighting Jihad, and ritual ablution for prayers and recitation of Quran=Mercury. Also the Quran swears by the heavens, Stars, Sun, Moon, Sirius (Sura Najm), talks of destruction by the four elements (air, earth, water, fire) etc
Answer: There are two major claims about the religion history:

Atheistic view
Islam's view

Atheistic View
It says that the humans were afraid of natural events such as lightning and storm. Also they were thankful for other natural things such as fruit giving trees. So, with the improvement of the brain and abstract thinking, they started to give abstract meanings to natural things and events, which eventually led them to worship in order to gain favor and avoid disasters. In time, with an improved abstract thinking and tools, humans realized that ordinary natural things can be beaten, thus they must be controlled by more powerful beings: gods. In time, this polytheism evolved into monotheism. Thus, it is expected that today's monotheistic believes still carrying myths from past.
Islam's View
It says that, there are always One God, there was and there will be. He created mankind and gave orders, but mankind corrupted the fact. Thus, Allah chose messengers among people in order to remind them the fact. Some were successful, some weren't. But, eventually mankind changed the belief again by corrupting the belief and changing the books which were given to the prophets by Allah to teach them the truth. Eventually, the last messenger was chosen and he was given a book which will never be changed until the end of the world. The belief in the minds can be corrupted again as we can see today, but one who seeks for truth can reach it through un-corrupted book.
Conclusion
If you believe that the atheistic claim is true, then you won't be surprised by the signs of the ancient beliefs in today's religions.
But, if you believe that the Islam's claim is true, then you won't be surprised by the signs of ancient beliefs in Islam, because they are a part of the truth and they were there before the ancient polytheistic beliefs. They just entered to the polytheistic beliefs in the corruption process, they probably misunderstood, but they were there before. Islam just corrected their meanings.

Does Islam have a hermetic background form ancient Babylon?

No, ancient Babylon has a background from Islam (the only monotheistic religion since the beginning). But, a lot of things had lost their true meaning.

If not, then why does it copy the philosophy and rituals from them?

Ancient Babylon copied the philosophy and rituals from Islam, but changed their meanings. They probably discovered the order in the sky/planets, enlightened the bond between it and religious rituals, but with the change in their belief, this bond gained a different meaning.
Comment: It's fine... But whenever one talks of Islam, he should be clear about referring to the period after the prophet Muhammad, not before him; mainly because the Islam of the pre-Muhammad era was Christianity and Judaism, which is a separate subject and leads to confusion.
Comment: Islam's claim about this is different. I specifically wrote "(the only monotheistic religion since the beginning)" for this. From the view of Islam, it is not a new religion revealed by Mohammad (puh) only, it was there since the beginning of mankind, even the first man (Adam(puh)) was a prophet of Islam. Thus, I am clearly not referring to the era which is after Mohammad (puh), because this question/answer needs it.
Comment: According to Islam, there is no Christianity or Judaism. Their original was Islam, but they are corrupted today and we call this corrupted versions with these names. This is Islam's claim.
Comment: Well... The Quran clearly mentions that there are good people among Ahl-e-Kitab... Nevertheless, Hermeticism is more like a philosophical perspective, and is rampant in the Quranic teachings.
Comment: Yes, the ones don't believe or practice the corrupted parts. Quran says that Allah sent a prophet for every nation/society. There may be a prophet in ancient Babylon (probably). Or, according to atheistic view, Mohammad(puh) may heard about Hermeticism and applied it while writing Quran. It looks like my answer is accurate.
Answer: You all need to do better research. There is a hermetic history to Islam pre Mohammad. Pre Mohammad there was polytheist religion where Allah was considered to be the creator of all, similar to Brahma in Hindu. There was one sect that worshipped Allah exclusively, Hanifs, and this is what spawned monotheistic Islam. There are some excellent texts on this subject that delve into the science of magic in relation to Islam, relative to Kabbalah thought.


Choosing a Buddhist partner ain't beneficial to spreading Dhamma?

Question: Recently seeing questions on Buddhist stack exchange community I thought to ask this question.
My understanding that we can choose anyone as life partner the way Buddha said all about is kind of qualities and so on.
And Because of Buddhism is nothing but liberty that's why Buddha didn't impose this thing to followers just like in other religions.
So if it was like we should marry to Buddhist only then it were Dhamma's sake and would helpful to spreading Dhamma.
One another question is if both partners are from different religions then how they could lead their children?
May other partner have influence of it's own religion and may this would worse everything partner's child's and own life.
I seen in other religion they are super religious to choose a partner.
Even my own experience my ex was a Muslim and she has great impact of religion on her since my thinking is being like that.
See we Indian mostly choose Buddhist to marry but absence of practicing Dhamma.
So I'd choose the one who is Buddhist and practicing Dhamma as well then we could spread it well.
Finally since both are Buddhist then its kind of package we have got everything in it. All qualities and as Buddha's way to choose a life partner.
So why Buddha speak about qualities instead advising people to find Buddhist partner that could one of the way to spread Dhamma?
Thank you.
Comment: What is the question here?
Comment: @PeterJ I've changed little and still not effective edit yourself and help. Thank you.
Answer: Choose a person with compatible generosity, compatible morality, compatible faith and compatible wisdom. That means even among Buddhists, you still have to filter out the potential spouses.
Marrying a person of a different religion could be highly problematic if you are a practicing Buddhist. I have seen some people make it work, but those are mostly people who are simply Buddhist by birth and not interested in it much and don't care about what religion their children pick. So either you have to be that way or the other person have to be that way to make it work.
Comment: @B1100 There's some advice in this topic: [Any authentic sutta from any tradition that gives guidance on what kind of partner to choose?](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/7488/254)
Comment: @B1100 If you are looking for spiritual progress, don't get married. Stay celibate and meditate. Marrying is not something you must do. On the other hand, if she changes her profession, you were successful in bringing her to the correct path. That is something to be happy about. It also means she listens to you and values your opinion that much even to make such a drastic change. That means your relationship has a high chance of being successful.
Comment: Thank you
Sankha Kulathantille Yes I want to filter out spouse grow Dhamma between family and teaching Dhamma to kids from childhood so they won't distract from path. I always try to teach my cousins but since under influence of tradition, superstition and false faith they merely doing deeds that may against Dhamma and not about Dhamma. Thank you for your invaluable time. :-)
Comment: You're welcome!
Comment: @Sankha kulanthantille Came across this post, what if your husband or wife-to-be has a job whose duty is to control the quality of wine or alcohol product prior selling them out. Right livelihood is not doing business in intoxicant, taking part in manufacturing it I believe can be considered "not right." Is this type of spouse-to-be can be considered right according to Buddhism?
Comment: @B1100 That's not an ideal job for a Buddhist. But if you are not able to find anyone better, you can either stay single or see if she is open to changing the profession.
Comment: @Sankha kulanthantille  What is the purpose of looking for a partner that has right livelihood? I believe mainly it's for the sake of spiritual progress for both of them. If she changes her job, she still has to reap the consequences of doing such profession one day and both of you suffer. Is this the reason why we are advised to look for a person with right livelihood, or is it only to protect the society from harmfulness of intoxication? Other people may frequently engage in other unwholesome activity, it's imperfect. What is the difference?
Comment: @ChrisW Thanks for Amazon link, I'm looking for more specific answer.
Answer: Good to see that Nyom Swapnil seems to do fine.
The way to really support and be able to transport the Dhamma is to leave house and walk the Holy Life.
Why should the Buddha give advices for different dangerous path one might like to choose?
And yes, to grow in Dhamma is not a matter of birth or religion/tradition one has grown up in, but a matter of past nissaya paccaya, even more 'strong condition cause' (upanissayapaccaya).
[This is a gift of Dhamma, not meant for trade or exchange]
Comment: Welcome back Bhante. Have a pleasant time on Buddhism SE.
Comment: No @Samana Johann I'd say birth or religion/tradition impact on person and it distract from the path. In India I seen Dhamma isn't growing well. Still people following false faith superstition though Dr. B. R Ambedkar gifted Indians this holly Dhamma. What I've asked is any dangerous way to choose life?  So I don't know what you all people think about me if I'm wrong or right.  Thank for you invaluable time.
Answer: Spreading/growing dharma to others is not an obligation of a Buddhist. Only place it needs to grow as far as you are conserned is in yourself. You gain very little if not nothing by others following it.
If you want others to see the light, best thing you can do is to become the light.
Comment: I know not obligation of a Buddhist but I want to do. It's always my pleasure to bring people on right path if they're distracted. I like to tell Dhamma. I observed my relatives listen carefully and like to listen it's sign I'll make a big change or maybe little doesn't matter. Thank you for your time.
Comment: I'm with RRR here. Charity begins at home.
Answer:
For practice if one finds a friend—
  prudent, well-behaved, and wise,
  mindful, joyful, live as one
  all troubles overcoming. --SNP1.3
Answer: It seems to me there is no simple answer for this one because there are many subtleties and possible scenarios. Some first thoughts...
It would all depend on what sort of religion people are practicing. A Christian and a Buddhist might be indistinguishable or utterly distinct depending on their approach to religion. A Buddhist believes there is only one true religion since there is only one true doctrine and its proponents may be called Christians, Buddhists, Sufis, Taoists, Muslims or have no name at all.
If we take the view that it's all about discovering truth then names don't matter. In real life, however, many religious folk are dogmatic rather than truth-seekers and where this is true it seems best to marry within our own belief-group to avoid endless arguments.
If a Buddhist and a Christian feel they cannot marry then I'd suggest that one or both of of them is misinterpreting the teachings of the founders. The Dalai Lama does not recommend that we abandon the religion of out birth for Buddhism or insist that we marry within Buddhism. Why would he? But marrying someone with similar spiritual or life goals and the same level of seriousness is bound to be sensible.
And in the end marrying another Buddhist is not going to help spread the Dharma unless we know enough abut it to know how to choose a partner. Buddhists are advised to spend their time with people of like-mind and helpful character but there's no mention of the name of their religion.
Comment: Yes true. But my thinking is being like that to spread Dhamma and I'm afraid to see it's not growing well in here so we both could lead ourselves then family, society here I can see like-minded couple can achieve it. It doesn't mean just want to have one born as Buddhist as I mentioned. Like Sankha Kulathantille said I need to filter out  spouses for  that I've ask to monk to find me one good partner. Thank you for your invaluable time.
Answer: So why Buddha speak about qualities instead advising people to find Buddhist partner that could one of the way to spread Dhamma?
I don't get the impression from the suttas that, at the time, the Buddha counted on lay-people to even really know what the Dhamma is, let alone to propagate it.
Very generally speaking the function of lay-people was, at best, to be virtuous and to support the monks (and so be able to hear the Dhamma, to take refuge, and so on).
Note that the suttas which we have are as were recorded by monks (at the "councils"), so...
One another question is if both partners are from different religions then how they could lead their children?
If you exclude violence, perhaps some of the fundamentals of ethics and wisdom may be quite similar across different religions -- see Golden Rule for example. Something like the sutta of the six directions may be good advice and well-said, but it seems to me universal, i.e. advice that might come from any parent of any religion.
Or, if or where ethics are not compatible across different religions, it was enough to say "look for a partner with compatible morals" (without specifying "compatible religions").
Also, to a certain extent, there were no "Buddhists" at the time when the Buddha was advising people.
I guess a main difference between different religions is in the different "rites and rituals", but I'm not sure that matters in the grand scheme of things (i.e. there are more important topics to be concerned with).
Another difference (between religions, or between Buddhism and other religions) is in the doctrine or view, of eternalism for example -- but maybe that (view of eternalism) isn't very far from what Buddhism might call "mundane right view", which I gather was maybe about the best you might expect from a lay-person anyway.
Comment: That would be the best answer. I'm agree with your answer **Golden Rule**  as I mentioned Dhamma is nothing but liberty and so Buddha didn't imposed it.  I expect that what Buddhism call **"mundane right view"** I expect beyond it that is growing Dhamma and spread it as much as we could. Thank you so much ChrisW.
Comment: The mundane right view is the belief of Karma. It has nothing to do with believing in an eternal soul. Also your answer neglects "Sama Saddha"- compatible faith
Comment: @SankhaKulathantille `The mundane right view is the belief of Karma. It has nothing to do with believing in an eternal soul.` Are you saying that it isn't like, "If I am good now, then I will go to heaven later?"
Comment: `Also your answer neglects "Sama Saddha"- compatible faith` Perhaps you're right. *Samasaddha* is mentioned in [AN 4.55](https://suttacentral.net/an4.55/en/sujato), which also mentions equal rites (*samasīlabbatā*) as well as equal kindness/generosity, equal virtue, and equal wisdom.
Comment: @ChrisW believing in a eternal soul is ignorance. It's not mundane right view. Mundane right view is "There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed. There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world & the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn beings; there are contemplatives & brahmans who, faring rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized it for themselves.'
Comment: @SankhaKulathantille Thanissaro Bhikkhu says, [in summary](https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/OnThePath/Section0008.html) that Mundane Right View is "actually a negation of a set of tenets ... a materialist doctrine that DN 2 calls annihilationism ... So the first implication of mundane right view is that generosity does matter, gratitude to one's parents is a virtue, and that death is not annihilation" and " In particular, these results tend to influence the level of one's rebirth" etc. You're right, of course, that eternalism is also described as one of the wrong views.
Comment: Negation of materialistic views does not require one to embrace eternalism.
Comment: Also, someone with eternalistic views may not believe in karma. Ex: One may think doing something horrible in the name of a God is good. One may think doing something that is actually good is bad if it's forbidden by one's God.
Comment: @SankhaKulathantille My impression of the Abrahamic religions, rather, is for example that they include commandments (or precepts) like "[honour your parents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honour_thy_father_and_thy_mother)" ... and [charity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charity_(practice)) ... also [don't kill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments#The_Ten_Commandments), don't steal, don't commit adultery ... not very unlike Buddhist ethics.
Comment: @ChrisW That's not Karma. That's a belief in a punishing God. Don't they also have confessing and being saved regardless of what they have done? There's a considerable difference between a person who believes Karma and a person who believes God.
Comment: Let us [continue this discussion in chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/83541/discussion-between-chrisw-and-sankha-kulathantille).


Get Facebook status and replies for those status

Question: I am trying to get facebook status and replies for those status, so what I didn't find anything other than Status messages: [a link] https://graph.facebook.com/367501354973 (A status message from Bret). Looks like this require userid but how can I get user id's of my friends. If I get my friends can I get the status of friends of my friends. I have been searching every possible place to find an answer on getting facebook status along with the replies but so for no luck. It would be great if there is a webcrawler for something like this.
Answer: Check this
http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/api/status/
You can also use below facebook Graph API Explorer tool to test
http://developers.facebook.com/tools/explorer/?method=GET&path=580490479
You can get your friend's ID by below
https://graph.facebook.com/me/friends?access_token=
You can get updated of Your friends by
https://graph.facebook.com/580490479/feed
and for Posting check below
http://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/api/post/
--- Samir


Have applications dock close with Windows key

Question: I used the answer on Have application menu open up with only Windows key to open the applications dock with Win key (works perfectly). Is there a way to have it close again using Win key? It just stays there unless I manually click somewhere else on the screen.
Answer: Please, use my updated answer:
<code>gsettings set org.gnome.mutter overlay-key "'Super_L'"
gsettings set org.pantheon.desktop.gala.behavior overlay-action "'wingpanel --toggle-indicator=app-launcher'"
</code>
This solution works fine both on open and close Slingshot (the application launcher).
Answer: What you ask is not possible if not by hacking the source code of Slingshot (the application launcher).
After Slingshot has been opened with the Win key, it gets the focus. So you would have to be able to "tell it" that it should close if you press the Win key again.
Comment: This answer is a bit late, I use Windows 10 now


What does the Quran and Sunnah say about telling one's dreams to someone else?

Question: I had listened from elders that you should not tell your dreams to someone else, some says that you should not tell your bad dreams, some says never tell your good dreams,please explain according to Quran and Sunah.
Comment: This should cover your inquiry to some extent https://islam.stackexchange.com/q/48777/13438
Answer: The Qur'an teaches us prudence when revealing a dream
After the young Yusuf() told his father Ya'aqub() about his dream the later answered:

He said, "O my son, do not relate your vision to your brothers or they will contrive against you a plan. Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy. (12:5)

The two young man only revealed their dreams to Yusuf() because they trusted him and thought he might be able to interpret them correctly:

And there entered the prison with him two young men. One of them said, "Indeed, I have seen myself [in a dream] pressing wine." The other said, "Indeed, I have seen myself carrying upon my head [some] bread, from which the birds were eating. Inform us of its interpretation; indeed, we see you to be of those who do good." (12:36)

And so did the young man who survived introduce Yusuf():

But the one who was freed and remembered after a time said, "I will inform you of its interpretation, so send me forth." (45)
  [He said], "Joseph, O man of truth, explain to us about seven fat cows eaten by seven [that were] lean, and seven green spikes [of grain] and others [that were] dry - that I may return to the people; perhaps they will know [about you]." (12:45-46)

We must note that Ya'aqub() actually didn't interpret the dream of Yusuf(), so that Allah showed him the true meaning later:

And he raised his parents upon the throne, and they bowed to him in prostration. And he said, "O my father, this is the explanation of my vision of before. My Lord has made it reality. And He was certainly good to me when He took me out of prison and brought you [here] from bedouin life after Satan had induced [estrangement] between me and my brothers. Indeed, my Lord is Subtle in what He wills. Indeed, it is He who is the Knowing, the Wise. (12:100)

As for Ibraheems() dream he and (apparently) his son() considered it a revelation and therefore this might be a bad example of telling a dream, as we know that dreams that come true are part of the prophet-hood and part of the revelation (see for example in Sahih Muslim). See also in the first chapter of Sahih al-Bukhari -and elsewhere in the same source- in a long hadith on the authority of 'Aishah:

"The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was in the form of good dreams which came true like bright daylight, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. ... "

The sunnah also teaches some prudence

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If anyone of you sees a dream that he likes, then it is from Allah, and he should thank Allah for it and narrate it to others; but if he sees something else, i.e., a dream that he dislikes, then it is from Satan, and he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil, and he should not mention it to anybody, for it will not harm him." (See for example in Sahih al-Bukhari here and here and in Jami' at-Tirmidhi)

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The vision flutters over a man as long as it is not interpreted , but when it is interpreted, it settles. And I think he said: Tell it only to one who loves (i.e. friend) or one who has judgment.
  (See for example in Sunan abi Dawod, other sources are quoted in What is the relationship between Ilham and leg of a bird?)

"Interpret them (dreams) in accordance with the names of the things you see, and understand what is hinted at, and the dream is for the first interpreter." (See in Sunan ibn Majah, qualified as da'if)

So both the Qur'an and sunnah tell us to be prudent and not to tell a dream only to a person we trust especially if we are expecting an interpretation we should only ask a person we trust and we know is able to interpret dreams.
The sahabah therefore went to the prophet() to tell him their dreams and expected an interpretation and the hadith of abu Bakr interpreting a dream (see here in Sahih al-Bukhari)shows that abu Bakr had the basic knowledge for that, but nevertheless he might have had some mistakes in his ijtihad of interpretation.
Therefore you must chose the person you tell your dream carefully! But basically you are allowed to tell it to whom you want.
Answer: Assalamu Alaikum,
In the light of Quran it is confirmed that you can tell your dreams to people:
Ibrahim (A.S) and his son (A.S)

And, when he (his son) was old enough to walk with him, he said: "O my son! I have seen in a dream that I am slaughtering you (offer you in sacrifice to Allah), so look what you think!" He said: "O my father! Do that which you are commanded, Insha' Allah (if Allah will), you shall find me of As-Sabirin (the patient ones, etc.)." [37:102]

Yusuf (A.S and his father (A.S)

(Remember) when Yusuf (Joseph) said to his father: "O my father! Verily, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon, I saw them prostrating themselves to me." [12:4]

Yusuf (A.S) and two young men

And there entered with him two young men in the prison. One of them said: "Verily, I saw myself (in a dream) pressing wine." The other said: "Verily, I saw myself (in a dream) carrying bread on my head and birds were eating thereof." (They said): "Inform us of the interpretation of this. Verily, we think you are one of the Muhsinun (doers of good - see V. 2:112)." [12:36]

The King and Yusuf (A.S)

And the king (of Egypt) said: "Verily, I saw (in a dream) seven fat cows, whom seven lean ones were devouring - and of seven green ears of corn, and (seven) others dry. O notables! Explain to me my dream, if it be that you can interpret dreams." [12:43]

And in Hadiths (only few I am mentioning):

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 818:
  The Prophet said, "In a dream I saw myself migrating from Mecca to a place having plenty of date trees....
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 57, Number 31:
  The Prophet said, "In a dream I saw myself drawing water from a well with a bucket....
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 21, Number 222:
  Narrated Salim's father:
  In the life-time of the Prophet whosoever saw a dream would narrate it to Allah's Apostle...

From such hadiths you can even say its Sunnah to tell your dreams to people.
But what you should no do.
You should not tell you bad dreams for It will not harm you.

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 87, Number 114:
  The Prophet said, "If anyone of you sees a dream that he likes, then it is from Allah, and he should thank Allah for it and narrate it to others; but if he sees something else, i.e., a dream that he dislikes, then it is from Satan, and he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil, and he should not mention it to anybody, for it will not harm him."

Thanks.
Comment: Many (not all) wrong conclusions here