A while ago, I noticed that the Help Center page, What topics can I ask about here? contained a long list of things that users shouldn't ask about. However, there is a different Help Center page that's supposed to be about what types of questions not to ask. What types of questions should I avoid asking?
I wonder if that list of "don't ask" topics could be moved from the former Help Center page to the latter.
There is a difference between "What topics shouldn't I ask about?" and "What types of question shouldn't I ask?"
The first covers the subject matter; the second the actual questions which are asked.
That's actually shown in the lists:
- The meaning of words, or synonyms for words, unless you have first looked them up in a dictionary or thesaurus.
- Proofreading ("Is this right?", "Are there any mistakes?"), unless a specific source of concern is clearly specified. See below for hints on checking existing texts.
- Writing advice (see Writers.SE instead) or critique requests
- "How to improve my English?" (this is not constructive anyway)
- Translation and non-English languages — please see the translation tag info for details
- Naming, including naming programming variables/classes
- Criticism, discussion, and analysis of English literature
- Jokes that do not rely on the English language
Those are topics which explicitly do not fall into the "What can I ask about?" valid subjects.
The other list covers questions which might be asked about valid topics, but...
- every answer is equally valid
- your answer is provided along with the question, and you expect more answers
- there is no actual problem to be solved
- you are asking an open-ended, hypothetical question
- your question is just a rant in disguise
So no: the two lists are orthogonal and seem fine as they are.
