12
votes
I am worried about being off-topic
Like you, I stumbled on this site by accident. My own first interactions were less than felicitous: I was chastized (rightly, as I see it now) for a sloppy answer, and never officially "on-boarded". I ...
12
votes
I am worried about being off-topic
I'm a reader and a rare asker, not an answerer, so basically I'm one of those "eternal newbie" types.
I feel the problem that you brought up is pertinent to any Stackexchange subforum, not this one ...
- 554
11
votes
How can the Tour screenshot be updated to reflect current standards for questions (and answers)?
The Tour page describes editing others' questions and answers, but it doesn't mention one of the most important editing functions: editing your own post, especially to incorporate suggestions in the ...
11
votes
Becoming more welcoming to new users, how?
While there is the occasional rude individual, perceived but unintended slight, or even an otherwise polite user acting out of frustration, I suspect that the lion's share of the tension comes from a ...
- 38.2k
11
votes
Accepted
We need a site specific message for our advice page
In EL&U, the problem is not that the standard Stack Exchange advice for writing good questions isn't appropriate. It's that some visitors don't have enough patience or enough facility with the ...
- 38.2k
10
votes
Are low quality questions and answers here to stay?
In my opinion a video wouldn't help. I think the real problem is there is no indication on the way to posting a low quality question that indicates exactly that fact to a new user.
I agree with P. ...
- 5,349
10
votes
Accepted
Becoming more welcoming to new users, how?
(I'm not sure that this'll count as an answer. Or even be useful. It's just my ramblings based on the question.)
Yep, I totally agree that experienced users commenting can come across as ...
- 14.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Helping this user read a (somewhat technical) book
thanks to all, I don't know English well (as elementary translator or trying to learn more by translating ! ). but. when i ask questions. the questions are not very technical (usually I don't need the ...
- 203
9
votes
Are low quality questions and answers here to stay?
I'm opposed to it being a compulsory video. Some people may lack the bandwidth or technology to play a video, or may have difficulties being verified as watching the video. Also, some users may have ...
- 17.9k
8
votes
Hoop-jumping for new users: multiple choice quiz!
I like the spirit of your idea, but I don't know how effective it would be.
It's not hard to imagine users checking ‘Yes’ to the first question, even if their questions are very scant on details. (...
- 58.4k
8
votes
Accepted
Are low quality questions and answers here to stay?
I upvoted the question because (1) I appreciate your continuing effort to improve the quality of questions and answers around here, and (2) I think a short video presentation might work with drive-by ...
- 157k
8
votes
Extraordinary spike in low-quality questions by 1 rep users
TL:DR - The SE system breaks down when there is a lack of comradery throughout the community. Our proactive options are: change the system or try to change people. Systems are a lot easier to program.....
- 8,754
6
votes
Why do we tell users to comment when they don't have sufficient rep to do so?
I don't fully agree with the premise of the Question, that "we tell users to comment when they don't have sufficient rep to do so". It clearly states the limitations on Commenting, as a privilege to ...
- 614
6
votes
Should we change the default suggested tags?
single-word-requests
This tag is for questions seeking a single word that fits a meaning. To ensure that your question is not closed as off-topic, please be specific about the intended use of the ...
Andrew LeachMod
- 97.7k
5
votes
Why must we assume that earlier answers are better, especially when they are not even related?
I haven't looked into the two questions very much yet, so I can't say if they are truly duplicates. However, I can say that the practice of marking questions as duplicates isn't due to some assumption ...
- 76.7k
5
votes
Extraordinary spike in low-quality questions by 1 rep users
Spot ELL on the home page of Stack Exchange sites. On the other hand, it's hard to miss EL&U, and its size suggests that the site is successful. Could this home page be partly responsible for ...
- 88k
5
votes
Becoming more welcoming to new users, how?
It is undeniable that the minimum site expectations of an acceptable answer must be clearly explained to the new member:
(1) it should answer the question as asked by OP
(2) it should be adequately ...
- 7,270
5
votes
Becoming more welcoming to new users, how?
This is the first introduction to your pages. Pretty nice, right? Nowhere does it say "Please begin your tour by looking at our standards for answers and questions. Then dive in. You will be ...
- 360
5
votes
Becoming more welcoming to new users, how?
SO could help with setting an expectation of required editing of OP:
?"We understand that if you are confused or stuck it might be hard to word your problem on your first attempt (but please try!...
- 5,745
5
votes
Should we change the default suggested tags?
I would keep word-choice, the explanation is short and it tells the author to use SWR if they don't know the word they're looking for.
- 88k
4
votes
Why do we tell users to comment when they don't have sufficient rep to do so?
Firstly, yes that text is a templated response available from the review queue. It is worded the same way on all the sites that I can see.
I have seen quite often on sites like SuperUser that new ...
- 13k
4
votes
Repository of polite responses
"Comment" Answers
New Users (< 50 rep)
Many brand new users arrive here with hopes of commenting on the conversation (so to speak), but provide an "answer" instead, as they do not have the ...
3
votes
I am worried about being off-topic
The two pages you found you took as representative of the site as a whole. I get that. Yours is not so much a question as it is a bug report on the English Language & Usage community, or at least ...
- 28.1k
3
votes
Repository of polite responses
Questions deemed too basic for ELU
Many new users arrive here with very basic questions that could be easily answered by anyone who spoke English fluently.
Hi (username), thanks for visiting ELU. ...
3
votes
Repository of polite responses
Lack of reasonable research
Have you thoroughly searched for an answer before asking your
question? Sharing your research helps everyone. Tell us what you found
and why it didn’t meet your ...
3
votes
Repository of polite responses
Requests for candidate words or novel expressions
I'm afraid I have to vote to close this question as off-topic. If a question asks about a recent neologism that thousands of other
people can ...
3
votes
We need a site specific message for our advice page
Here's my suggested text:
If you're learning English as a second language, please go to English Language Learners [provide link].
Before you ask a question, search for an answer on this site, ...
- 13.8k
3
votes
Should we change the default suggested tags?
tenses
A set of forms taken by a verb to indicate the time and/or completeness and continuance of the action in relation to the time of the utterance.
Andrew LeachMod
- 97.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible