23
Yes, we should lower the reputation requirement, for questions and answers
Lowering the reputation requirement to post answers, and therefore to participate in the Sandbox, is a good step to make communicating the usage of our Sandbox to new users easier. It allows easy access to the Sandbox in case people had a bad start and need help to write questions. ...
20
No, there are neither rules nor a specific format for such comments
There are no rules about this. And that is my standard comment to welcome new users if their posts are not especially good or bad so they don't seem to need any special feedback. Anyone can comment like that and is encouraged to do so to welcome new users and guide them to useful resources.
...
18
I'm one of the mods here, but I have a tendency to stay away from unilaterally closing questions from anyone, at least immediately after they've been asked. The big problem with me voting to close, of course, is that a diamond moderator like myself can automatically close a question without needing approval from anyone else - which does reduce the community'...
14
I'm a Community Manager (i.e. a Stack Exchange employee), so I have diamonds everywhere. I just look new because I've never really interacted with this particular site before. Nothing happened with your elections (or anything else), I just decided to poke my head out and see why everyone was saying this site is so awesome!
To explicitly answer your last ...
11
Question: Have you done research on your topic and included everything that is important for your question?
Should be answered: Yes
Doing research is an important part of asking a question. First, you show that you don't just want others to do your work and second it helps on enclosing on possible answers as it defines the requirements more ...
10
Question: Do you ask how your character would act in a given situation?
Should be answered: No
This is the Worldbuilding StackExchange and therefore per definition not about character building. The biggest problem with this type of question is, that you as the inventor of the character are the only person that can decide with certainity how ...
10
Question: Does the question title accurately and concisely summarize the specific question that you are asking?
Should be answered: Yes
The question title is very important for setting the tone for reading the question. It is the first piece of information that someone will see when browsing the site, and it points toward what the asker ...
10
Question: Do answers to your question depend on any knowledge specific to your setting that isn't included in the question, like how your magic system works?
Should be answered: No.
It's important to include all of the necessary information in your question, so that people don't spend time writing answers that will turn out to be invalid or unhelpful. If ...
10
I've got a few thoughts on this too, although I'm not a moderator so the answers you've gotten from L.Dutch and HDE may be more what you're looking for.
The challenge here is in error rates - because nobody cares if questions that should be closed are closed, or if questions that are good remain open. The problem arises when questions that should be kept ...
9
Question: Are you actually answering the question, within the constraints stated in the question?
Should be answered: Yes
Worldbuilding SE is a part of the Stack Exchange network, which is not an ordinary discussion forum. When you post an answer, you need to ensure that your answer actually answers the question that is being asked at the ...
9
This is no bug - the user is unregistered
Clicking on his profile shows that he is unregistered. Therefore each question he asks is handled differently. The handle shows that this is very likely the same person. Moderators have tools to check this and be even more sure.
When encountering unregistered users you should point them to appropriate resources on ...
9
While steering new users to the Sandbox is good, the real problem is that experienced users don't read it and comment. I've used it myself and got almost no comments on my question proposal (the people who skewered it when it went live had a chance to help out in Sandbox but they never read it there). I've also commented on other people's proposed ...
8
No.
Because it doesn't help them. Praising crap will only get you more crap. If you want to help them, post a helpful comment. An anonymous upvote is as not helpful to your cause as an anonymous downvote.
8
Question: Is the technological level of your world clear or has no influence?
Should be answered: Yes
This is a recurrent issue with many questions. The technological level has a huge amount of influence on warfare, society, space travel, economy, etc. In most of the questions, it is necessary to mention roughly where does the world/country ...
8
Question: Are you asking about a large number of impacts resulting from your original situation?
Should be answered: No
These are are often referred as what ifs questions. Asking for the implications on the world and/or society as large is far too broad. See also this discussion.
8
I kinda think you're putting too much thought and effort into it. Those answers are annoying, but also really simple to deal with.
I see there being two options:
Read the questions one line, roll your eyes, hit delete, move on. If it looks like they at least put a little thought in, maybe put a standard welcome text into a notepad document to be copied and ...
8
Glarnak is not almighty - banning the StackExchange App won't stop crap from being posted
There will still be user##### that don't give a damn and come in from the normal website for example. It's not the Apps fault that people don't like reading rules. And sometimes people who start posting crap evolve to become valuable contributors in the long run.
Try a ...
8
VTC Reason: Primarily Opinion-Based (POB)
This is the most difficult VTC reason for new users to understand because it is different from the default reason provided by Stack Exchange and we cannot change the text on the VTC form. This explanation supercedes that form for all purposes.
The problem with a creative and imaginative site like Worldbuilding.SE ...
7
Question: Is your answer consistent with present-day relevant scientific knowledge, or does the question specifically ask for or allow for answers based in something other than present-day scientific knowledge?
Should be answered: Yes
Worldbuilding SE allows for questions that completely disregard present-day scientific knowledge; for ...
7
Nope
Glarnak will immediately be subsumed into the movement to make Stack Exchange more welcoming.
You see, the problem isn't low quality posts. The problem is that we aren't sufficiently welcoming of low quality posts. Since Stack Exchange is dominated by white males and some of those who post "low quality posts" may be female or non-white, our lack ...
7
One of the moderators here.
Back in the first times of the Internet, it was good practice, when joining an internet community, to spend some time just lurking around and observing the behaviors in the community, with the purpose of learning what was accepted and what not.
I personally spent a few months on this very community just reading the questions, ...
7
Absolutely
While I can't say I entirely agree with Renan's interpretation of new users who experience the negative impact of a poorly formed question, I do agree with him entirely on the fact that the sandbox should be more readily discoverable and I would support any attempts to do so.
I'd actually take it a step further and say that it should be an ...
6
Question: Is your answer clearly formatted and legible?
Should be answered: Yes
Layout is important
Titles are a great way to get a point across quickly, if your answer allows a brief phrase summary this is the place to put it.
You can follow the title with a longer summary if you're giving a long answer, but get readers engaged quickly with the point you'...
6
Question: Does it take longer than 5 minutes to read your question?
Should be answered: No
Long questions aren't necessarily good questions. While the community does encourage details, too much detail can discourage users from reading the entire post. Try to narrow the scope of the details in your question to exactly the problem you need ...
6
Question: Are you limiting your question to a single, narrow facet of your world to keep it from being to broad?
Should be answered: Yes
Another obvious, leading question where the right answer is obvious just from reading the question.
6
Do you think newer people could/should get some "getting-used-to-it"-time so they can explore the ins and outs of the site and how to partake properly?
Not only on Stack Exchange sites, but in all communities in the Internet... If you get on stage and start talking without the slightest regard to the house rules you instantly become persona non grata. I am ...
5
First, I think that all the questions should be suggestive, answerable as yes, and asked in a way that it's obvious that Yes is the correct answer. Mixing yes and no questions is going to make people confused.
Question: Have you thoroughly explained your setting and the questions premises?
Should be answered: Yes
Kind of an obvious one. ...
5
Question: Have you proofread your question?
Should be answered: Yes
Nobody is perfect, and having some spelling mistakes in your question is not a problem as there is always someone who is willing to edit typos you made. But you should always proofread your question to see whether you accidentally missed some words or information you wanted ...
5
Question: Does the wording of your question encourage answers that are not based solely on personal opinion?
Should be answered: Yes
Again, leading the reader by making it obvious what kind of questions we want.
5
Question: Is the question likely to be closed/Should the question be closed?
Should be answered: No
If the question should be closed you should focus on either getting the question closed or editing the question to keep it open rather than answering the question. By answering questions that are off topic, too broad or primarily opinion based we are ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible