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I have joined multiple sites on Stack Exchange e.g. Meta, Programmer, SO etc. On each of this site there is no place where the kind of questions that can be asked, or category of users the site is for, are displayed. All the site looks alike except for color change, theme etc.

Is there any place one can know that? This will help to ask relevant question in that particular section

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  • shouldn't that be on the home page or somewhere visible upon reaching the site?
    – tunmise fasipe
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:16
  • 11
    There is a link to the FAQ on every page. Right up there ^ in the top right next to the search box.
    – ChrisF Mod
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:16
  • Consistently placed on every site, no less.
    – jcolebrand
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:17
  • Or the welcome box welcoming you to each and every site (granted it's gone if you're logged in)
    – Zelda
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:20
  • You mean in a place that isn't in either the footer or the header as every other non SE site would also have?
    – random Mod
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:20
  • @tunmisefasipe I might add that most new users, upon creating their first question, are prompted with the question asking guidelines
    – Gaffi
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:20
  • 2
    @ChrisF: your arrow needs to go to the right some.
    – user7116
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:34

3 Answers 3

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Each site's FAQ makes it very clear what the site is about and what kind of questions are expected.

For example, Stack Overflow's FAQ says

Stack Overflow is for professional and enthusiast programmers, people who write code because they love it. We feel the best Stack Overflow questions have a bit of source code in them, but if your question generally covers …

a specific programming problem a software algorithm software tools commonly used by programmers practical, answerable problems that are unique to the programming profession … then you’re in the right place to ask your question!

while something like IT Security's FAQ says:

IT Security - Stack Exchange is for Information Security professionals to discuss protecting assets from threats and vulnerabilities. Topics include, but are not limited to:

web app hardening network security social engineering, including phishing risk management policies penetration testing security tools using cryptography incident response Questions on setting up your home PC antivirus may be more appropriate over at superuser.com; and questions on the deeper aspects of cryptography belong on crypto.SE.

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  • 1
    shouldn't that be on the home page or somewhere visible upon reaching the site? That doesn't sound like a question. It's like an About page, shouldn't be only in the FAQ
    – tunmise fasipe
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:16
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    oooh oooh ooh do Database Administrators next :D
    – jcolebrand
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:17
  • @tunmisefasipe I might add that most new users, upon creating their first question, are prompted with the question asking guidelines.
    – Gaffi
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:18
  • @jcolebrand we all know that site's just for tape monkeys
    – Zelda
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:20
  • @gaffi only on Stack Overflow, and that's mostly about generally asking good questions, not so much "which questions are on topic for SO." But see Mark's answer.
    – Jeff Atwood
    Commented Jun 15, 2012 at 4:57
  • @JeffAtwood Ah, my mistake. I don't visit many of the other sites, but I had presumed they all worked this way (I had thought perhaps didn't for me because of my default 100 rep bonus).
    – Gaffi
    Commented Jun 15, 2012 at 11:07
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If you're a new user (exactly the type of person you'd want to reach), you don't need to click on any links: it's right in the sidebar.

Intros

I'm not 100% on who gets to see the sidebar, but I'm relatively certain you should at least see it the first time you visit any Stack Exchange site.

Additionally, the "Ask a Question" page describes the site topic (briefly, but still) in the sidebar and the prefilled title help text, like so:

judaism site ask page

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2
  • Chrome users: Ctrl+Shift+N
    – jcolebrand
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 22:11
  • 1
    the ask page itself also has a reasonable description in the sidebar, and in the title field prefilled text. I'll edit to add this.
    – Jeff Atwood
    Commented Jun 15, 2012 at 4:53
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You should have pointed out that there is an "About" link at the top of every page. That was what I was asking for.

enter image description here

Thanks

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2
  • It's not all that helpful though honestly, which is why I'd like to let mods improve it: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/136086/…
    – Zelda
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 21:50
  • But you were asking for question guidelines, which are in the FAQ (next to the About link).
    – Gaffi
    Commented Jun 14, 2012 at 22:00

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