Every Stack Exchange 2.0 site has a meta. So many metas! Which one should I post my bug report, feature request, or discussion in?
asked Apr 4, 2014 at 12:21
michaelb958--GoFundMonicamichaelb958--GoFundMonica
6,8252 gold badges24 silver badges53 bronze badges
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@juergend Gah... I only searched under [faq-proposed]...– michaelb958--GoFundMonicaCommented Apr 4, 2014 at 12:24
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I only had a look at the right of this page :) 4th related question. Before posting someting the duplicate finder under the question title offers most of the time a pretty good selection of questions.– juergen dCommented Apr 4, 2014 at 12:25
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1 Answer
Quick cheat sheet:
Is the bug, feature, or discussion relevant to a lot of Stack Exchange?
If yes, post it on Meta Stack Exchange. Note that Meta SE doesn't exist yet; use Meta Stack Overflow instead until it's launched.
For example, if the icons on the topbar are broken in some way, this is a network-wide bug (as the topbar appears all across the network), and should be posted on Meta SE.
Is the bug, feature, or discussion relevant to only one SE community?
If yes, it should go on that site's meta. Some notes:
- Area 51 does actually have a meta; post on Area 51 Discuss with the [area51-meta] tag. The thing is, [area51-meta] is where posts go to die, so the majority of the community won't get too annoyed if you post on Meta SE with area51 instead.
- Stack Apps doesn't have a meta. Meta-discussion is acceptable on the main site; if that feels awkward to you, post on Meta SE with stackapps instead. We don't mind much.
- There are a few miscellaneous locations (like stackexchange.com and the Data Explorer that don't have their own metas; again, post on Meta SE using stackexchange.com, data-explorer, or whatever tag's relevant.
Is the bug, feature, or discussion relevant to all beta sites?
If yes, Meta SE is the place. Use beta-sites.
End of cheat sheet.
If you got here without finding your answer, whatever-it-is is applicable to more than one site, but not all that many of them. This is the grey area - there's no real policy on what to do. Some suggestions:
- If there's a site that is most affected, post on its meta.
- If you tend to hang around Meta SE, post there.
- If in doubt, post on the affected site you spend the most time on/otherwise feel most comfortable on.
But above all:
Don't worry too much.
Posts can be freely migrated between metas by anyone with a ♦, so there's no lasting stigma about posting in the "wrong" place. Nobody will remember you as "that guy who posted a bug on the wrong meta", so don't lose any sleep over it.
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This is not correct, you can post issues affecting all sites on any per-site meta you want. If a user is only active on one site, they don't even have to know about the existence of MSO, they can post about any issue on their per-site meta. Commented Apr 4, 2014 at 12:29
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It also tells people use use a Meta SE site that will perpetually be 6 to 8 weeks away from being implemented. :P– WoobleCommented Apr 4, 2014 at 12:32
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@Mad they can, but its better if they are posted here Commented Apr 4, 2014 at 12:37
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@RichardTingle You can check the proposed duplicate for an answer by Rebecca Chernoff that shows just how strong the reaction from the community team is if anyone suggests that a question should be asked on MSO instead. Commented Apr 4, 2014 at 12:42
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@Mad doesn't seem to dispute this. "Fine" means acceptable. Not optimal. If someone actually asked you "should I post this on the main meta or any child meta" would you honestly say "choose one at random" Commented Apr 4, 2014 at 12:44
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@RichardTingle The answer is "post on the site you're more comfortable with", unless you actually need the bigger exposure you get on MSO it doesn't really make much of a difference. Commented Apr 4, 2014 at 12:46
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@Mad And you'll need that bigger exposure for example for getting community concensus on a feature request that affects all sites Commented Apr 4, 2014 at 12:49