# Area 51 sample question word limit is too restrictive for proposals that require more detail in example questions

I have proposed a new site on Area 51, but I can't get users or good questions because of the word limit on the sample question. Since this word limit is small neither I or other user can't write any good questions to show the site and it is making it difficult to attract potential users. Ultimately, people are confusing it with other sites. Can't there be something done?

Suppose I want to write:

The period of oscillation of a simple pendulum is $T=2\pi\sqrt{L/g}$. Measured value of L is 20.0 cm known to 1 mm accuracy and time for 100 oscillations of the pendulum is found to be 90 s using a wrist watch of 1s resolution. The accuracy in the determination of g is?

I could only write:

The period of oscillation of a simple pendulum is $T=2\pi\sqrt{L/g}$. Measured value of L is 20.0 cm known to 1 mm accuracy and time for 100 oscillati

• Why do you think the problem is the word-limit on the sample questions?
– quid
Apr 26 '15 at 10:44
• If an example question needs to be extremely detailed to adequately separate the proposal from other sites and proposals, then may be your proposal has too narrow of a scope. Some examples of questions (but using the current limit and what you would need them to be) would probably be helpful. Apr 26 '15 at 10:47
• @psubsee2003 see edit. Apr 26 '15 at 10:47
• @psubsee2003 it's for competitive exams. If I write normal questions, peoplt think it is another maths or physics site. (there are other hunderds of small subjects (would be)involved and I can't have a new site for each subject.) Apr 26 '15 at 10:48
• This starts to be a bit off-topic: but what is specifically "competitive exam" about the first question. Seems like some physics/math questions.
– quid
Apr 26 '15 at 10:50
• @quid see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… plus some of these questions are considered homework on some sites. Apr 26 '15 at 10:51
• @ADG well, yes. Therefore, the example question you want to write would give the impression that this is a site for homework-like math and physics questions.
– quid
Apr 26 '15 at 10:55
• @quid I can't get what the yes is replied to? Apr 26 '15 at 10:56
• The "yes" replied to "plus some of these questions are considered homework on some sites."
– quid
Apr 26 '15 at 11:00
• @James that Area 51 downvotes with -10 score? Apr 28 '15 at 18:23

A question's title is not meant to contain all the detail needed to make it answerable, only enough to give a rough idea what it's about. Area51 asks for titles and not bodies because it wants to focus on what kinds of questions should be on-topic; having a full body for each question would encourage people to waste time answering the questions instead of defining the scope of the proposed site.

What you're trying to type should be a question body, not a question title. A half-decent title for that question might be:

Determining the accuracy of g using a simple pendulum

That's enough for everyone to see what sort of question this is. The exact times and lengths have no bearing on whether this question is on-topic for your site, or whether the site itself is a good idea.

The phase where you can provide "complete" sample questions, with a title and body, is called "private beta".

Now, as for other users getting "confused," I have to respectfully disagree. The upvoted example questions you've posted are standard homework problems that would all be on-topic on other SE sites for that particular subject matter (given they met all the usual criteria of a good SE question rather than a lazy "do my homework for me" question).

The only example questions there that are actually unique to the "competitive exam" topic are the two highly downvoted ones about prep books and coaches for specific exams. I think the issue you should really be focusing on is how come the only two sample questions that are actually about exams are getting lots of down/closevotes? Allowing super-long question titles isn't going to change the fact that all the other questions are already covered by other SEs.

Though I can't speak for everyone voting on Area51, my guess would be that those two questions are likely either opinion polls, discussions, or off-site resource recommendations. StackExchanges have never been very good at providing those things. It's possible that the site you want to create is not and cannot be a StackExchange site.