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... and perhaps Meta in general.

I just had a question quickly and heavily down-voted on MSE. In the comments it was pointed out that the question was more relevant to SO than SE generally (and thus MSO not MSE) -- where the same suggestion has been heavily up-voted. I found my way here straight from SO (twice!) and there are clearly several paths that encourage it:

  • The top question in the "Featured on Meta" box on SO (currently) links here (and the box doesn't explain the MSE/MSO icon difference)
  • MSO isn't listed on the All Sites while MSE is

You have to be new to meta at some point along the way. These folks certainly have thicker skin, but it wouldn't hurt to make some effort to drive them to the right place. Some ideas include:

  • Consider calling MSE simply "Stack Exchange" in the list of sites to avoid monopolizing the keyword "meta"
  • Only show MSO links on SO; show MSE links on MSO
  • The MSE homepage could make some effort to inform and direct folks to the child meta sites:
  • A graphic with a bunch of child meta sites displayed
  • A drop-down or other navigation to child sites
  • The ask page could watch for child-specific terms like "SO" (all-caps and not in back ticks, links, or the like) or "stack overflow" and prompt you to post elsewhere (MSE users would quickly adjust and use the SE equivalents).
  • The hover text on the up/down-vote could be changed to reflect the meta-purpose
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    I suspect that a site with the title of just 'Stack Exchange' would fill up with crap in minutes. Seconds, if Amazon fix their wobbly server farm, ( 'I don't know where to post my question, so I'll dump it on SE. Some drone whose time is less valuable than mine will search for me so I can repost, or actually migrate it. Is the bar open yet?' ). – Martin James Mar 1 '17 at 0:30
  • Fair enough. Perhaps it should be completely excluded. Meta is like an admin panel. It doesn't necessarily need to be listed on a standard user's navigation. – claytond Mar 1 '17 at 20:26
  • Why would MSO have a link in all sites? If you're on SO, it's right there at the top of the dropdown. – Catija♦ Mar 9 '17 at 22:25
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I've toyed with the idea of an interstitial page that introduces the site a few times. Past experience suggests it would do little or nothing, so I'm in no real hurry to write one.

Ultimately, this site needs what every other site needs: a guided tool for new users that walks them through the process of collecting information about their question, warns them when they're in the wrong place, and offers tips on improving what they've created. Building that... may happen some day.

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    Maybe we could just post some heads on spikes at the gates – Tim Stone Mar 1 '17 at 2:30
  • @TimStone do the banner ... no? Aaaaawwww .... – rene Mar 1 '17 at 7:43
  • "OFF WITH THEIR HEADERS!" – Martin James Mar 4 '17 at 13:52

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