Questions tagged [asking-questions]
For questions specifically about the process of asking questions on a Stack Exchange site.
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How exactly do people (accidentally) end up here on MSE?
On a daily basis, MSE gets a few (sometimes more than a few) off-topic questions that are posted here by accident. This is when a user intends to post the question on a specific site on the network ...
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Preparing a better question: large data file (JSON from a SVG) on Pastebin.com to be run through JavaScript, AWK, and sed:
I have a task that will benefit from writing a good question on Stack Exchange - in that I think the results will be instructive in general. Of course.
There is a large SVG file already on Pastebin....
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Asking for any/"best" program for X vs. asking how to do X with specific program, and the "X/Y Problem"
I can find myself struggling to write a question about doing Y with any of the usual GNU/*nix tools like awk, sed, tr, .. perl (not sure that's GNU/*nix..), or perhaps others I do not know of.
I saw ...
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What is the proper way to emphasize the central sentence of a question (if there is any)?
It's quite common for authors, in the post body, to emphasize a sentence which is 'central' to their question. It's often similar to the title, and for well-written questions with some introduction, ...
GlorfindelMod
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Is it allowed on SE to include AI (ChatGPT) generated output in the question post? [duplicate]
My initial understanding is that Stack Exchange currently bans ChatGPT generated answers.
But is it allowed to include text that ChatGPT has generated as part of a question?
As an example:
Suppose I ...
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Ask a "public" question… as opposed to what?
When I clicked "Ask Question", the next page shows "Ask a public question". I heard that Stack Exchange can be purchased for use within a company through the Stack Overflow for ...
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How to put|write alternative/synonym words (phrases) in questions?
Often questions can be rephrased in many (already known when asking) ways:
How to enable GPU scaling?
How to switch screen stretch mode?
How to disable resolution scaling?
Exact words may also depend ...
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Does Meta SE automatically remove signatures?
This is derived from finding What is the right site for asking a question about how to configure a browser, such as Firefox, Firefox ESR?. The original revision, included THX. This word looks that ...
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Imgur link fails to render while adding an image in question: "Failed to upload image; an error occurred on the server"
I have faced this issue 2-3 times. Whenever I paste an Imgur link in an image upload window, it gives an error:
Failed to upload image; an error occurred on the server
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GPT-generated "search as you type" responses
There is a current hot meta post on SO regarding banning ChatGPT answers, which I fully agree with (plus some).
However, I still think GPT bots themselves have a lot of value. They're trained on ...
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Should we require users to check ChatGPT before posting their question? [closed]
With the release of ChatGPT, a large majority of simple coding questions can be answered by ChatGPT.
Should we thus require that users check ChatGPT before posting their question, to avoid trivial ...
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Editor heartbeat gives a 409 - Conflict sometimes
Yesterday, while writing a question, I saw errors in the console. They were caused by a failed heartbeat call by the editor, which returned a 409:
I'm not sure under which circumstances they happen, ...
GlorfindelMod
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"Asking a good question" starter sentence sounds off
This is what the popup says when you attempt to ask your first question here on Meta Stack Exchange:
Asking a good question
This is NOT Stack Overflow - Ask your question on Stack Overflow
What is ...
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Stack Overflow forbids usage of the word `help` in question about CLI `--help` option
A question title I wanted to submit got rejected because it ended with help?:
How do I get typer to accept the short `-h` as well as the long `--help` for help?
I was told:
Your question couldn't be ...
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Users with 10 reputation points hop the fence of protected questions while one with less than 15 can't even upvote an answer
Users with 10 reputation points hop the fence of protected questions while one with less than 15 can't even upvote an answer
"Questions should be protected when they are attracting poor answers ...
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What can and cannot be implemented in the advice guideline for new users? [duplicate]
Context: Chemistry SE is going through changing their interface shown to new users
When a new user decides to write their first question, they are greeted with this pop up,
My question, is what can ...
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The "you shouldn't want to do that" response
This question is mostly about the broader Stack Exchange network, rather than Stack Overflow.
I have a recurring issue when I asking questions on Stack Exchange, across the whole network: very often, ...
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Getting a code formatting error when I try to post this question on Stack Overflow
When I try to post this question to Stack Overflow I get the following error:
Your post appears to contain code that is not properly formatted as code. Please indent all code by 4 spaces using the ...
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A gallery for a project which will involve multiple Stack Exchange questions
My project is fixing up an old bicycle, but I think the question could apply to lots of sites, not just bicycles.
I am starting a project which is probably going to require (and be worthy of) several ...
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How might the Staging Ground & the new Ask Wizard work on the Stack Exchange network?
We have been working for some time now researching ways to improve the new user onboarding process while also addressing issues with question quality from new question askers. Based on our user ...
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When I try to post a question on Stack Overflow, I get the error message "Comments must be at least 15 characters in length." [closed]
When I click the "Post Your Question" button, an error "Comments must be at least 15 characters in length." I am confused since I am creating a question, not a comment.
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So many sites won't let me post. How can I fix this?
I have a good question. But then it says,
Your question is ready to publish!
Our automated system checked for ways to improve your question and found none.
When I click post, it just scrolls up and ...
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What site-specific changes can be made to the Ask Question page to help askers on that site write better questions?
I've seen that some sites have customized content on their Ask Question page.
For example, here's some custom content on the English Language & Usage ask Question page. They have extra information ...
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Add option "ask a new question" to page not found
The page "Page not found [newline] This question was removed from Stack Overflow for reasons of moderation." list various options how to continue but fails to list the option to ask the same ...
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Contact page provides weak guidance on providing feedback and making feature requests
https://stackoverflow.com/contact mentions "Feedback" only under the unclear heading "Jobs Support" near the end and there is no mention of "feature requests" or "...
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What do we do when we don't have any prior research that we can share?
Yesterday, I asked this question on the Biology SE. Shortly after posting, I received a comment saying that a close vote has been posted and stating the ways in which I can improve the post. The main ...
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Can't create my question, because it looks like spam
I have read a lot about this theme now and I don't get why my question looks like a spam...
Question:
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Top network askers?
This is probably very easy for anyone who knows how Data.SE and whatever programming language it uses, but beyond my non-existent programming knowledge.
Is there a way to get a list of who has asked ...
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What can I do if I want to ask a more specific version of an earlier question on a Stack Exchange site?
To provide context, on the Law Stack Exchange, I'd like to be more specific than the question here:
Are cheater plugs illegal in the USA?
I'd like to know specifically if it's illegal to use currently-...
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Where can I ask about analog security camera wiring?
I have a question about using different types of cables (e.g. CAT6 [SU]TP) for signal and power runs to analog video cameras (that normally run with co-ax) as part of a security system (residential). ...
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Ebooks or Graphic Design Stack Exchange for a question about using InDesign to create ebooks?
I have a question about exporting eBooks from InDesign: How to tell InDesign to skip color in css export for the ePub export
I asked it on Graphic Design Stack Exchange. But I do not know if that was ...
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Which automatic improvement checks are performed when writing a question?
Before posting a question on a Stack Exchange site, I hit the "Review your question" button. Then, on the right side bar, a message is displayed:
Step 2: Review your question
✅ Your ...
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Unable to press "post question". Tags are not working
I wrote a question on Stack Overflow and I’m unable to type down anything in tags. The tags won’t show up or be accepted. The review part isn’t showing up either. The review your question button won’t ...
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Clicking on Cancel just refreshes the page when you are logged in and not have participated in a community and click on Ask a question [duplicate]
Let's say I take Math Meta SE. As you can see from this image I haven't joined the site and I click on Ask question. It shows me this page
If then I click on cancel the page just refreshes and doesn'...
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Improve "Similar questions" results when writing a question: prevent/limit it from returning questions by the same author
I've noticed recently that when I write a new question such as this one on Stats.SE, the "Similar questions" box just above the Body text entry box shows results that are similar, but they'...
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Please tweak the behavior of the dupe "does this answer your question?" message so it does not suck
I have no problem with my question being closed as a dupe; hey, I got an answer! Yet, the way the "Does this answer your question" message works is not great at all. Let me explain.
I post ...
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Can the 40 minute timer be removed for high reputation users across the network? [duplicate]
I often daydream and spend the bulk of my day thinking about up various topics.
Once I have digested these topics into good quality questions I would like to, in one burst, ask perhaps three different ...
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If I delete a question, will it count towards the 50 questions a month limit or not?
On Stack Overflow you can ask 50 questions in 30 days. If I ask a question and delete it, will it be treated as an asked question or not? Will I have 49 opportunities to ask a question left, or 50?
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How to avoid "RTFM" answers if you can't ask where to find the documentation? [closed]
Twice now I've asked for recommendations for resources to solve my own problem, and twice now my question has been deleted.
Over the years, I have grown tired of people telling me to RTFM. So now ...
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How can I ask better questions despite being a noob to everything programming? [duplicate]
I've been noticing all through my SO "career" that my questions aren't always well received. They are either too vague or general or I seriously confuse terminology because well, frankly I ...
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When clicking "Ask Question" from within a tag page, automatically add this tag to the new question
Suppose I want to ask where I can ask a question on Stack Exchange. Ideally, I'd first browse existing site-recommendation questions, and if I can't find what I want, will ask a new question.
Assuming ...
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Erroneous "Your post appears to contain code that is not properly formatted as code" error
I spent more than an hour trying to fix the formatting of the question below such that the Mathematica and Wolfram Language forum would accept it. I had no success, even though I am aware of threads ...
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Saving my question on Meta brings a "Discard unsaved changes" popup
I just posted a question on meta.
I reformulated the question a couple of times, scrolled through the list of "Similar questions" and switched browsers tabs a lot. I hit "Review your ...
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Could the search link in the modal window be customizable?
As announced in March 2020, there is now a modal window which is displayed for the first-time askers. Some parts are customizable per-site:
The "welcome modal" for new askers (seen with the ...
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Is the algorithm which reviews questions when one clicks "review your question" customizable on a per-site basis?
Since at least a few years ago (I cannot locate the announcement of this feature's introduction) most SE sites require at least two clicks to post a question -- first, one clicks the "Review your ...
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Don't put a check mark near "ask a question or contribute an answer" on the list of privileges for suspended users
A suspended user sees the following on /help/privileges:
I find the next to "create posts" misleading since suspended users cannot create posts.
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When a suspended user tries to ask a question, the screen looks the exact same as an automatic question ban
When an account has been manually suspended by a moderator and the user is trying to post a question via /questions/ask, it says:
You have reached your question limit. Sorry, we are no longer ...
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Stay on question edit page after the actual posting
Several times while posting a question (while clicking on the "Post your question" button) here on MSE I got weird behavior with the page. The browser asks me if I should leave the page or ...
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Maximizing visibility when your question works on two metas but you have to choose one?
I'm trying to decide which of two sites is better for a specific question, and so, before deciding, I'd like to first ask about that question on those sites' metas to find out where it's more on topic....
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Pluralization issue in too-long title error message, when title is 151 characters
In the question title after trying to add more than 150 characters, there is a warning displayed over the title box.
After entering the 151th character, the warning is displayed as "Too long by 1 ...
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