My instincts are all wrong

Question

Anyone else finding that their instincts on what is a good question are wrong? Since questions that are off topic, on any other SE site are on topic here. Ie any software-rec. and questions that are there on topic cousin: What are criteria for X? are off topic (probably).

I am finding it hard to pose my questions in a good way. Much harder than answering questions. (Normally I'm the reverse, I think I've become quiet good at asking a good SE question, but I am rarely fast enough/good enough to write a top quality answer, before someone else does.)

How can I break out of my mold?

Answer 1

It's a pretty simple checklist to ask a good, narrowly-scoped recommendation question. I'll make a rough outline here, I'm currently revising this (which is based on the original ground rules that I posted pre-launch).

1. Straight to the point, succinct title

Don't use words like 'best' or 'good' - just tell us what you want. We're not going to recommend the worst, or bad software. What [editor/utility/program/plugin] does [task] in [manner]?

2. Describe your task

Tell us what you're doing, or intend to do with what we recommend. If you're bulk re-sizing a bunch of pictures while converting them to another format, or backing up lots of files and trying to avoid data duplication - let us know with as many specifics as you think might be relevant.

3. Describe what you have, if anything, and what you don't like about it

This can sometimes be optional, but let us know what you've got or what you've tried and didn't like, and why. Let us know if you looked at something and decided it wasn't for you. Note - answers may recommend something you note, but might have overlooked.

4. Give us an enumerated list of constraints, in order of importance

Every recommendation question probably needs this list. Tell us the features or operating constraints a good fit would meet, ordered from must-have to nice-to-have. An example:

1. Must run on OS/2, with 128 MB of RAM
2. Must not be pink
3. Ideally takes less than 2MB of disk
4. Big plus if it plays music

5. Wrap up your question, if it needs wrapping up.

You can probably skip this most of the time if you want, but this is a place to put anything supplemental. It's hard to define that, beyond you'll know it when you encounter it.

Your goal when writing is to narrow the scope enough so that realistically, 10 answers might directly answer it. It's really not too hard and the simple exercise of just writing it all down can sometimes make you think of something you might have overlooked.

That's everything someone needs in order to give you a great recommendation. We may not be able to meet all of your requirements, but since you've listed them in the order of importance, we'll be able to recommend something that gets the most important job done.

Answer 2

It's going to take practice. For all of us. Each member of the community will need to revisit their habits, their kneejerk reactions to questions, their judgments, etc. if they have prior experience on SE.

All I can say is practice, pretty much, and see what feedback you get from the community. If you get negative feedback, see if they will tell you why. If you get positive feedback, try to bottle that lightning.

Answer 3

Hm. No idea where to put this exactly, so putting it here:

Thanks to everyone on this site here for improving my general instincts about what makes a good answer (and question) on SO/SE in general. While I still am of the opinion that to make the user happy is the end goal (my posting in the “You're all doing it wrong” thread), I've learned – just by being a part of the private beta in here.

Thanks!

.oO(How do I leave feedback like this on a site's meta? It's also structured Q⇒A-like…)