In our quest to improve the quality of questions, especially from newcomers, I wonder if we should change the order of categories in the Asking section of the Help Center. I especially think moving up some things that don't appear until "View More" is chosen would be helpful. This is a rough draft of what I'm proposing:
- What topics can I ask about here?
- What types of questions should I avoid asking?
- How do I ask a good question?
- What are tags, and how should I use them?
- What should I do when someone answers my question?
- Why are some questions marked as duplicate?
- What does it mean if a question is "closed" or "on hold"?
- Why and how are some questions deleted?
- What if I disagree with the closure of a question? How can I reopen it?
- What should I do if no one answers my question?
- Why are questions no longer being accepted from my account?
- Why do I see a message that my question does not meet quality standards?
Any thoughts? Comments? Is this question better asked on Stack Exchange Meta, since that seems to be where the model comes from?
Update: While searching related questions on meta:SE, I came across this question, which asks what help center pages moderators can edit. This page is not included, but it says
Community Managers / employees can also edit probably any other section of the site, if you make a good enough case on your per-site meta.
If nothing else, the most important part is a desire to move "How do I ask a good question?" up into the top group, as "How do I write a good answer?" is on that page. @Niall C., as a moderator, do you feel that I've made the case, or do I need to do something further? If you agree, how would I go about what @J. Musser calls "poking a staffer?"
Update as of 1/29/2017
I'm thrilled to report a major change for the better! I'm not sure when it happened, but I noticed it for the first time today. I had seen a few new related feature requests on SE Meta, and even piggy-backed on someone else's "staff-poking" but didn't receive a reply. As you can see, some or all of those requests must have been approved! The new list alleviates my main concerns, especially that How do I ask a new question? was hard to find. It even includes a new category called "How to Ask Questions in Private Beta."
This is what it looks like now. I hope it makes everyone's life easier, especially as we guide users around the help center.
What topics can I ask about here?
What types of questions should I avoid asking?
What does it mean if a question is "closed" or "on hold"?
How do I ask a good question?
What should I do when someone answers my question?
How to Ask Questions in Private Beta
What if I disagree with the closure of a question? How can I reopen it?
Why are some questions marked as duplicate?
Why do I see a message that my question does not meet quality standards?
Why are questions no longer being accepted from my account?
Why is the system asking me to wait a day or more before asking another question?
Why and how are some questions deleted?
What are tags, and how should I use them?
What should I do if no one answers my question?
