[Community] What does it mean if my question is "closed"?

Mon, 30 Mar 2020 10:35:25 +0000

Why are some questions closed?

Questions that need additional work or that are not a good fit for this site may be closed by community moderators. Closed questions cannot be answered, but can receive comments. They can also be edited to make them eligible for the community when reopened.

These are 3 of the main categories and reasons why questions may be closed by community moderators.

Duplicate of... - the fundamental goal of closing duplicate questions is to avoid duplicates and to help people find the right answer by getting all of those answers in one place.

♦ This question has been asked before and already has an answer.

Too Broad / Unclear what you're asking - Needs more details or clarity. Sometimes we need more information in order to help solve your problem.

♦ Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask publication for help clarifying this question.

Edit your post to be more specific about what you're looking for, and be sure to address any concerns that other users brought up in the comments.

Off-topic because… - well this is self explanatory. This refers to questions that are of off-topic subjects for this site. Questions that are impossible to reproduce and/or are out of the Q2A scope. such as private code, premium themes and plugins.

♦ This question does not appear to be about Q2A within the scope defined.

If you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope, consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement.

[Community] How to ask a good question?

Mon, 30 Mar 2020 07:40:21 +0000

How do I ask a good question?

We’d love to help you. To improve your chances of getting an answer, here are some tips:

Search, and research first

Even if you don't find a useful answer elsewhere on the site, including links to related questions that haven't helped can help others in understanding how your question is different from the rest.

Write a title that summarizes the specific problem

The title is the first thing potential answerers will see, and if your title isn't interesting, they won't read the rest. So make it count:

Pretend you're talking to a busy colleague and have to sum up your entire question in one sentence: what details can you include that will help someone identify and solve your problem? Include any error messages, what plugins/theme are you using if necessary, or unusual circumstances that make your question different from similar questions already on the site.
Spelling, grammar and punctuation are important! Remember, this is the first part of your question others will see - you want to make a good impression. If you're not comfortable writing in English, ask a friend to proof-read it for you.
If you're having trouble summarizing the problem, write the title last - sometimes writing the rest of the question first can make it easier to describe the problem.

Examples:

Bad: Can't I use HTML??
Good: How can I use HTML on Comments to insert images?
Bad: [php] privileges doubt
Good: How can I show Select Answer button to different users based on their user privileges?
Bad: Plugin mobile problems
Good: On-Site-Notifications plugin is not working with SnowFlat theme on mobile devices. How to fix it?

Introduce the problem before you post any code

In the body of your question, start by expanding on the summary you put in the title. Explain how you encountered the problem you're trying to solve, and any difficulties that have prevented you from solving it yourself. The first paragraph in your question is the second thing most readers will see, so make it as engaging and informative as possible.

Help others reproduce the problem

Not all questions benefit from including code. But if your problem is with plugins, a theme, or code you've written, you should include some. But don't just copy in your entire program! Not only is this likely to get you in trouble if you're posting your premium plugin, theme or employer's code, it likely includes a lot of irrelevant details that readers will need to ignore when trying to reproduce the problem. Here are some guidelines:

Include just enough code (or theme and plugins) to allow others to reproduce the problem.
If it is possible to view a live example of the problem, include a link where this is happening on your Q2A community.
DO NOT post images of code, data, error messages, etc. - copy or type the text into the question. Please reserve the use of images for diagrams or demonstrating rendering bugs, things that are impossible to describe accurately via text.

Include all relevant tags

Try to include a tag for the problem, plugin, theme, and specific topic your question relates to. If you start typing in the tags field, the system will suggest tags that match what you've typed - be sure to make sure they're relevant to the question you're asking! See also: What are tags, and how should I use them?

Proof-read before posting!

Now that you're ready to ask your question, take a deep breath and read through it from start to finish. Pretend you're seeing it for the first time: does it make sense? Try reproducing the problem yourself, in a fresh environment and make sure you can do so using only the information included in your question. Add any details you missed and read through it again. Now is a good time to make sure that your title still describes the problem!

Post the question and respond to feedback

After you post, leave the question open in your browser for a bit, and see if anyone comments. If you missed an obvious piece of information, be ready to respond by editing your question to include it. If someone posts an answer, be ready to try it out and provide feedback!

Look for help asking for help

In spite of all your efforts, you may find your questions poorly-received. Don't despair! Learning to ask a good question is a worthy pursuit, and not one you'll master overnight. Here are some additional resources that you may find useful:

How to debug plugin conflicts
Meta discussions on asking questions

Question2Answer Q&A - Recent questions tagged community-faq