Let's get critical: Jul 2015 Site Self-Evaluation

Question

We all love Amateur Radio Stack Exchange, but there is a whole world of people out there who need answers to their questions and don't even know that this site exists. When they arrive from Google, what will their first impression be? Let's try to look at this site through the eyes of someone who's never seen it before, and see how we stack up against the rest of the 'Net.

The Site Self-Evaluation review queue is open and populated with 10 questions that were asked and answered in the last quarter. Run a few Google searches to see how easy they are to find and compare the answers we have with the information available on other sites.

Rating the questions is only a part of the puzzle, though. Do you see a pattern of questions that should have been closed but are not? Questions or answers that could use an edit? Anything that's going really well? Post an answer below to share your thoughts and discuss these questions and the site's health with your fellow users!

Keith Martineau · Accepted Answer · 2015-07-23 05:25:17Z

3

As a newbie here I think it appropriate to let you know my experience here. First there are some good reasons to be here, but it can be a bit negative at first. Unless you are persistant you might be turned off by the quick (and maybe a little bit too negative sounding) responses to things you don't like. It does no good to down vote (very discouraging) a newbie, especially several times, at the first sign of a relatively minor error on his/her part. Try commenting only at first and see what response you get. Also it is not clear what you don't want. Maybe a few examples of common questions you don't want are in order. Also if the person seems reasonable and is trying to participate giving just a few "pity/booster" up votes will let him/her join in the chat room and that will also give them a way to ask what you don't want in your questions. It will make them feel accepted and able to do at least the minimal thnings a true guest/friend should be able to do. I also tried the electrical engineering site and it is a bit worse.

answered Jul 23, 2015 at 5:25

Keith Martineau

1842 bronze badges

$\begingroup$ Hi. Thanks for sticking around. It's not always clear from the other end that specific comments are helpful, especially if someone has suddenly popped up and made twenty posts — if I were to criticize several of them, it could feel like an attack. So I in particular didn't say anything other than “please edit rather than commenting”. $\endgroup$
– Kevin Reid AG6YO Mod
Jul 23, 2015 at 19:26
$\begingroup$ We do have a page about “what we don't want” broadly: ham.stackexchange.com/help/dont-ask $\endgroup$
– Kevin Reid AG6YO Mod
Jul 23, 2015 at 19:28
$\begingroup$ Thanks for your feedback. $\endgroup$
– Kevin Reid AG6YO Mod
Jul 23, 2015 at 19:28
$\begingroup$ Stack Exchange as a whole has certain tendencies, once you learn one site you've learned what is expected (Mostly) at all of them. The focus is clear questions with a single answer, that doesn't read like a textbook. Mind you, some answers are quite long, but still... I hope you stick around, and thanks for your feedback! $\endgroup$
– PearsonArtPhoto
Jul 24, 2015 at 19:42