This is a Canonical Question / FAQ Candidate to help our users ask better questions

Consider these scenarios:

  • A question you asked was recently closed.
  • The community is misunderstanding what you're asking and how to help you.

How can I get my question answered?

  • The answer to that question is almost always, Write a Good Question.

How do I write a good question on Sports SE?

  • I would really like to see more replies to this great meta effort.. :|
    – posdef
    Nov 5 '12 at 8:25
  • @posdef Agreed. I find it interesting that several "borderline" questions/answers on Sports SE are being discussed, yet no contribution to refining this has been made.
    – user527
    Nov 5 '12 at 13:35
  • 1
    @posdef On the other hand, you may be pleased that your efforts are currently adapted, in part, in the FAQ.
    – user527
    Nov 5 '12 at 13:36
  • 1
    oh I definitely am, no complaints there... :) Just wanted to point out that it would help everyone if more experienced users contributed here, it would help the site and our slowly growing community.
    – posdef
    Nov 5 '12 at 15:21
  • It's a start. For the "not-to-be-asked-here" questions, we can have a look at the closed questions on Sports SE and make this list more comprehensive (Example: The recent spate of 'jersey number' questions and 'Why is so-and-so called so-and-so' questions). This should give some directive to the new users (Provided they read the FAQs before posting questions) on the type of questions they should NOT post. Jan 24 '13 at 16:41
  • How do we attack questions like this or this in the FAQ?
    – user527
    Jan 29 '13 at 15:33
  • Topics...anybody have topics?
    – user527
    Feb 1 '13 at 15:00
  • These kind of questions are border-line, aren't they? Back where I come from, these (rock climbing and sky diving) are not considered sports but just activities done for fun and thrill. I think these fit perfectly into the The Great Oudoors and my opinion would be to proactively migrate future questions to TGO SE. Feb 2 '13 at 4:49
  • That I agree with.
    – user527
    Feb 4 '13 at 14:35

Almost always, a good answer is the result of a good question. A good question on Sports Stack Exchange is almost always well-written and informative. Consider the following while asking your question:

  • How did I stumble upon the question at hand? What is the background?
  • What assumptions/findings are relevant to the question? Which sources have I researched? This could save time for others who might be looking for an answer to the same/similar question.
  • Am I looking to participate in discussion? If so, these questions are discouraged. However, they are welcome in Sports Stack Exchange's chatroom, The Clubhouse.
  • How is it relevant to the community?

    Questions that are "too localized" are not encouraged on Stack Exchange sites. Avoid personal recommendations.

    Make it clear how your question is relevant to more people than just you. Adding information on the relevance of the question will ultimately help avoid any implicit reasoning behind asking the question.

    Relevance may depend on how you phrase your question. Be considerate with asking questions pertaining to a specific geographical area.

    Example 1:

    Instead of: "I want to do [sport] in [area]. How do I go about it?"

    Consider: "I am enthusiastic about my training in [sport], and want to take the next step. What are common ways to get in touch with local clubs/sponsors? (Note: I live in [area], in case someone lives nearby)."

    Example 2:

    Instead of: "I live in [area] and would like to do [sport] outdoors, where can I do it?"

    Consider: "I live in [area] and not sure where I can train for [sport]. What are common ways to find local outdoor fields/training facilities/etc...?"

Original Response/Brainstorm

Disclaimer: I will be brainstorming a bit so bear with me if I am a bit incoherent. :)

In mind opinion a good question has a couple of properties:

  1. It's well-written: as it's commonly uttered on SE sites, good answers are given to good questions. So in order to get an informative answer, the question needs to be well formulated, and well-posed. Obviously this is a very vague definition, but keep in mind that if people are not psychics, if they cannot understand what you mean from the way you write your question then chances are that they will not be able to answer it properly.

  2. It's informative: a good question should include all relevant information to what's being asked. In other words, people should not need to browse around to get information to fully grasp what's being asked. I have a mental checklist I try to follow when I ask a question on SE sites.

    • What's the background? How did I stumble upon the question at hand?
    • What assumptions/findings are relevant to the question? Which sources did I check in order to find an answer to the question? Keep in mind that this could save quite a bit of time for all others who might be looking for an answer to the same, or a similar, question.
    • How is it relevant to general public? As we all (should) know, too localized questions are not welcome at SE sites, so adding information on the relevance of the question will ultimately help avoid any implicit reasoning behind asking the question.
    • Wrap the question up, by rephrasing/restating the core question.
  3. It's interesting: truth of the matter is people are more likely to "look up" or "dig" information if they are interested in the answer themselves. Asking relatively boring facts, might cause the question to go unnoticed.

That's what I have so far... Would be interesting what others have to say about the matter.

  • Check my edit, adding your response. Once refined, I would like to use this as FAQ reference if you don't mind.
    – user527
    Nov 5 '12 at 17:23
  • Sounds good! Got no objections... :)
    – posdef
    Nov 5 '12 at 17:25
  • I am loving the faq for Physics SE...perhaps we can adapt that to fit Sports SE. For example, we welcome questions on the following topics, but not limited to, explanations regarding rules, sport mechanics, stats analysis, etc. Personal recommendations and speculation are not encouraged, but is more than welcome on Sports SE chat. (Idk, something like that...also hoping more than just you sees this)
    – user527
    Nov 6 '12 at 14:26
  • Will try to check it out sometime soon. If I can manage to put aside some time for it I can try to help you out with renewing/updating the faq
    – posdef
    Nov 6 '12 at 14:46
  • Also would like to add, "Some kinds of questions are discouraged here:" For example, reference requests.
    – user527
    Nov 26 '12 at 5:39
  • 1
    nice edits!! :)
    – posdef
    Nov 26 '12 at 17:30

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