There were a lot of good questions proposed on the Area51 site. I thought ones with a score of 10 or more automatically appeared in the beta. Have I misunderstood? I was looking for several of those 'good questions' but I don't see them in the beta.
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Thank you for reminding me. I'm going to go look at mine now.– GeneJCommented Oct 15, 2012 at 16:50
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1 Answer
The top example questions from Area 51 (Definition phase) are used to help set the expectations and scope of what this site is about. But these are example questions and they do not automatically get posted to the site.
There is more to a good question than a simple title. The folks using this site should only ask about actual problems they are trying to solve. The questions are fill with details and specifics showing how we can best help them. In contrast, the "example questions" in Area 51 are little more than a vague title to help define the scope of the proposed site.
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The proposed questions were genuine ones, and several were obviously non-trivial and worth soliciting an answer to. I still maintain that I saw some reference to the top ones being carried over, either to the beta or later. With regard to "The folks using this site should only ask about actual problems they are trying to solve", I have to disagree. This is a Q&A site but that is not a definition of a "Q". Wanting to know the answer to something isn't the same as a problem, or anything you're trying solve. Commented Oct 15, 2012 at 17:55
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@ACProctor, I agree -- wanting to know something isn't the same as trying to solve a problem. I've just asked a question about definition of terms -- I don't need the answer, but I would like to understand it, so I use the terms in future in a way most people use them.– user104Commented Oct 15, 2012 at 19:39
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2For genuine questions, folks should ask them. The system will not post them for you. For a better context about asking questions you actually care about, read my meta post about seeding the site with questions — meta.genealogy.stackexchange.com/questions/43/… Commented Oct 15, 2012 at 19:51
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@ColeValleyGirl and ACProctor, no one can force you not to ask a too-trivial question (although the community/mods can close/downvote them) but please do consider waiting until we're further along in the beta. Right now it's really critical that we focus on questions about real problems as those are the questions that will draw in experts. Wait awhile before asking the trivial ones so that we're a bit more established and have an audience. :)– jmort253Commented Oct 16, 2012 at 4:51
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@jmort253, we weren't talking about trivial questions; we were talking about questions in which we have an interest in the answer without having an immediate application for it. Or is that your definition of trivial?– user104Commented Oct 16, 2012 at 8:45
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Hi @ColeValleyGirl, I don't think those are bad questions, but I do think those are tough questions to ask without them drifting into trivial areas or sounding trivial, especially if they aren't your questions. With questions that are about actual problems, it's easier to dive into details and make them sound more serious, and those are what a beta site needs. That's not to say you don't have a good question up your sleeve, but keep in mind that the questions we write on this site today will influence what the masses of people do on the public beta, so we should use care. Hope this helps!– jmort253Commented Oct 16, 2012 at 9:06