I keep having kind of off-the-cuff questions I would love to ask the community, but I don’t know where the right place is to post those questions. I don’t usually have the time to go polish up the questions so that they are high quality, cite appropriate sources and previous discussions, etc., but I would still like them answered! Typically these are the types of questions I might post on Facebook, but I think I would get higher quality answers here.
Do questions of this sort belong as question posts, shortform posts, or comments on the monthly open threads? Or do they in fact belong on Facebook and not here since they are not at all polished or well researched beyond some quick Google searches? And if I ask as a short form post or as a comment on the open thread, will that get only a small fraction of the attention (and therefore the responses) as if I would have posted as a separate question post?
A lot depends on the question and the kinds of responses you hope to get. I don’t think it’s necessarily about polish and cites of previous work, but you do need enough specificity and clarity to show what you already know and what specific part of the topics you mention you’re asking about.
High-quality answers come from high-quality questions. There are things you can ask on facebook which don’t work well here, if you’re not putting much effort into preparation. And there are things you can ask in shortform that you can’t easily ask in a top-level question post (without getting downvoted). You’re correct that you get less traction in those places, but the expectations are also lower. Also, shortform (and facebook) has more expectation of refinement and discussion via comments, where capital-Q Question posts are generally (but not always) expected to elicit answers.
All that said, you’ve been here long enough to get 500+ karma—I’d recommend just trying stuff out. The only way to spend that karma is to make risky posts, so get good value out of it by experimenting! I strongly expect that some questions will catch peoples’ attention even if you’re not greatly prepared in the post, and some questions won’t get useful responses no matter how perfect your form is.
Either of the three options you listed are fine. Question posts don’t need to be super-high-polish. Shortform and Open Threads are sort of interchangeable.
I keep having kind of off-the-cuff questions I would love to ask the community, but I don’t know where the right place is to post those questions. I don’t usually have the time to go polish up the questions so that they are high quality, cite appropriate sources and previous discussions, etc., but I would still like them answered! Typically these are the types of questions I might post on Facebook, but I think I would get higher quality answers here.
Do questions of this sort belong as question posts, shortform posts, or comments on the monthly open threads? Or do they in fact belong on Facebook and not here since they are not at all polished or well researched beyond some quick Google searches? And if I ask as a short form post or as a comment on the open thread, will that get only a small fraction of the attention (and therefore the responses) as if I would have posted as a separate question post?
A lot depends on the question and the kinds of responses you hope to get. I don’t think it’s necessarily about polish and cites of previous work, but you do need enough specificity and clarity to show what you already know and what specific part of the topics you mention you’re asking about.
High-quality answers come from high-quality questions. There are things you can ask on facebook which don’t work well here, if you’re not putting much effort into preparation. And there are things you can ask in shortform that you can’t easily ask in a top-level question post (without getting downvoted). You’re correct that you get less traction in those places, but the expectations are also lower. Also, shortform (and facebook) has more expectation of refinement and discussion via comments, where capital-Q Question posts are generally (but not always) expected to elicit answers.
All that said, you’ve been here long enough to get 500+ karma—I’d recommend just trying stuff out. The only way to spend that karma is to make risky posts, so get good value out of it by experimenting! I strongly expect that some questions will catch peoples’ attention even if you’re not greatly prepared in the post, and some questions won’t get useful responses no matter how perfect your form is.
Either of the three options you listed are fine. Question posts don’t need to be super-high-polish. Shortform and Open Threads are sort of interchangeable.