If you want a fast orientation, read three solved topics in the subcategory you care about. Solved means somebody said the answer worked, which is more signal than reply count.
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Start Here · Welcome · continued
Are there stupid questions here? A staff answer, at length posts 31–60
This is a continuation of a long topic, addressed by post number rather than by page. Start at post 1 · go to the accepted answer.
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
If that is already documented somewhere, ignore me and link it.
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r.chukwu, post #32: The answer to the reading-order question is: the how-to-ask page, then whichever compound page applies to you, then the sourcing standard. Forty minutes and it saves weeks. Go to post
On the reading order question specifically: start with the how-to-ask materials in this category, then read the one to three subcategories where your main questions live. The rest will be discoverable by tag once you understand the structure.
The strength of my opinion here exceeds the strength of my evidence.
Introducing yourself is fine and requires no question. Post in this subcategory, describe the context that matters for why you are here, and lurk for a bit before posting technical questions. That order works well.
That is all I can say without guessing.
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The compound pages are the fastest way to find out whether a question has a published answer at all. If the page says the trial is ongoing, that is the honest state of it and no thread will improve on that.
The disagreement above is smaller than it looks once the terms are fixed.
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j.moreau, post #2: Your introduction is well framed. You have given enough context that people can actually answer. That is rarer than it sounds and it matters more than it sounds. Someone will know this better than I do and I hope they say so. Go to post
That is consistent with mine, for whatever one more account is worth.
np_gilmore, post #15: The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression. Go to post
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
That much is documented. The rest is how I have interpreted it.
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
I would put this at better than even and not much better.
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Staff post. Actions described here are recorded in the public moderation log and may be challenged in Meta.
Welcome. Two practical notes from staff. Your first few posts are rate-limited, which is an anti-spam measure and not a comment on you, and it lifts on its own. If you hit it and have something to add, edit the post you already made.
The general answer and the answer for your case may diverge here.
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e.adeyemi, post #27: The compound and evidence pages are updated regularly and they are worth reading when you are new. They answer the meta questions like "do we have data on this" and "what do the trials actually show" before you ask them. A qualification I should have led with rather than closed on. Go to post
Welcome. The orientation materials are pinned at the top of this category and they take about an hour. They answer most of the questions a new member has and they save time in the longer run.
Adding this to the thread rather than to the wiki, because I am not confident enough for the wiki.
v.fontaine, post #9: Introducing yourself is fine and requires no question. Post in this subcategory, describe the context that matters for why you are here, and lurk for a bit before posting technical questions. That order works well. Go to post
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
The short version is the first sentence; the rest is why.
Marked solutions are the site's way of saying that someone asked a good question and someone else gave an answer that actually worked. It is not a competition and it does not appear on your record — it is just how the site learns which topics stay useful six months later.
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The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
The uncertainty is in the assumption, not in the calculation.
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a.jansen, post #25: The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression. I am aware this is the third time this month I have made this point. Go to post
Welcome. The orientation materials are pinned at the top of this category and they take about an hour. They answer most of the questions a new member has and they save time in the longer run.
Reading it back, the second half matters more than the first.
Right, and stated more narrowly than I would have dared to state it.
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peak_purity, post #22: Marked solutions are the site's way of saying that someone asked a good question and someone else gave an answer that actually worked. It is not a competition and it does not appear on your record — it is just how the site learns which topics stay useful six months later. Happy to be the one who is wrong here if it settles the question. Go to post
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
Collapsed as off-topic by two members at trust level 3 or above
Marked solutions are the site's way of saying that someone asked a good question and someone else gave an answer that actually worked. It is not a competition and it does not appear on your record — it is just how the site learns which topics stay useful six months later.
Take the reasoning and check the arithmetic; I do not always get it right.
Your introduction is well framed. You have given enough context that people can actually answer. That is rarer than it sounds and it matters more than it sounds.
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f.rasmussen, post #18: The moderation log is public. Every staff action is logged with the rule cited and the reasoning stated. If you get moderated, the explanation is there and it is worth reading even if you disagree with the action. Go to post
The moderation log is public. Every staff action is logged with the rule cited and the reasoning stated. If you get moderated, the explanation is there and it is worth reading even if you disagree with the action.
The Lounge is a real category rather than a dumping ground. The sourcing rule still applies there, which surprises people, but the register is looser and nobody minds a digression.
That has held every time I have looked, which is not the same as always.
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Isaksen, post #37: The compound pages are the fastest way to find out whether a question has a published answer at all. If the page says the trial is ongoing, that is the honest state of it and no thread will improve on that. The disagreement above is smaller than it looks once the terms are fixed. Go to post
The compound and evidence pages are updated regularly and they are worth reading when you are new. They answer the meta questions like "do we have data on this" and "what do the trials actually show" before you ask them.
The evidence for this is thinner than the way I have phrased it suggests.
I will take the caveat as seriously as the claim, which is the point of putting it there.
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