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Are there stupid questions here? A staff answer, at length posts 91–120

Start Here › Welcome beginner friendly guidelines onboarding trust levels Solved

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.

steady_stateTL3Regular20 Aug 2025#91

s.vukovic, post #77: 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. Adding it in case it saves somebody the afternoon it cost me. Go to post

Nothing here requires expertise. The experienced members here got that way by posting questions, not by knowing the answer before they showed up. If you know something useful, post it. If you do not, ask.

I have seen it go both ways, which is why I hedge.

14 likes in reply to #77 11mo

t.vasquezTL4 Moderator20 Aug 2025#92

r.nakamura, post #8: 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

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.

Not the whole picture, but the part of it I can speak to.

28 likes in reply to #8 11mo

n.ekstromTL2Regular20 Aug 2025#93

That matches what I have seen, for whatever a single anecdote is worth.

0 likes 11mo

c.castellanosTL220 Aug 2025#94

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.

5 likes 11mo

y.mensahTL3Wiki editor21 Aug 2025#95

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.

One case, stated as one case.

9 likes 11mo

r.mensahTL221 Aug 2025#96

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.

Stating my assumptions rather than smuggling them in.

21 likes in reply to #18 11mo

b.jankowiakTL3Regular21 Aug 2025#97

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.

0 likes 11mo

p.dialloTL221 Aug 2025#98

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.

I keep a log of this specifically because memory is unreliable about it.

2 likes 11mo

BirkelandTL3Regular22 Aug 2025 · edited#99

dexa_twice_yearly, post #7: I had read the opposite somewhere and cannot now find where, which tells me something. 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.

I have written this out at length because the short version keeps being misread.

27 likes in reply to #7 11mo

j.mwangiTL4 Moderator22 Aug 2025#100

Staff post. Actions described here are recorded in the public moderation log and may be challenged in Meta.

0 likes 11mo

buffer_marginTL3Regular22 Aug 2025#101

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.

0 likes 11mo

b.restrepoTL223 Aug 2025#102

s.okonkwo, post #45: 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. Go to post

This is the answer, and the reason it is the answer is the more useful part.

4 likes in reply to #45 11mo

PSkarbekTL3Regular23 Aug 2025#103

s.cabrera, post #79: 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

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.

I would put a moderate confidence on that and no more.

13 likes in reply to #79 11mo

j.hartmannTL223 Aug 2025#104

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.

It is the kind of thing that is obvious once and never again.

27 likes 11mo

d.petrescuTL223 Aug 2025#105

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.

I would put the burden of proof on the interesting explanation, not the dull one.

0 likes 11mo

i.coelhoTL224 Aug 2025#106

f.yildiz, post #57: One small courtesy that makes a large difference: put the specific question in the title. It is the single thing that most changes how quickly you get a useful reply. The honest answer is that it depends, and here is what it depends on. 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.

Marking that as an opinion rather than a finding.

2 likes in reply to #57 11mo

c.dahlbergTL224 Aug 2025#107

n.ekstrom, post #93: That matches what I have seen, for whatever a single anecdote is worth. 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 is what the documentation says. What happens in practice is usually close.

8 likes in reply to #93 11mo

m.wanjalaTL1Member24 Aug 2025 · edited#108

Asking as the newest person in the thread: is there a canonical order to read the documentation set in? I have been going alphabetically and that is clearly not it.

19 likes 11mo

j.habermannTL3Regular24 Aug 2025#109

Nothing to add on the substance. Thank you for taking the question at face value.

4 likes 11mo

ni.stanescuTL225 Aug 2025#110

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.

12 likes 11mo

policy_readerTL2Regular25 Aug 2025#111

b.restrepo, post #102: This is the answer, and the reason it is the answer is the more useful part. Go to post

Off-topic posts that do not belong here belong in the Lounge instead. You are not in trouble if a moderator moves your post — they are just routing it to the right place so people who want to read it can find it.

0 likes in reply to #102 11mo

f.rasmussenTL225 Aug 2025#112

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.

25 likes 11mo

m.dalgaardTL3Regular25 Aug 2025#113

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.

12 likes 11mo

m.vukovicTL226 Aug 2025 · edited#114

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.

Old habit: I write down the expected answer before I calculate it.

4 likes 11mo

revision_historyTL3Wiki editor26 Aug 2025#115

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 have said this before in a thread nobody could find, so it is worth repeating.

0 likes 11mo

e.mbekiTL226 Aug 2025#116

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.

Someone should write this up properly, and it should probably not be me.

18 likes 11mo

g.tanakaTL3Regular26 Aug 2025#117

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.

7 likes 11mo

e.adeyemiTL227 Aug 2025#118

r.mcalister, post #5: 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. This is where my knowledge stops and I would rather mark the edge than blur it. Go to post

Marking my place. If it changes for me I will come back and say so.

1 like in reply to #5 11mo

owen.bradyTL4 Moderator27 Aug 2025#119

Right — I had this wrong and I am glad to have read it before it mattered.

1 like 11mo

m.onwukaTL227 Aug 2025#120

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.

It is a small point and it changes the answer, which is an awkward combination.

0 likes 11mo