Explanation of what this board is for...?

Pollycat

There seems to be quite a few threads posted on this board that belong elsewhere. 

Should there be an explanation of what this board is actually for?
I do appreciate that not everyone will read it.

Neil_Jones

Pollycat said:

There seems to be quite a few threads posted on this board that belong elsewhere. 

Should there be an explanation of what this board is actually for?
I do appreciate that not everyone will read it.

Just report them and the moderators will put them in the right forum.

Pollycat

So not treating the cause, just the symptom...

Neil_Jones

Pollycat said:

So not treating the cause, just the symptom...

there is an explanation of what the board's for - "Need help using the MSE Forum, or want to share feedback about how this website works?"

Unfortunately if people don't read things, not really a lot more you can do.

Pollycat

Neil_Jones said:

Pollycat said:

So not treating the cause, just the symptom...

there is an explanation of what the board's for - "Need help using the MSE Forum, or want to share feedback about how this website works?"

Unfortunately if people don't read things, not really a lot more you can do.

Where exactly does it give that explanation?

MSE_James

That blurb appears under the title on the board itself, on the list of boards and also on the form to start a new thread if you navigate via the board itself (eg this link)

I have wondered exactly why we get quite so many new posters starting their debut threads on this board, and will examine the emails sent and alerts displayed to new users to see if there's something that pushes them here, and whether it can be tweaked to make it more likely they post in the right place first time. 

Pollycat

MSE_James said:

That blurb appears under the title on the board itself, on the list of boards and also on the form to start a new thread if you navigate via the board itself (eg this link)

I have wondered exactly why we get quite so many new posters starting their debut threads on this board, and will examine the emails sent and alerts displayed to new users to see if there's something that pushes them here, and whether it can be tweaked to make it more likely they post in the right place first time. 

I don't see that explanation, James.
Not on my laptop and not on mobile.

Thanks for taking this on board.
I prefer to see something done to stop something rather than offer an alternative when it does happen.

MSE_James

The blurb that @neil_jones quoted is right at the top of this page, below the 'Site feedback' title - though I'll note that the contrast with the background image possibly is less than ideal, making the description less obvious than on some other boards with plainer images.

Pollycat

MSE_James said:

The blurb that @neil_jones quoted is right at the top of this page, below the 'Site feedback' title - though I'll note that the contrast with the background image possibly is less than ideal, making the description less obvious than on some other boards with plainer images.

I can see it now you've pointed it out.

It's really quite hard to see with the woodentop heads and ... speech bubbles.

Now this is much easier to see:

Forum policy & rules discussion

If you'd like to discuss how the forum is run, its rules etc this is the place to do it.

Bridlington1

MSE_James said:

I have wondered exactly why we get quite so many new posters starting their debut threads on this board, and will examine the emails sent and alerts displayed to new users to see if there's something that pushes them here, and whether it can be tweaked to make it more likely they post in the right place first time. 

I'm just speculating here but I'm wondering if some people are possibly trying to find the answer to their questions by using the search bar, not finding the answer and then posting on whichever board one of the results on the list is in?

For example if you search for ``please" the first result that comes up is a thread on this board:

If someone has tried to find the answer to a question using the search but hasn't found it they could possibly be inclined to start a thread on the same board as the first result, in this case it would be the Site Feedback board.

It could also explain why we seem to get some new users resurrecting old threads, often from several years ago, as they've tried finding something using the search bar, failed to find the result they're looking for, and then posted in a similar sounding thread.