Which categories are strict and which are relaxed, honestly posts 31–54
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 category structure looks heavier than it is. There are twenty top-level categories and you will use three of them. Find those three, mute the rest for a month, and come back to the others when a question sends you there.
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.
Two sources, same conclusion, and I could not rule out that one copied the other.
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.
It cost nothing to check and would have cost something not to.
First week here. The thing I would tell someone arriving behind me is that the answers are slower and much better than anywhere else I have looked, and that trying to hurry one does not work.
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 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.
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 the premise is wrong, everything after it is decoration.
Joining rather than answering. I have read the orientation set twice and the thing that finally made it click was realising the documentation pages are the destination and topics are how they get written.
The claim is narrower than it sounds, and deliberately so.
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.
Flagging that the sources on this are thinner than the confidence in the thread suggests.
Worth knowing early: the archive is not retrospectively corrected. A topic from two years ago was accurate when written and may not be now. Every post carries its date for that reason.
The number is defensible. The precision I gave it is not.
Thank you — that answers what I came here to find out.
Likes here mean "this helped", not "I agree". People like posts that argue against them, and that is deliberate.
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.
Muting is under-used here. A category you mute stops appearing in Latest for you, and you can unmute it in a second. Most long-term members read four or five categories and mute the rest.
Filing this under things that are true until someone shows me otherwise.
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.
Not the whole picture, but the part of it I can speak to.
Agreed on all of that, and I have nothing to add to it.
Collapsed as off-topic by two members at trust level 3 or above
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.
Anyone who has looked at this more carefully, please correct the record.
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.
First week here. The thing I would tell someone arriving behind me is that the answers are slower and much better than anywhere else I have looked, and that trying to hurry one does not work.
This topic was referenced in
- What this community means by "a source", in practical termsStart Here › Welcome · 122 replies
- A newcomer's list of things that confused me, and the fixesStart Here › Welcome · 13 replies
- [2026 update] Are there stupid questions here? A staff answer, at lengthStart Here › Welcome · 40 replies
Suggested topics
| Topic | Participants | Replies | Views | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
What this community means by "a source", in practical terms
Asking directly, because I could not find a straight answer: What this community means by "a source", in practical terms Counting it rather than describing it, because the count is the part that can be argued…
|
+104 | 122 | 1.9k | 10mo |
|
Second pass at: Which categories are strict and which are relaxed, honestly
On the subject in the title: Second pass at: Which categories are strict and which are relaxed, honestly Working notes rather than a conclusion. Checking my reasoning rather than asking for a conclusion. My…
|
+93 | 99 | 36k | 3d |
|
About the Welcome category
Introductions, orientation, and the pinned reading list for new members. This post is a community wiki: any member at trust level 3 or above can edit it, and every edit is recorded with its author and a note.…
|
+3 | 8 | 11k | 27d |
|
How to tell whether your question is already answered on a maintained page
How to tell whether your question is already answered on a maintained page — that is the question, and I have not found it answered plainly anywhere I have looked. Question in the title. Context below, and I…
|
+5 | 9 | 30k | 3mo |
|
Coming back to: A newcomer's list of things that confused me, and the fixes
Posting this under the heading it deserves: A newcomer's list of things that confused me, and the fixes Everything below is what sits behind that. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to…
|
+4 | 8 | 57k | 23d |
Related topics — sharing the tags onboarding, beginner friendly, guidelines
| Topic | Participants | Replies | Views | Activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The anatomy of a question that gets answered within an hour
The anatomy of a question that gets answered within an hour — setting out what I have, and where I think it stops being reliable. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the things…
|
+114 | 127 | 2.7k | 13h |
|
Introducing myself: pharmacist, sceptic, reluctant participant — one year on
Posting this under the heading it deserves: Introducing myself: pharmacist, sceptic, reluctant participant — one year on Everything below is what sits behind that. Introducing myself before I ask anything,…
|
+100 | 107 | 14k | 4mo |
|
Follow-up: What other technical communities get right that we do not
What other technical communities get right that we do not I have a specific reason for asking rather than idle curiosity, and the context is below. A digression I have been saving for the right category. It…
|
+117 | 126 | 13k | 14mo |
|
Follow-up: How to disagree with an answer you were given, well
How to disagree with an answer you were given, well I have a specific reason for asking rather than idle curiosity, and the context is below. Question in the title and the context underneath, in the order the…
|
2 | 16k | 30d | |
|
When to stop reading forums, including this one
When to stop reading forums, including this one I have a specific reason for asking rather than idle curiosity, and the context is below. Something that has come up for me and that I suspect is more common…
|
+78 | 86 | 47k | 6mo |