Confusion in the Help Center

Question

TL;DR; The Help Center topic What topics can I ask about here? is confusing.

I am a seasoned Stack Exchange user, but am new to the Pro Webmasters community. I was recently closing a question on Super User, and considered suggesting it be moved to Pro Webmaster but wasn't sure if the question would be on-topic here. Naturally, I jumped to the help center under the topic What topics can I ask about here?. Below is a screenshot of the content I saw on that page:

As any lazy user would do (and lets face it, aren't we all lazy), I read the title What topics can I ask about here? and then started reading the bullet list below this heading. Now, since I am familiar with other SE sites, I knew that the first two items on the list already had a good home on the network, so I stopped and read the entire text to find out that the highlighted bold bullet list beneath the title What topics can I ask about here? is actually a list of topics I should not be asking about.

Now, I know the text explains what the list is, but I really think you should consider clearly defining what is on topic here, rather than focusing so much on what is off-topic. Stack Overflow, Server Fault and Super User all clearly list what content is on-topic before outlining what not welcome.

I think a revisiting of this page will make the experience for new users better.

Answer 1

Does this work better for you? Please edit it directly with any changes, or make comments below.

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What topics can I ask about here?

Pro Webmasters Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional and enthusiast webmasters focused on how to operate websites. Questions here are commonly about

• search engine optimization (SEO)
• domains
• web-hosting
• internet marketing

This site is for anything that relates to owning, running, or administering your own website.

Off-topic questions

There are some types of questions about running websites that don't belong on this site:

• HTML, JavaScript, or CSS coding -- Detailed questions about how to code something are usually a better fit for Stack Overflow where there are more programmers that answer questions.
• System and network administration -- Server Fault participants are much more likely to know the technical details on topics such as DNS and Apache configuration than people who answer questions here.
• Web sites out of your control -- If the question is about another site (such as Gmail or Facebook) and not about your own website, it is off-topic here. Web Applications would be a better place to ask.
• Usage of web browsers and other software -- Super User is available for questions about how to use software in ways that are not directly related to running your own website.
• Content management systems (CMSs) -- There are specific Stack Exchange sites for several CMSs. Use those sites for Craft CMS, Drupal, Expression Engine, Joomla, Magento, Salesforce, SharePoint, Tridion, or WordPress. Questions about other CMSs may be asked here on Pro Webmasters.
• Recommendations for sites and resources -- Questions that ask for recommendations of external websites or resources attract lots of self promotion and spam answers. In addition, answers to such questions quickly become out of date. Such questions are closed as off-topic.
• Specific to only your site - If the answers to your question could only apply to your site, it is probably not a good fit for Pro Webmasters. For example, we would close questions such as "What am I doing wrong here?" or "Please review my site."
• Topics with a "catch all" question and answer -- Many topics are covered by a question with a comprehensive answer. Other questions about the topic are marked as duplicate. Some examples from the list of catch-all questions are:
  • How to find web hosting that meets my requirements?
  • Which Content Management System (CMS)/Wiki should I use?
  • What is duplicate content and how can I avoid being penalized for it on my site?

For more help, see What types of questions should I avoid asking?

Please look around to see if your question has been asked before. It's also OK to ask and answer your own question.

If your question is not specifically on-topic for Pro Webmasters Stack Exchange, it may be on topic for another Stack Exchange site. If no site currently exists that will accept your question, you may commit to or propose a new site at Area51, the place where new Stack Exchange communities are democratically created.