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So I had a question posted here asking about how we can attract existing selenium users to post questions on SQA site

One response was (which I also marked as right response) -

"add a comment suggesting that the user instead ask it at a different site"

So I started leaving a note on my response on Selenium/Selenium 2 tagged question on Stack Overflow asking users to pose their questions on SQA site (As the Selenium proposal was merged in to SQA proposal).

One such response (which I posted here) has been modified by another user and my note about attracting Selenium users to the SQA site has been removed. Well not only this, my response has been down-voted!

I suppose I did not do any thing wrong in my understanding to attract Selenium users to SQA site and I don't have enough points to bring my unedited posts back for question which I answered here.

I am afraid I would be posted with same response in future also, what could I do to handle them?

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    FWIW, this is a comment...
    – Shog9
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 3:11

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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First off, "comment" here refers to a bit of text attached to a post using the "add comment" feature, not part of an answer. They're well-suited to communication that doesn't actually involve answering the question.

Second, keep in mind that while SQA provides a cozy new home for these questions, they're not off topic on Stack Overflow (in so far as they're still programming questions) - so it's possible you offended an avid answerer of Selenium questions on SO by suggesting the asker go elsewhere.

You might want to focus your efforts on (good) questions that aren't getting answered well on SO: catch questions as they fall through the cracks (either because they are off-topic, or simply because they fall outside the expertise of SO users) and point them here.

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    Though I see your points I find it a bit confusing. When you said in third paragraph - ".....he cracks (either because they are off-topic, or simply because they fall outside the expertise of SO users) and point them here". Would not I be yet offending so called "avid answerer of Selenium question" by pointing user to SQA site?
    – Tarun
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 3:31
  • @Tarun: if he's not providing [good] answers to a question, he's no business getting offended if someone suggests (in a comment) that the asker might find help somewhere else... Doesn't mean he won't I suppose, but don't worry about it until something goes horribly wrong.
    – Shog9
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 3:34
  • My understanding - I could add a comment on Selenium question to users asking them to make post in SQA site which is supposed to be new Home for Selenium (I hope I could add comment even if I don't know answer of Selenium question) ...
    – Tarun
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 3:59
  • @Tarun: you can leave such a comment - however, use discretion when doing so, because ultimately it's up to the asker where he wants to ask it (provided "it" is actually a programming question which happens to involve Selenium). You don't want to drive people away by inadvertently implying they've asked an off-topic question; rather you wish to share with them the existence of this new site wherein their question would receive more attention.
    – Shog9
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 4:03
  • hmmm may be I should say some thing like - "Are you aware of New Selenium Home at StackExchange - sqa.stackexchange.com SQA Site is in beta stage and supposed to be repository of Selenium questions" What bewilders me most is how much effort it is going to take to migrate users here since Selenium was merged with SQA proposal :-/
    – Tarun
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 4:22
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    @Tarun: the key here is that users aren't like questions (which are easy to migrate): they'll ask on whatever site appears to offer them the best chance of getting a quick, useful answer to their question. So don't get too hung up on "How can I get SO users off of SO"; think instead, "How can I get good Selenium questions asked and answered here?" Perhaps scan the unanswered list and look for questions that are well-asked and frequently viewed, and make your suggestions there...
    – Shog9
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 4:28
  • I suppose this best I could do....
    – Tarun
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 4:43
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    I completely agree. Our goal is not user count, question count, or answer count; our goal is being a reliable place where questions can be professionally answered.
    – corsiKa Mod
    Commented May 23, 2011 at 14:57
  • @Shog9, As for users with accounts in both SQA.SE and SO, would you suggest programming questions regarding sqa (e.g. Loadrunner API questions and/or non-Loadrunner web-crawling API questions) to be asked on SQA.SE or on SO? Since they seem to be on-topic on both sites, how would one decide where to post/channel the questions to?
    – Pacerier
    Commented May 19, 2015 at 3:01

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