Asking SoilGrids questions at GIS SE

Question

The SoilGrids FAQ says:

What if I did not find an answer to my question?

If you have a technical question about SoilGrids that is not answered in this FAQ, please post it to GIS.StackExchange, under the tag soilgrids. ISRIC staff are subscribed to this tag and will be automatically notified of any new question arising. GIS.StackExchange makes it easier for other SoilGrids users to find quality answers to their questions.

GIS.StackExchange is not a message board or a discussion forum, but a platform for technical questions. If you never used the website before, please take the tour describing the basic functionalities. Please, start by searching the website for similar questions to avoid replicates. If you need to submit a new question please follow the website rules.

From What is "SoilGrids"? it appears to be an open data product.

Is the community comfortable with all technical SoilGrids questions, other than its 23 Frequently Asked Questions, being diverted to GIS SE?

This answer to Allowing GIS SE to be support for particular software products? may provide guidance for determining the relationship we wish to have with the SoilGrids project.

Answer 1

SoilGrids is clearly spatial data and so I think our site should encourage its use and answer questions when users of GIS software get stuck on problems that involve it.

However, when questions are simply about how/when the data is compiled, then I think they should be referred back to the data publishers to provide support on their product.

I think a better wording for SoilGrids to use in their FAQ would begin with:

If you have a technical question about using GIS software with SoilGrids that is not answered in this FAQ, please post it to the GIS Stack Exchange, under the tag soilgrids. The particular GIS software that you are using, what you have tried and where you are stuck are important details to always include.

However, they might also like to add that other types of unanswered SoilGrids questions might be welcome elsewhere on the Stack Exchange network. For example:

• Open Data Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for developers and researchers interested in open data.
• Earth Science Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for those interested in the geology, meteorology, oceanography, and environmental sciences.