I am relatively new to the community, and only very recently active on a daily basis. I think that the first point, as most would agree I'm sure, is critical. There have been a few posts that I've noticed have very sparse information and it's only after several rounds of back and forth comments that the problem is clear.
As far as the rest of the points go, I personally don't think that they are necessarily vital. Here's my thoughts on them:
Tell us why you need to know the answer. What led you here? Is it idle
curiosity or somehow blocking you on a project? We don't require your
whole life story, just give us some basic context for the problem.
As this is a community that supports learning through collective problem solving, does the context of the question make it more or less valid if it is for an important government related project versus personal curiosity? I understand that there are different standards that need to be taken into consideration in some cases, but I believe that should be the responsibility of the poster, as they are the most familiar with their situation. If it's important, they will mention it.
Share any research you did towards solving your problem, and what you
found, if anything. And if you didn't do any research – should you
even be asking?
Yes, in general people should research their problem before turning here, however I understand that in many situations problems can seem so overwhelming that you don't know where to start. In my eyes that is the true beauty of this community: however big or small the problem is, there is likely someone here with relevant experience that can at least push the poster in the right direction. If questions deemed too shallow or poorly researched are closed outright, I think that the nature of this site - or at least what I perceive it to be - isn't being represented, which leads to my last point:
Ultimately, this is about fairness: if you're going to ask us to spend
our valuable time helping you, it's only fair that you put in a
reasonable amount of your valuable time into crafting a decent
question. Help us help you!
Both those asking questions and those answering them are here voluntarily. I spend most of my day working on one or two python scripts, and I come here as a refreshing break. I enjoy helping people solve their problems and I usually learn something new or solidify my understanding of a concept I'm already familiar with in the process. I know that when I have a question, this is a place I can come to get a better understanding of what it is I'm facing and learn something new.
This site doesn't get a ton of post traffic, at least not that I've noticed, and those that do post typically are professionals or students that have specific problems. Of course there will always be exceptions and posts that without a doubt should be closed, but following the above guidelines strictly, in my opinion, would be counter-productive.
Just my two cents.
