Questions tagged [questions]
For questions about, well, questions: how to ask, whether specific questions are appropriate, and so forth.
55
questions
35
votes
5answers
4k views
Asking good Questions for GIS Stack Exchange?
I often see vaguely framed questions posted, and I would like to help their askers, but I cannot, because their questions are missing key information.
Instead of having a long discussion in the ...
29
votes
8answers
541 views
How could we encourage more non-software related questions?
I don't like the fact that lately most questions relate to some software specific issues. I mean sure, thats where people get stuck probably, i asked some of them myself. But they re not those kind of ...
27
votes
3answers
288 views
Why are there so many question with no votes but with answers that have upvotes?
Example (at the time I'm posting this question, the question below has 0 votes):
Setting IActiveView extent?
And maybe the example above isn't the best example, but I see this happening a lot with ...
20
votes
1answer
1k views
Writing code snippets to get quicker answers
The term "code snippet" is often used when trying to help users frame their coding questions.
Other similar terms can be found in:
How to create a Minimal, Reproducible Example:
minimal, ...
16
votes
2answers
595 views
Let me Google that for you
There seems to be a fairly constant stream of low quality questions being asked on the site which are often followed up by a 'welcome to the site please provide more information' type comment
I'm ...
15
votes
1answer
189 views
Encouraging answerers to upvote question they are answering?
I have been noticing more and more that users are answering questions that have no up-votes. The most recent occurrence is for the question found at Creating queries to select by attribute with arcpy. ...
15
votes
2answers
288 views
Asking simple, non-technical questions on GIS SE
I have started to learn using ArcGIS and ArcPy only recently and I am still very much in the process of learning.
Looking at this site, I realized that most, if not all, questions asked here are ...
13
votes
1answer
247 views
Answering question that is On Hold?
My question, What is my coordinate system preserving? was put on hold as being to broad. I made some edits to the question to try and make it more focused, and after doing some further research and ...
13
votes
1answer
107 views
Is this paper map question appropriate for this site?
I work at a public library that houses an archival collection. We have a copy of a map lithograph from the Dominion Lands Office (Canada) dated 1878. I was trying to determine what the projection of ...
12
votes
3answers
212 views
Re-asking old questions with correct (but now dated) answers?
What's the policy on old questions whose answers are no-longer current (but were correct at the time).
For example, this question: Seeking QGIS tutorials and web resources? - has a number of answers ...
12
votes
1answer
118 views
Would there be interest in a weekly cartography GIS SE user contest with winning entries features on the main page?
Every week Photography SE users are encouraged to submit photos. The rest of the community offers critique which generates interesting discussions. Winning images are then displayed on the main page ...
12
votes
1answer
250 views
Guiding authors of code related questions to post actual code?
I've noticed that in code related questions on GIS SE, particularly OpenLayers / Leaflet / JavaScript ones, that new people are not posting up any code examples.
The example that prompted this ...
11
votes
1answer
442 views
Should Statements of Urgency be removed from Questions?
To me one of the basic principles of GIS SE (and SE more generally) is that questions which are the clearest get answered the quickest and/or most comprehensively. It is this that encourages all of ...
11
votes
1answer
221 views
What to do when question edits were rolled back?
I made some edits to Importing quadtiles to qgis or other program?.
However, the author decided to rollback.
What is my proper/polite behaviour in these circumstances?
Perhaps, I am exaggerating the ...
10
votes
1answer
139 views
Should I rephrase my question through Edits or delete it and start over?
Is it better to start over again if the question is in some way flawed or should I just edit the question (including title and description) so that the earlier discussion is preserved.
10
votes
1answer
210 views
Why is this “Not an answer” flag disputed?
I was doing a review recently on an answer. I got the impression that the answer basically is along the lines of,
I am working [on somethings] ..., now I am trying to edit data and it
[ArcSDE] ...
9
votes
3answers
242 views
Dealing with unethical questions?
Concerning the following questions :
https://gis.stackexchange.com/questions/255088/how-to-scrape-data-from-this-map
Adding value based on the color code to a tif file in QGIS
Those two questions ...
9
votes
4answers
217 views
Where does it state “one question per post” in the GIS Stack Exchange instructions?
I notice that the GIS Stack Exchange Tour page doesn't explicitly state that there should only be one question per post. The closest it comes is:
This site is all about getting answers. It's not a ...
8
votes
1answer
274 views
Understanding 9,000 views in 4 days on question?
This GPS vs NAVIC question received almost 9000 views in the 4 days since it was asked.
On average, 4 day old questions have about 30 views, with other high view question gaining just over 100 views. ...
8
votes
1answer
137 views
Should we move to close old, abandoned questions with not enough detail?
By old, I mean about six months or older. By abandoned, I meant that people have asked for clarifications in the comments so that they can answer the question better but the OP hasn't responded in ...
8
votes
3answers
53 views
No questions are listed when clicking on a tag
When I click on a tag on the tag page, I would like to see the questions that contains that tag, as on StackOverflow. But on the GIS site, no questions are listed.
Why? What is the problem?
8
votes
1answer
177 views
Shortest code to reproduce GIS programming problems
Sometimes we receive GIS programming questions which are difficult to answer because it lacks explanation about the problem and reproducible examples.
When that happens, we could quickly provide ...
7
votes
2answers
222 views
Edit that changes a user's choice of software
I came across a question where a user originally asked for software to complete a particular analysis:
How can I find the highest path of a DEM or contours file within an
area?
and suggested FME ...
7
votes
1answer
121 views
Should I edit an answer, create a new answer, or create a new question (and answer it)?
I was having some trouble with the Measure Widget and Popup and the answer here got me on the right track: Hiding infoWindow of ArcGIS API for JavaScript while using measure tool?
Both answers assume ...
6
votes
1answer
41 views
Where to post follow-up on answered question?
Recently I asked a question and received an answer. It worked initially so I marked it as answered. However as I used the model I came across a significant problem that I'd like to ask for further ...
6
votes
1answer
141 views
Bounty or new question?
It's been 4 years since I asked Applying version control to ArcGIS Models.
The essence of my question for the main site is: has anything significant in the landscape changed since then? combined ...
5
votes
2answers
94 views
Splitting answer when it leads to another question?
Fairly new to SE, but trying to be as active as I can and just wanted to make sure of what I'm doing.
A few days ago I answered Changing to alternate label if first label does not fit in QGIS?. The ...
5
votes
2answers
185 views
What to do with not-a-question questions?
While doing a review, I saw this "first question" Creating simple citygml 3D models based on 2D shapefiles (alkis) shp2gml using Python?. To my surprise, the OP posted a first question with the sole ...
5
votes
2answers
126 views
Inappropriate use of Title Case in question stats (Asked / Viewed / Active)?
I know this is a detail, but this kind of stuff bothers me once I notice it.
And I just noticed now that GIS SE makes some rather strange use of Title Case. When you are on a question page, you see ...
5
votes
1answer
95 views
What should I do if I have a question and found an _old_ answer? [duplicate]
I searched gis.se and found a two year old answer to a problem I have today.
But may be the old answer is not a good answer today because:
technical changes in the tool (proposed in the old answer)
...
5
votes
2answers
172 views
Is there any way to filter the questions based on interesting tags?
If I click on a tag I get all questions marked with that tag. But is there any way to filter the questions on the tags that I've choosen as interesting?
I'm adding this as a feature request, it ...
4
votes
2answers
217 views
Deleting merged questions asked by the same OP?
Sometimes I run into merged posts asked by the same OP (so, nearly identical posts) which are then marked duplicates (the stub) from the canonical ones (the master). As a consequence of this process, ...
4
votes
1answer
41 views
Could GIS Stack Exchange add new question option on menu?
Could GIS Stack Exchange add an option to see the "newest" questions on the menu?
This way a person can click on that option to focus on new questions.
4
votes
2answers
178 views
Should older questions not meeting current standards be closed or locked?
Every once in a while a couple of our more popular questions pop up in a review queue because someone has added a new answer. Should the original question be asked today, it would be quickly closed as ...
3
votes
2answers
40 views
Is there a draft mode for writing questions and answers?
I would like to have a feature of saving a draft of a question and not just having to complete the question and send off.
3
votes
3answers
188 views
Importance of including software (often version too) details when asking most questions at GIS SE?
This question is triggered by comments on the question Measuring tool shows different measurements for same building in two different map documents?; and is:
Why is it important to have the software (...
3
votes
1answer
68 views
Are speed camera POIs database or location suitable question for this site?
I know some people (me included) interested by sharing speed camera poi's or database and asking question regarding this topic.
Is that subject considered as a proper topic or it is borderline or ...
3
votes
1answer
109 views
Asking same question for newer version?
@underdark wrote, in a much upvoted answer to the somewhat related Dealing with Q&As using deprecated/non-existent PyQGIS API functions?:
I'm not a friend of having ten copies of the same ...
3
votes
1answer
314 views
Delete or edit question on cartographic 'jokes'?
As Polygeo has pointed out, and placed on hold, my question on Cartographic jokes Examples of cartographic 'jokes' was trying to build a list. I hadn't really appreciated that this didn't fit ...
2
votes
1answer
68 views
Should an off-topic question with an accepted answer be placed on-hold?
I asked a question which I had accepted an answer to: How to split filenames for their first word in Python?
Now, I understand why PolyGeo placed it 'on-hold' as it is pretty much a software-oriented ...
2
votes
2answers
119 views
Should we avoid changing canonical question titles so as to preserve their recognizability?
I just reverted the title of the Accessing ArcObjects from Python? question from a recent revision which substantially changed the question title (to the point where I honestly did not recognize it). ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
Same question multiple sites
Since many applications of GIS are multi-disciplinary in nature, I was wondering whether it is correct to post the same question in multiple stackexchange sites.
For example, many times when dealing ...
2
votes
1answer
32 views
Is it possible to program website behavior in response to lists of tags?
In Do multiple GIS software tags equal multiple questions? the issue is raised as to how to respond to certain combinations of tags, in particular the presence of tags for multiple GIS software ...
1
vote
1answer
47 views
Are questions on how to find Requests for proposals in a specific area (country, continent, etc) appropriate?
I am curious, as I'd like to ask the following question: "Where to find GIS related RFPs online for Canada?"
1
vote
1answer
170 views
Recent rapid question upvotes
i'm just wondering if anyone is noticing questions are upvoted very high, very fast. I'm not sure that there is an inherent issue with this.
1
vote
1answer
52 views
Add On Hold or Flagged button to question filters
Would it be feasible to add a 'Flagged' or 'On Hold' button next to the 'newest', 'frequent', 'unanswered' filter buttons in the question list?
It could bring greater attention to them, and help make ...
1
vote
2answers
46 views
Is specialist/specification question about weather data on topic? [duplicate]
I have a specialist/specification question that related the geography but more like earth science or weather data namely whether darkness falls quicker in the spring / summer since it appears so where ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Asking for specific custom implementations?
Would you deem a question like (highly simplified)
Did anybody implement [a specific function/algorithm] in the PostgreSQL/PostGIS environment [or know of someone who did/shares a
code-base]?
...
1
vote
1answer
38 views
Receiving error when submitting question
I have seen that this has been encountered many times before, but all of the fixes discussed in previous questions don't seem to be working for me. I am trying to submit a question and am receiving ...
1
vote
3answers
58 views
Guidelines on accepting answers for 'list of x' community wikis?
I thought it was strange to still have a cw question with an accepted answer option, but it appears this topic has been discussed on meta.stackoverflow.com.
I do like the suggestion of having the ...
