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I think that this question isn't very useful -- it's subjective, and the question is really just an attempt to start a discussion. On the other hand, it's been placed in community wiki mode (appropriate) and it is the sort of question that those new to cycling will ask.

This question is the sort of precedent we need on the site. (Thanks, Kevin!) Should we allow this?

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  • By the way, it's already closed.
    – Tadeusz A. Kadłubowski
    Aug 26, 2010 at 9:26
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    I'm the OP - On reflection, the question was wrong and simply doesn't belong here. I tried deleting it, but couldn't because of too many upvoted answers. Oh, the irony.
    – Kevin
    Aug 28, 2010 at 22:08

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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This is the worst kind of GTKY (getting to know you) question. It isn't even disguised under the premise of creating a useful list (i.e. your favorite brand, your favorite drink, your favorite joke... which are bad enough). It goes against the very purpose of the site in that there is no useful "knowledge" to be gained from this kind of thing. It's a social chit-chat message. Making it community wiki doesn't make it any better.

It may not appear troublesome in isolation. The problem comes when this kind of noise labels the site as not-a-terribly-serious place to ask real, expert-level questions. If you don't agree, or can't see why this is a problem, maybe this blog post will help — particularly the latter portion:

Read: Asking the First Questions

I can see from the down-votes on the questions that there are enough people on this site who get it, luckily. Unfortunately, this site is only a few hours old so it's currently sitting right on the front page.

If you agree with my premise of what makes a good quality Q&A site in the long term, leave a thoughtful comment and close that question. My opinion.

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  • Thanks, Robert, that post is quite helpful.
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Aug 26, 2010 at 3:20
  • I'm the author of the post. After sleeping on it, I was going to close the question this morning, but I see the community has already spoken. I disagree that there is no useful knowledge to be gained, but the question was worded in a clumsy manner. In retrospect, I wish I'd read that blog post before posting.
    – Kevin
    Aug 26, 2010 at 8:46
  • @Kevin: No problem. The intention wasn't to come down hard on your post specifically. It's more of a community-awareness, and site-building discussion. That's why we blog about this stuff; to give everyone some insight into the philosophy and purpose behind the rules and behaviors. It's especially important in the opening weeks of the site because this stuff sets the tone and standards for the site for a very long time.
    – Robert Cartaino
    Aug 26, 2010 at 16:36
  • Whilst I take no pleasure in being the first one sent to the SO naughty step, nobody was a jerk and running a tight ship is what makes the site what it is. Not sure now whether to vote to delete it (and purge my shame!) or leave it as a cautionary tale of what not to do ?
    – Kevin
    Aug 26, 2010 at 18:04
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    I'm all for leaving signposts for those who come after. In the general case, though, I would vote to delete. More guidelines about when to delete: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/58842/….
    – Robert Cartaino
    Aug 26, 2010 at 20:32

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