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The question for consideration: How to only send Facebook Updates to friends who play a game?

When writing a seed question that has a relatively generic scope how generic should I be?

For example, I have a question that is directed at one Facebook game, but it is also a common issue across a variety of other Facebook games.

Should I target the particular game, how open should I leave it?

Really, this question is about how people will end up finding questions: Would they search for that one particular game, meaning very closely related questions would have to be made for each game similar, or would leaving it open make it work well?

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Remember, this is the REAL site. We're not asking "seed" or "sample" questions here. There are enough people on this site (and a lot more coming) that we don't need seeders, per se. It would be very bad for this site if it was loading up with questions, just for the sake of asking questions. There are real people putting real effort into answering your questions.

Please use this site is to ask real questions about problems you actually have.

In terms of how to ask, if you have a specific question, ask a specific question. If you think your question applies to a more general case, include that information, too. Any additional information you provide in your question is helpful.

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  • So, if I posted a question that I already knew the answer to. As a seed question (that can still be helpful to app users) should I just post the answer that works for it or delete the question as noise? Question Here: webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/173/…
    – Jesse Dorsey
    Jun 30, 2010 at 23:18
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    @Noctrine: No, you don't have to do anything like that. The main point is that we don't need "faked" questions for the sole purpose of populating the site. We'll have more than enough real, organic growth. Loading up sites with contrived questions was popular when SE 1.0 sites were struggling. We don't need that here. But I don't mean to discourage asking good questions.
    – Robert Cartaino
    Jun 30, 2010 at 23:32
  • Yeah, I get it now. But now that I think about it, there may be a better way to resolve the problem then what I did myself. So I am going to leave it up to see if there is a better workaround. Thanks Robert.
    – Jesse Dorsey
    Jul 1, 2010 at 0:14
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    A good question is a good question no matter what prompts it. If I think of a good question that others will likely have during the beta I'll ask it whether or not I actually have a particular problem or not. Curiosity and an inkling that the question could be valuable to others is enough for me.
    – tvanfosson
    Jul 1, 2010 at 12:23
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    The questions I've been asking on this site are questions I have or have actually had at one time or another. I figure if I've had them, then others have too.
    – George Stocker
    Jul 1, 2010 at 12:25
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Like Robert has mentioned before: You should be asking real, expert questions, not generic ones

Ask real, expert questions.

We want you to capture the moment that plumbers feel when they look at PlumberOverflow and say, "Whoa! That's my kinda site!" On a site about plumbing, there are 200 easy plumbing questions, and they've all been asked 100 times on other sites. Don't suggest questions like "How do I unclog a drain." Instead ask, "If you run 2.5 GPM through 50 feet of 1/2" galv pipe, how many psi will be lost to friction loss?" Remember, the pro sites WILL attract the enthusiasts, but not the other way around!

Like you said: people search for how to kill Mafia Wars, not to kill Facebook games. Especially if you first target the most popular questions, we might not even need the generic questions.

But that doesn't mean you can't give a generic answer, that could be applied in other situations as well

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  • You could add that you are looking for a general solution as a rider, but would accept a specific one.
    – ChrisF Mod
    Jun 30, 2010 at 21:29
  • Hmm, well it was a real question that I had at one point had, but it covers a more generic scope. I guess I should just post the answer that I found that worked for me then to close it out.
    – Jesse Dorsey
    Jun 30, 2010 at 23:16

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