Questions

Good Question.

There are a number of reason’s why GIS Stack Exchange Moderators close questions. The most likely is because the exact same question has already been answered. Please use the the search (top right) before posting new questions.

Exact Duplicate “This question covers exactly the same ground as earlier questions on this topic; its answers may be merged with another identical question.”

A simple search on the GIS Stack Exchange site will find questions or related questions (most with answers already!) which speeds up the user having to wait for responses.

Off Topic – questions are expected to generally relate to geographic information systems, within the scope defined in the FAQ. http://gis.stackexchange.com/faq

GIS covers a large field of topics – but some can be better answered on other Stack Exchanges sites {{insert link/or list of sites}}.

What to do if you disagree?

• post on meta, asking for clarification and the reasoning behind the closure, provide arguments for why in this particular instance should be okay

• ask again, providing more information, better wording.

NOT Constructive

This question is not a good fit to our Q&A format. We expect answers to generally involve facts, references, or specific expertise; this question will likely solicit opinion, debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion.

GIS SE likes Questions that can be answered – too many variables can delay or even be left unanswerable.

NOT a real Question

It’s difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form.

GIS SE Moderators can debate this one, sometimes it just takes a polite comment/message for the question being asked to contain more content or expand on details.

Too Localized This question is unlikely to ever help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet.

Can be hard for some to to be generic enough for based on the question for a very local or remote location.

What kind of questions can be asked on GIS Stack Exchange? The Geographic Information Systems Stack Exchange is for is for questions concerning geographic information systems and science. We welcome cartographers, database administrators, geographers, programmers, and anyone interested in or using GIS professionally.

Please see other places for help for questions which are off topic here (such as general questions on databases, server setup, web services, programming, etc.).

Although the scope of questions appropriate here is wide, befitting the range of GIS applications please make an initial effort to research the answer before you ask a question. That will help you write a great, focused question that gets excellent answers. Questions that are too basic (meaning the answer is indexed in any number of general internet reference sources designed specifically to find that type of information)will be closed.

GIS SE aim is to create a lasting record of great solutions to questions. Providing references to peer-reviewed literature or links to on-line resources is warmly welcomed. You can also incorporate the work of others under fair use doctrine, which particularly means that you must attribute any text, images, or other material that is not originally yours.

Please look around to see if your question has been asked before. Duplicates are Flagged for Moderation It’s also Okay to ask and answer your own question.

What kind of questions should I not ask here?

You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face. Chatty, open-ended questions diminish the usefulness of our site and push other questions off the front page. Open-End cannot be completed and makes it harder for people to give correct answers.

Your questions should be reasonably scoped. If you can imagine an entire book that answers your question, you’re asking too much.

If your motivation for asking the question is “I would like to participate in a discussion about”, then you should not be asking here. However, if your motivation is “I would like others to explain … to me”, then you are OK. (Discussions are welcome in our real time web chat.)

How do I ask questions here? When you post a new question, other users will almost immediately see it and try to provide good answers. This often happens in a matter of minutes, so be sure to check back frequently when your question is still new for the best response.

Answers to your questions and comment replies to your posts will appear as a red indicator in your global inbox at the top left of every page.

Reputation The primary way to gain reputation is by posting good questions and useful answers. Your peers will vote on your posts, and those votes will cause you to gain (or, in rare cases, lose) reputation:

A maximum of 40 votes can be cast per user per day, however, to reach the maximum you must vote on at least 10 questions. You can earn a maximum of 200 reputation per day. Please note that votes for posts marked “community wiki” do not generate any reputation, while accepted answers and bounty awards are not subject to the daily reputation limit.

The other way to gain reputation is by suggesting edits to existing posts as a new registered user. Each edit will be peer reviewed, and if it is accepted, you will earn +2 reputation. You can only earn a maximum of +1000 total reputation through suggested edits, however.

Further Details can be found at the GIS SE FAQ