Mendel
Senior Member.
I suggest having a Q&A megathread in each (sub)forum where it seems appropriate (e.g. Flat Earth, 9/11, Covid). Members would be able to post topical, factual questions there, to be answered directly or with links to existing posts/threads. Opinion questions or "why has nobody done X" type questions should be prohibited.
Megathreads have worked well before, as "current events" threads on elections, covid, and Ukraine, the humour thread, and of course the welcome thread show. The purpose of the Q&A threads would be to allow newcomers easier access to Metabunk's resources (posts and people) when the site search fails them. An explanation of how to restrict the site search to a subforum or a single thread should be included in the first post of each Q&A thread, and the expectation is that questioners have tried it before asking their question: however, sometimes a search returns nothing, or returns too much, and guidance is helpful then.
If the Q&A threads are found to not be a good fit for the site (after a trial period), they can simply be locked.
Megathreads have worked well before, as "current events" threads on elections, covid, and Ukraine, the humour thread, and of course the welcome thread show. The purpose of the Q&A threads would be to allow newcomers easier access to Metabunk's resources (posts and people) when the site search fails them. An explanation of how to restrict the site search to a subforum or a single thread should be included in the first post of each Q&A thread, and the expectation is that questioners have tried it before asking their question: however, sometimes a search returns nothing, or returns too much, and guidance is helpful then.
If the Q&A threads are found to not be a good fit for the site (after a trial period), they can simply be locked.
