How do we define what is on-topic without requiring the questioner to know the answer to their question?

Question

It seems to me that we are still struggling to pin down exactly what a lifehack is, with questions like:

• What isn't a lifehack?
• Is there anything that isn't on-topic here?
• Do questions asking for common-sense advice really count as asking about lifehacks?
• How much of an overlap can we have with other sites, and when do we migrate questions?
• Are devices considered life hacks?

The trouble is that everyone is trying to define a lifehack, but defining a lifehack defines the answer, not the question.

In order to work out what is on topic, we need to place requirements on the question; that's the way StackExchange works. We need to phrase the requirements in such a way that they don't imply that the asker needs to know whether a hack exists or not before they post their question.

(N.B. This doesn't necessarily exclude an "answerable by common sense" close reason - English Language Learners has an OT close reason for "questions that are entirely answerable using a dictionary", and I think "common sense questions" could be similar - that's still a requirement on the question.)

Answer 1

The problem we have here is that we don't want to rule out questions that fit in other sites because we want to provide "lifehack" answers instead of the standard answers they would get there.

I feel like any question can be on topic as long as the questioner has done this:

1. Clearly state the problem listing all details necessary to solve it.

2. List what has been tried and why this doesn't work. Be very specific and rule out any answer that are unsatisfactory. Make sure that some effort has been done to solve the issue. If some object could solve the issue but is not available, list that as what has been tried. Coming here and posting a question should not be the first thing done.

   (Example: I could just do {TheObviousSolution} but it won't work because {SomeIssue}. I know I could use {SomeObject} but I can't because {SomeOtherIssue}. I have also already tried {ThisThing} and {ThatThing} which didn't work because of {ProblemWithThisThingAndThatThing})

3. Give a reason that a "lifehack" is needed instead of going with the standard solutions that could be provided by other sites or that have been tried in #2.

   (Example: {TheThingNeeded} is too expensive/unavailable)

I fell like #1 is required in all SE sites and really should go without saying and then #2 and #3 are what can set the standard for our questions. This way we're not sending people away to other sites but we are also setting a standard for our questions that will demand "lifehack" style answers.

Answer 2

Under the definition of a lifehack in our new scope, we can determine if a question is on topic or not by the following:

• The question is about a practical, physical problem.
• The question must implicitly demand unconventional and creative solutions, meaning the solutions use materials that are on hand for uses besides their intended use. This makes questions seeking product recommendations off topic.
• The question is not a yes or no question, but rather asks for alternative approaches.

It goes without saying that these questions need to be clear, not too broad, not a duplicate, not primarily opinion based, and should show a good amount of effort.

Answer 3

There are two rules

1. ''DO'' provide specific examples on the problem, detail why common sense or commercial solutions are unsuitable.

2. ''DON"T'' ask general questions; hypothetically speaking, and what if, type questions are not appropriate for this site.

Answer 4

There is an extremely (IMHO unnecessarily) downvoted answer with a similar response but here are my thoughts.

What's wrong with waiting for an "accepted" answer and if that is not a hack then we close and delete the question (even better just that answer if it is not the "accepted" answer).

If I do not know the answer, and genuinely trying to find if there are hacks to solve the problem easier than the routine common sense approach, if someone feels there is none and closes the question, where is the chance to "discover" new hacks, or spread knowledge of hacks that experts can provide? How will this site sustain itself.

We cannot look at every StackExchange site as a clone of StackOverflow and apply the rules as it is, every topic needs its own tweak to make the site work and this could be one for this topic (and such other topics if any).

I know this close votes will become rarer once we make it to public beta and graduate (if and when that happens) and so 5 close votes would make it rare, but right now in private beta, everyone with an association bonus gets the privilege and it is bound to be misused when there aren't sufficient guidelines.