Topic summary

[2026 update] Are there stupid questions here? A staff answer, at length

Start Here › Welcome guidelines trust levels onboarding Solved Closed

This is a generated summary. It shows the 6 most-liked posts from a topic of 41, in their original order, with the accepted answer included where one exists. It is a reading aid and it will miss nuance — the full topic is the record.

s.lindqvistTL2 Moderator28 Aug 2025#1

Are there stupid questions here? A staff answer, at length — that is the question, and I have not found it answered plainly anywhere I have looked.

Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the things people here always have to ask for.

What I have already read: the relevant maintained document, the two topics it links to, and the tag page. What I could not find is the specific case I am in, which may simply mean it is uncommon.

I am happy to be told this is answered elsewhere if someone can point at where.

43 likes 11mo

h.bhattacharyaTL2 Moderator26 Oct 2025#6

The moderation log is public. Every staff action is logged with the rule cited and the reasoning stated. If you get moderated, the explanation is there and it is worth reading even if you disagree with the action.

32 likes 9mo

l.dialloTL2 Moderator Solution12 Nov 2025#8

c.inglethorpe, post #7: Introducing yourself is fine and requires no question. Post in this subcategory, describe the context that matters for why you are here, and lurk for a bit before posting technical questions. That order works well. Go to post

I read post #6 twice before replying, because I had assumed the opposite.

Two things before anyone answers the substance.

First, the context in the first post is clear and specific. Second, the question is framed so that an answer can actually address it. Both are the norm here and both matter more than they sound.

6 likes in reply to #7 8mo

d.achebeTL2 Moderator27 Jan 2026#18

DKwiatkowski, post #17: Practical note that does not fit anywhere else. Whatever you conclude from this topic, write down what you did and when. The single most useful thing in your own records is not any individual result; it is that they are dated and consecutive. Go to post

Off-topic posts that do not belong here belong in the Lounge instead. You are not in trouble if a moderator moves your post — they are just routing it to the right place so people who want to read it can find it.

28 likes in reply to #17 6mo

f.novakTL2 Moderator23 Feb 2026#22

33 likes in reply to #7 5mo

ambient_reviewTL3Regular2 Jun 2026#38

Marked solutions are the site's way of saying that someone asked a good question and someone else gave an answer that actually worked. It is not a competition and it does not appear on your record — it is just how the site learns which topics stay useful six months later.

31 likes 2mo

Read the full topic (41 posts)

This topic was referenced in

Are there stupid questions here? A staff answer, at lengthStart Here › Welcome · 153 replies
What "marked as solution" means and who gets to mark itStart Here › Welcome · 2 replies
Follow-up: What this community means by "a source", in practical termsStart Here › Welcome · 20 replies

This topic was closed 30 days after the last reply. Closing is automatic for quiet topics so that a settled answer does not collect new questions underneath it. If you have a follow-up, open a new topic and link back to this one — that keeps both readable and gives your question its own title.

Suggested topics

Topic	Participants	Replies	Views	Activity
Reading order for a first week here, and what to skip until later — what changed since Start Here › Welcome onboarding guidelines beginner friendly trust levels Reading order for a first week here, and what to skip until later — what changed since Writing it up because I had to work it out twice and would rather nobody else did. I want to check my reasoning rather…	+89	93	28k	4h
I joined for one answer and stayed for a year — what changed my mind Start Here › Welcome guidelines onboarding trust levels Posting this under the heading it deserves: I joined for one answer and stayed for a year — what changed my mind Everything below is what sits behind that. Question in the title. Context below, and I have…	+96	114	17k	just now
What "marked as solution" means and who gets to mark it — does this still hold? Start Here › Welcome onboarding beginner friendly guidelines Solved What "marked as solution" means and who gets to mark it — does this still hold? I have a specific reason for asking rather than idle curiosity, and the context is below. I want to check my reasoning rather…	+69	74	2.4k	3mo
Lurking for two months before posting: was that the right call? Start Here › Welcome guidelines trust levels beginner friendly Asking directly, because I could not find a straight answer: Lurking for two months before posting: was that the right call? Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the things people…	+67	71	11k	8mo
Follow-up: What this community means by "a source", in practical terms Start Here › Welcome onboarding beginner friendly trust levels guidelines The question in the title: What this community means by "a source", in practical terms I will give what I have already checked below so nobody repeats it. I want to check my reasoning rather than get a…	+16	20	7k	18mo

Related topics — sharing the tags guidelines, trust levels, onboarding

Topic	Participants	Replies	Views	Activity
What this community means by "a source", in practical terms Start Here › Welcome beginner friendly trust levels guidelines Solved Asking directly, because I could not find a straight answer: What this community means by "a source", in practical terms Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the things people…	+107	122	1.9k	10mo
Why the Start Here categories exist, and what they are not for — one year on Start Here › Welcome onboarding beginner friendly guidelines Solved Why the Start Here categories exist, and what they are not for — one year on I have a specific reason for asking rather than idle curiosity, and the context is below. I want to check my reasoning rather than…	+11	15	566	18mo
Revisiting: What to include when your question involves arithmetic Start Here › How to Ask worked example site feedback onboarding beginner friendly Revisiting: What to include when your question involves arithmetic — setting out what I have, and where I think it stops being reliable. Question in the title. Context below, and I have tried to include the…	+21	25	384	12mo
Revisiting: Reading order for a first week here, and what to skip until later Start Here › Welcome guidelines trust levels onboarding Posting this under the heading it deserves: Revisiting: Reading order for a first week here, and what to skip until later Everything below is what sits behind that. I want to check my reasoning rather than…		2	60k	4mo
[2026 update] Hello from a laboratory that does not do peptides Lounge › Introductions onboarding beginner friendly Hello from a laboratory that does not do peptides Writing it up because I had to work it out twice and would rather nobody else did. Lower-stakes topic, but the sourcing rule still applies if anyone makes a…		2	49k	4mo