Many questions by new users end up closed as duplicates or for another reason related to the lack of familiarity with the site. I won't go into details; they are much discussed.
I propose to enable an interstitial how-to-ask pageinterstitial how-to-ask page: it is automatically shown to new users after they click "Ask Question" button. The page gives a few bits of advice:
- search before asking (it conveniently includes a large search box)
- make sure you are stating a clear question with some context of where it came from.
This page is already enabled on some other high-traffic sites (Stack Overflow and Server Fault among them), but not yet here.
To make it more effective, the page should have some custom text. The part
We’d love to help you, but the reality is that not every question gets answered. To improve your chances, here are some tips:
can be replaced by Math-specific advice. For example, on Server Fault it reads
To improve the chances of your question staying open and getting an answer, make sure that it is about managing information technology systems in a business environment. If your question concerns personal equipment, try asking on Super User instead. Here are some additional tips:
I'll add my suggestion for custom text below; other suggestions are welcome.
