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I'm in a Masters program for Information Systems Management. Would it be okay to seed the site during Beta with questions from my PM and Systems Analysis courses? Or should we be sticking to questions that arise on the job?

In case anyone is worried that I'm trying to crowd-source my homework, I could post questions then answer them, just so it's clear that I've already put in some effort of my own.

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    I would just ask that you be careful and avoid questions that are clearly academic. This site should be a collection of 'real-world' questions and answers. And I'd prefer to have you post questions for chapters your class has already covered rather than current assignments. Not that I'm worried about your homework - odds are, if you listen to me, you'll get an F anyways! But if you're going you post homework, it might be nice to have your prof chime in.
    – DaveParillo
    Feb 8, 2011 at 2:59
  • @DaveParillo: Thanks for the feedback. I was hoping to ask a question and give the "book" answer myself, then see how it compares to the real world answers from everyone else. I definitely don't want an academic misconduct citation on my transcript, so I won't be posting any assignments that are currently due. :)
    – Bill the Lizard
    Feb 9, 2011 at 1:25
  • I think that would be an interesting exercise. How different is the taught from the practiced.
    – Ben
    Jun 1, 2011 at 0:28

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You really don't want to start seeding the site with "textbook" questions in the earliest days of the beta. That will set a very bad tone for the professional nature of this site.

Please read Asking the First Questions:

It has long been established that no question is too entry-level nor too basic. Everyone is welcome. But, in these earliest days, we are DESIGNING a site for experts. To attract experts, you need a site where people are asking very interesting and challenging questions, not the basic questions found on every other Q&A site. Remember, the pro sites WILL attract the enthusiasts, but not the other way around!

The earliest questions on a site will set the tone and topic of the site for a long time.

I am concerned that the questions on the PM Stack Exchange already lean heavily towards very broad, beginners' questions. That will not attract professional project managers. The early beta is supposed to establish the type of site you are building, and "textbook" questions do not reflect the actual content that we want this site to contain, and are not representative of it.

I just wrote a related post on this subject: Please avoid very broad, beginners' questions during the beta.

Those questions are okay for a thriving site. But please hold off on them for now. They will only hurt the long-term prospects for the site.

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    Okay, I can hold off until the site gets rolling. I'm glad I asked first instead of posting 15 chapters worth of academic questions. :)
    – Bill the Lizard
    Feb 9, 2011 at 2:18
  • Thanks for sharing your expertise on how to make this site the most successful. @Bill, thanks for asking these questions. It's great that you're thinking about this carefully before posting.
    – jmort253
    Feb 9, 2011 at 7:23
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It is OK by me. 123456789012345

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What this site really needs right now are real world questions, whether objective questions or subjective questions, as long as they represent complex problems, are thought-provoking, and won't create any wars.

Basic textbook questions won't attract the pros. I'm not here because I want to learn basic information. I'm here because I want to be the best project manager I can be and contribute my expertise to the community.

I'd suggest staying away from purely academic questions altogether and focusing on questions related to real world project management problems in 2011 and beyond.

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It's OK for me: the beta must live, and we are just 200, so, I think all is good to take...

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  • What needs to happen to ensure the site lives?
    – Kieran Andrews
    Feb 8, 2011 at 6:59
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rephrase the answers in the form of a question

in keeping with the meta-site rules and regulations, use waffles and unicorns for examples

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I think it's ok, though the question should be marked as, kind of, "homework" or "academic" tag.

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    Please no. I've seen this discussion on a few Stack Exchanges (including the original trilogy) and everyone pretty much agreed that these are meta tags that don't describe the contents of the question and shouldn't be used.
    – Thomas Owens Mod
    Feb 8, 2011 at 11:55
  • @Thomas: ok, now I see the problem.
    – Hoàng Long
    Feb 9, 2011 at 16:54

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