Could there possibly be a [canonical-answer] moderator-only(or otherwise officiated) tag on the main site to single out good canonical questions? Currently, a list of canonical questions is hidden somewhere in meta where panicky users that have just panicked with unmet dependencies, to cite an example. Possible options listed below. If this is approved, then there should be a prominent location with these questions or at least a prompt to look through them before posting your own question.
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For the record, we can't create moderator protected tags on the main site. That's something which is, to my knowledge, only available on meta and is predefined system-wide.– Marco CeppiCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 12:22
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5 Answers
I would argue that this isn't needed. Why? Because if it really is a a canonical question, and it is a well done, popular question, it shows up as the first question in Google, or in here
I don't think this is needed, and that we should spend our time making canonical questions awesomer (that is a word, right?) instead of trying to make our really simple mission - questions and answers even more complicated.
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@ObsessiveFOSS You might want to propose the suggestion. Letting me know would have next to nil benefit. =)– jokerdino ModCommented Jul 6, 2012 at 13:53
No.
Let's not avoid clutter with common duplicates because we don't prompt people to look at canonical questions because we don't even have an official list readily available at a prominent location within the main site.
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We can prompt people all we want to look at tags, read instructions, or point sheepishly to the search bar. Doesn't mean users will do it. Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 12:21
Yes.
It should be moderator-only.
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2We could perhaps follow what Super User is currently doing. They start with [community-faq-proposed], refine the answer and then convert it into [community-faq].– jokerdino ModCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 12:07
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Sure... But we also need a prominent prompt to look there before posting to avoid duplicate panics. Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 12:08
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3Those who are under stress won't have the mental strength to look through a huge list of questions. We can maintain a tag of good questions that others can quickly find and close the question as duplicate.– jokerdino ModCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 12:11
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One could possibly code a crappy wizard(pardon microsoft terminology) to narrow down to the questions eg."Is it installation? Then look through these 3." Once the code is in place, it is a matter of just putting questions and simple prompts in various location. I don't know whether this will make Askubuntu look like a bug tracker, which we want to avoid at all costs. Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 12:13
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The system already does somewhat similar. When you start filling your question, it suggests related questions on the sides. Next time, watch it very carefully.– jokerdino ModCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 12:17
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3Panicky users don't do most of the things right. Just saying. I am just trying to help those who want to help the panicky users as well as the system.– jokerdino ModCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 12:25
Yes.
It should be something you can propose with enough reputation, and approved by somebody with even more reputation.
Yes.
It should be something you can vote on that isn't just approved, but requires a certain amount of "canonical" votes.