Please note that these policies do not apply to QuinPin Groups. To learn more about our policies for Groups & Group content, please see: What is QuinPin’s policy on Groups?

The goal for each question page is that it become the best resource for anyone looking for the answer to that question.

Question Policies

Questions should be attempts to obtain reusable information

  • The primary intention of a question should be to obtain information, not to argue a point or make a statement.
  • Questions should not be used to promote a business or service, or for solicitation.
  • Questions should encourage answers that provide explanation and should be as open-ended as possible.

Questions should comply with QuinPin site policies

  • Questions about individuals that are hurtful, mean-spirited or likely to make the person uncomfortable aren’t allowed.
  • Questions that constitute harassment and have the potential to make the experience of using QuinPin unpleasant or uncomfortable for group(s) of users may be deleted.
  • All content on QuinPin, including questions, should be written in the same language that the user is participating in.
  • Legal and medical questions that deal with client- or patient-specific facts are not allowed and may be deleted or reworded to describe a general situation.

Questions are viewed as community property

  • Questions are viewed as community property: anyone can edit a question, but malicious edits and those that change the substantive meaning of the question are not allowed.
  • Questions can be deleted by the person who asked them within a certain grace period. Questions may be deleted by moderators if they contravene policy.
  • A question can be merged into another question if both ask the same thing. Generally, the question with the phrasing that is simplest and most commonly asked should remain.

Question Categories should be directly relevant to the question

  • Categories that are not directly relevant to the question, are overly broad, or are relevant only to certain answers should not be applied. Questions should not be intentionally overloaded with Categories to increase distribution.

Question Guidelines

Questions should be clearly written

  • QuinPin requires correct spelling, punctuation, grammar and capitalization to be used in questions. A question should consist of complete sentence(s) and end in a question mark.
  • Questions should contain enough information for meaningful answers to be posted, and make clear how answers can meet their expectations.
  • Questions should be concise. As a general guideline, questions should generally be no longer than 2 sentences, and only one question should be asked at a time.

Questions are stronger if they are phrased neutrally, ask for information and ask why

  • Questions are stronger if they are phrased neutrally and minimize presuppositions.
  • Questions are stronger if they do not contain assumptions. In particular, they should not imply false information.
  • Good questions are as open-ended as possible and ask ‘why?’ where this would potentially lead to more informative direct responses.

Questions of many types are encouraged

  • Questions about anything you are curious about are encouraged.
  • Questions that are easily answerable by search engines are encouraged.
  • Questions about things that are illegal are acceptable as long as they comply with QuinPin’s policies and Terms of Service.
  • Survey questions asking for the perspectives/views of individuals and typically ask why or how those views came to be are allowed on QuinPin.