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Stack Exchange has a network wide feature which allows clear instructions on how to ask a question to be displayed for certain 'problem' tags. The full details about the feature can be found here.

I would like to propose we use this feature for questions.

Approximately 7% of questions posted on LEGO Answers are identification questions. A lot of the users who ask these questions tend be new to Stack Exchange. The only way they can find out how to ask a good identification question is to visit the tag wiki page which is buried away in the tag database.

With the 'how-to-ask' feature implemented for the identification tag, users who use the tag will have a prompt similar to the one shown in the mockup below.

enter image description here

Should we implement this system for identification questions?

If a 'how-to-ask' tip is provided for identifcation questions, what tips should be provided?

Are there any other tags that would benefit from this feature?

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    Hey! Can you mention which tags you want this added to now in the question? We're sending this to our devs to have them do this but it's unclear which tags we're going to be adding the warning to. Thanks! Is it just piece-identification and set-identification or the other identification tags as well? Could y'all put a new answer with the slightly different variants for each tag that you want?
    – Catija
    May 7, 2021 at 16:58

3 Answers 3

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In regards to the tag being replaced with various other more specific tags I would like to suggest the following changes:

Part identification questions get better answers if they...

  • Provide detailed descriptions of the physical appearance of the part
  • Include clear photos of the part of parts
  • Include details about when and where they were found

Set identification questions get better answers if they...

  • Provide detailed descriptions of the physical appearance of the set
  • Include clear photos of the set
  • Include details about when and where they were found

Minifigure identification questions get better answers if they...

  • Provide detailed descriptions of the physical appearance of the minifigure
  • Include clear photos of the minifigure
  • Include details about when and where they were found

Sticker identification questions get better answers if they...

  • Provide detailed descriptions of the physical appearance of the stickers
  • Include clear photos of the stickers or sticker sheet
  • Include details about when and where they were found

There is also the which is rarely used but I am not sure if it is necessary. It does sometimes get confused with the tag which is quite similar but has a different usage.

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    Thanks for this! :D
    – Catija
    May 7, 2021 at 19:29
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    Hi @Catija, would you be able to let me know if the developers have been notified? I don't think we have any objections to this change.
    – Ambo100 Mod
    May 25, 2021 at 14:26
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    It's in their backlog - which is unfortunately long. Thanks for your patience!
    – Catija
    May 25, 2021 at 16:53
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    Thanks! Just updated the tags.
    – Ambo100 Mod
    May 25, 2021 at 17:55
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    This has been implemented. Thanks for your patience.
    – Brian Nickel
    Jul 20, 2021 at 19:19
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Should we implement this system for identification questions?

Oh, yes!

If a 'how-to-ask' tip is provided for identifcation questions, what tips should be provided?

The second and third in the example picture seem to be good, pictures (or maybe even drawings, sketches) would be quite appreciated. I don't think the first one would help a lot, it is very subjective and vague, but I'd add a couple more:

  • What kind of connections does the piece have? (Studs, Technic, other)
  • What is the overall color, theme or style of the set? (By style I mean System or Technic)

Are there any other tags that would benefit from this feature?

Mindstorms questions seem to be the ones that would benefit a lot from some generic tips on error messages, but in this regard I can't offer any concrete and up to date advice.

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    The reasoning I had for the first tip was due to the amount of questions that get posted as 'What is this minifig/set/piece?'.
    – Ambo100 Mod
    Sep 4, 2015 at 14:13
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    I would also consider including a tip to identify if the element is actually from the LEGO system or if it is from another building brick system. People might scour their resources to identify a certain LEGO piece only to find out it's actually from Mega Bloks.
    – intcreator
    Sep 12, 2015 at 1:50
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    I've compiled a possible list in my post here. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.
    – Ambo100 Mod
    Sep 22, 2015 at 13:27
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How does this sound?

Identification questions get better answers if they...

  • Provide detailed descriptions of the physical appearance of the part (color, theme, connections, etc...)
  • Have picture and/or illustrations
  • Include details about when and where they were found
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  • Sounds good enough for me :)
    – zovits
    Sep 22, 2015 at 14:44
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    This is now live
    – Shog9
    Apr 17, 2016 at 15:20

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