I'd like to reword the Android.SE FAQ a bit to clarify what kind questions should be asked and what kind of questions should NOT be asked. I'd like to follow Superuser's FAQs format. I'll start a separate post for the "Should Nots". I think this one is pretty simple and already explained pretty well but I figured the phrasing is still worth discussing.
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Sounds like a good idea, a lot of users are unclear on it and there's not always something one can point to and explain why the question is bad. – Matthew Read Dec 29 '10 at 20:39
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An excellent response to a similar question is here: meta.cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/728/… – ale Dec 30 '10 at 2:25
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It may also be helpful to enumerate what type of devices are on-topic.
- Android phones (obviously)
- Android tablets (new and upcoming)
What about e-book readers? The B&N Nook is based on Android. (None of the others currently on the market is Android.)
Google TV is built on Android. I'm actually surprised we haven't gotten any questions about it already. Is it allowed?
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3I'd say anything as it relates to Android. We're probably not the best place for most Nook specific questions, but chances are that most of the people that aren't hacking into the device don't even know its running Android and won't ask us how to bookmark their favorite passage in their vampire romance novel. – Matt Dec 29 '10 at 22:07
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Is it worth stating where we stand on ChromeOS, it's already come up in a meta question once but I haven't seen a consensus? It's worth thinking about before the first question is posted, particularly as more manufacturers put Android on netbooks, and there's likely nothing going to stop someone putting ChromeOS on a tablet, the lines are likely to get more and more blurred in the future. (previous Chrome mention meta.android.stackexchange.com/questions/223/… ) – GAThrawn Jan 4 '11 at 20:56
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All questions on how to USE the Android OS / an Android device.
Some completely made up example titles:
- How can I stop certain apps from starting automatically? Should I?
- How can I export my contacts to a CSV file?
- How can I get my Calendar app to start the week on a Monday?
- How can I send a single SMS message to multiple recipients?
- How do I root my Android device? Why would I want to?
I guess the key here is if you can't phrase it as "How can/do I do X on my device (in this app)?" it's suspect.
