Hi everyone,

I've noticed an uptick of pretty low quality questions and in response an avalanche of reports for these questions. I think they should be addressed in some way.

To students asking questions, here are some recommendations on how to format your question to receive a helpful response:

1. A clear, specific title with keywords goes a long way. This also assists future users in searching for your question. Some examples from recent posts (this is not intended to pick on any of you):
   1. Original title: "Differentials" Recommended title: "Looking for resources on how to learn about and find a differential"
   2. Original title: "SES" Recommended title: "When do teams usually submit their SES?"

2. Format your post in a way that clearly communicates your question. Here is a sample format:
   Background - If it's relevant, please disclose your location, your ability level (are you a new member, a freshman, a senior, a team lead?), your familiarity with the topic, etc. This helps us communicate with you effectively.
   Problem statement - describe the problem you're experiencing. Give this link a read: https://xyproblem.info/
   What have you done so far? - This is where a lot of users get annoyed with these low-quality questions. If you have not shown that you've made some attempts to solve this problem yourself, many people will be unwilling to help you. Disclose what you've attempted so far. If you haven't done anything, that's okay, but your request above should be proportional to the work you've done before you've asked the reddit.
   Some examples:
   "How do I design a chassis?" with no disclosure of the work you've done so far will not get you very far. The question is too broad, unspecific, and very difficult to answer with a meaningful and earnest comment.
   "I've read the rules, reviewed XYZ papers, and am about to start my chassis design. I am confused about ABC things. Where can I learn more?" gives us a much better picture of where you are at and we can recommend next steps.
   For more guidance on this, give this link a read: http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

3. Please do not worry about broken English. If it would make you feel more comfortable, I'd recommend asking the question both in English and in your native language. Many of us are bilingual and some of us likely speak your native language. I understand the pressure to only communicate in English on the subreddit, but please do not feel obligated to do so.

And to the people being rude and hostile to these posts and users:

1. Low quality questions are not spam. Stop reporting them for spam.
2. Responses to these questions have gotten mean or more unhelpful than the original question was terrible. I get it, updoots to the left, hahaha s🅱️inalla whatever. It clutters the comments and just confuses the OP further.

We aren't the FSAE forums and therefore I don't want to foster an environment where discussion cannot be had due to growing hostility towards obviously ESL questions from teams around the world or just plain lazy posts. Etiquette goes both ways, just downvote crap content and move on.

I'll be configuring AutoMod to reply to questions with a condensed version of what I've recommended above so hopefully this phenomenon gets a bit easier.

Oh, and contribute to the fs wiki at www.fswiki.us so I can justify to myself to keep paying for the hosting lol