There is a new posting on the Stackoverflow blog, entitled Stack Overflow Isn’t Very Welcoming. It’s Time for That to Change. A quote:
Too often, someone comes here to ask a question, only to be told that they did it wrong. They get snarky or condescending comments for not explaining what they’ve tried (that didn’t work). They get an answer… but the answerer gets scolded for “encouraging ‘low-quality’ questions.” They get downvoted, but don’t know why, or called lazy for not speaking English fluently. Or sometimes, everything actually goes well, and they get an answer! So they thank the poster… only to be told that on Stack Overflow, “please” and “thank you” are considered noise.
The blog ends with "This post focuses on Stack Overflow, but most of it applies to the broader Stack Exchange network as well." Are there lessons for us here at MO?
One simple modification of our "best practices" could be this: votes to close questions that are not research level will not be accompanied by a down vote. A down vote feels like slap in the face. A vote to close should be sufficient to drive the message home that this is the wrong site.