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I've noticed that the "Take A Tour" page here indicates that one should not ask homework questions, though it does refer askers to the homework policy:

"Don't ask about...Homework (read the homework policy if you have such a question)"

But the "Asking" page here says "Homework questions are OK".

These seem to be different messages. Should the language of one be edited so that they are more consistent?

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  • $\begingroup$ Message is the same - follow policy or question gets closed. $\endgroup$
    – Mithoron
    Commented Jan 12, 2020 at 19:17

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Part of the problem is that the tour page has somewhat of a fixed template. We can't change the text "Don't ask about", for example. We can only change the bulleted list below it. So something that is a little bit nuanced, like homework, probably cannot be fully explained in this format.

I think we also probably shouldn't... overestimate the impact that the tour page has. I don't think that changing the wording will have a measurable impact on the questions asked.

With that said, I do agree that the wording can be improved (if only for the sake of internal consistency). And since it's an easy fix, I don't see why not to do it. My proposal would be:

Don't ask about:

  • Your homework, unless you also describe your attempts to solve it (homework policy)

Please feel free to also propose alternative wordings, if you don't like mine. But if there are no significant complaints then I will make this edit in a few days' time.

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    $\begingroup$ For the sake of consistency I would propose for the tour: "Your homework, unless it follows the homework policy". And for the asking page, then also use the same wording: "Do-my-homework questions: homework questions are off-topic, unless they follow the homework policy". But in general I agree, it probably won't make a measurable difference. $\endgroup$
    – Martin - マーチン Mod
    Commented Jan 13, 2020 at 1:00
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    $\begingroup$ I try to summarise it in one line, since the homework meta post is long and people aren't likely to read it on the first go. The help page could probably go into slightly more detail, but I neglected to suggest a wording for that, oops... $\endgroup$
    – orthocresol Mod
    Commented Jan 13, 2020 at 1:11
  • $\begingroup$ Even if no one reads it, I like the proposed "unless" as a consistent message. Thanks for responding. $\endgroup$
    – Andrew
    Commented Jan 13, 2020 at 12:44

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