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I've read through the meta and the (tiny) faq page for on-topic questions.

But nothing specifically states "You can('t) ask about what to do/how to act with a client".

I'm thinking about asking a question (with a bit of humor), but it is really focused on how to act with a client.

But I don't want my question closed in 2m with 5 downvotes.

I don't want to waste everybody's time.

Said this, is it on topic to ask how to act with clients?

  • FWIW, asking for advice on what to do is explicitly off-topic per help center – gnat Apr 16 '15 at 21:24
  • @gnat Is the way I aproach a client or what I do while talking to him/her off-topic? – Ismael Miguel Apr 16 '15 at 21:47
  • did you check meta guidance referred in prior comment? – gnat Apr 16 '15 at 21:58
  • @gnat That's talking about advice... – Ismael Miguel Apr 16 '15 at 21:59
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    @gnat at some level, all questions on Stack Exchange are "what to do" -- you have a problem and you want to solve it, after all. Our restriction on "what to do" questions is more focused -- questions that describe a situation and ask "so what do I do?" without identifying something more specific (all Ann Landers style). That's what we object to here, not questions with clear problems that can be addressed through the SE Q&A process. Ismael's question is whether those questions may include the topic of client interactions, and I'm glad he brought the question here. – Monica Cellio Apr 17 '15 at 15:29
  • @MonicaCellio Thank you a lot! Can you please add that information to the question? I'm really having a few troubles to express myself (I guess it is obvious, since you had to clarify it). – Ismael Miguel Apr 17 '15 at 16:25
  • @MonicaCellio agree - I only pointed to our custom close reason to remind that some kinds of "what to do" questions are off-topic – gnat Apr 17 '15 at 17:55
  • @IsmaelMiguel I think your question is clear as-is. My difference is with gnat, not you -- you're fine! – Monica Cellio Apr 17 '15 at 22:58
  • @MonicaCellio Thanks miss. I guess no one else saw the big issue here, since I have 0 freaking answers. It is the goddamn 1st question on the "newest" tab. And look: 0 answers. I must say that I'm pretty disapointed. – Ismael Miguel Apr 18 '15 at 0:09
  • you are probably comparing Workplace meta against CG.SE / CR.SE / SO. Per my observations, at smaller site metas questions, especially non-obvious ones, tend to be simply answered much slower. One has to just get used to that – gnat Apr 18 '15 at 6:08
  • @gnat I have no idea what sites are those... – Ismael Miguel Apr 18 '15 at 14:53
  • you have accounts on all of them. CG stands for Code Golf, CR for Code Review, SO for Stack Overflow – gnat Apr 18 '15 at 16:05
  • @gnat CG should be PPCG. That's why I didn't had any idea of what you meant. But yes, I do. And usually the number of views is directly related to the number of answers. I've had answers to questions with 5 views! At the time of writting of this comment, this question had 48 views. And a lot of comments. But no answers. – Ismael Miguel Apr 18 '15 at 19:20
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We have a tag with over 200 questions, and also a tag, so I'd say those questions are in-scope. We can't help with the technical details of your clients' work (e.g. how do I build this web site that he wants?), but questions about negotiating work/payment/schedule, setting expectations, dealing with problems (like schedule slippages), and behavior norms (the valuable client has these problem behaviors) are all in-scope.

Sometimes questions get put on hold, but it's not because anybody wants to be mean. Sometimes they just need a little editing or additional information -- what was clear to the asker didn't come through for the rest of us. So don't take it personally if a question is put on hold; we would all prefer that questions be open and answered. Sometimes we just need a little time-out to make sure the question is clear in in-scope, is all.

  • I've looked into the tags before asking, and I have no idea how I have't seen a clients tag. I tried client, costumer and similars. – Ismael Miguel Apr 20 '15 at 8:28
  • @IsmaelMiguel I sometimes find our tag set a little confusing. It happens. (Searching for or starting to add "client" should have suggested "clients", though; if that didn't happen, please let us know.) – Monica Cellio Apr 20 '15 at 12:59
  • Probably it was my entire fault because (you know) I use IE (for reasons that sadden me). But this isn't the first time that I try to find a tag when asking a question and I don't find it. Or at least I don't remember. But you are really helpful. No wonder you are moderator. – Ismael Miguel Apr 20 '15 at 13:07

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