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I've recently posted a few questions and they've been edited to include the game name in the question title.

It was my understanding that this was not required as the game is in the tag.

These have had the game name added

This one has not

Is there a reason for this? Or is there a policy on this?

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3 Answers 3

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The moderator who edited the titles into your questions left this reason

If the title is enough to understand what game is being asked about, then it doesn't need the game. If the title is broad enough, adding the game means the same question can be asked about a different game, and it's easier to know which game the question is applied to in any case where only the title is shown. For example, in the "related questions" sidebar, or the "similar questions" that appear when composing a question.

However, the general established norm is not to add titles to the name of a question, because tags are already picked up by google searches, used to help filter related questions when asking a new question, and I believe used to populate the related questions tab. So the only real benefit would be if the question goes to HNQ people can see which game it is about without navigating to it. Given those reasons, it is pretty redundant to add the name of the game to the title, and just adds clutter.

Also, regarding your third question listed, it is completely possible for other games to have the ability to kill sharks while underwater. In fact other games in the Assassin's Creed series have that (Black Flag). So by the logic that was given to add it to the first two questions, the third should have been edited as well. The logic could also be applied to most of the questions on our site, but we have tags for a reason, so use them instead of adding the game name to the title.

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    As I've commented on the other answer, "This isn't to say that the game name should never be in the title question. But you shouldn't be adding the game name to the title just to add the game name to the title. You should have some other compelling reason to do it, as outlined in Jaydles's answer". So, no, the norm is not to never add games to titles, but to do so when it would be useful to do so. Which is what I've done. If you would like to change the policy, that's fine, but saying that we should remove games from titles because it's our policy is wrong. Aug 29, 2019 at 20:07
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    And as I've said, the Linked and Related question lists only show titles as well, not just the HNQ list. In addition to the similar questions that are shown while composing a new question. There is a clear benefit from adding games to titles when needed. Aug 29, 2019 at 20:09
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    @Wrigglenite you get the contents of the question as well when composing a new question. all of you other points are addressed later in the paragraph after the quote. they use tags to filter.
    – Dragonrage Mod
    Aug 29, 2019 at 20:16
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    Any question sharing at least one tag will appear under Related questions, even [achievements] or [competitive-gaming] or [ps4]. That is not enough to provide full context, as the list can show you questions from a different game entirely. And that still doesn't change the fact that HNQ and Linked questions have no restrictions whatsoever. Aug 29, 2019 at 20:25
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    I don't really see linked/HNQ as an issue. Generally speaking linked questions are related to the question at hand which is why people link them, and HNQ is click bait anyways. dont see a need to try and optimize for it. SO and other sites dont say which language the question is using a lot of the time, why do we need to say which game?
    – Dragonrage Mod
    Aug 29, 2019 at 20:41
  • @Dragonrage well, some take HNQ as an issue, especially if the question is spoiler in nature. One of the most complained things in HNQ is getting spoilered because of lack of context from the title.
    – antimo
    Sep 3, 2019 at 9:06
  • Doesn't the system also prevent users from submitting questions with the same exact title as another? Thus having a broad title like "How do I kill this Boss?" could only exist once regardless of what game it is for? I can see how adding the game name may help for cases like this.
    – Timmy Jim Mod
    Sep 3, 2019 at 11:16
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It would seem to be a judgement call.

@MadScientist said in the related question

In cases like this, where the question itself is completely generic and applies to many games, adding the title perfectly acceptable

Seems to sum it up. I also appreciate the points raised by @Wrigglenite

If the title is enough to understand what game is being asked about, then it doesn't need the game. If the title is broad enough, adding the game means the same question can be asked about a different game, and it's easier to know which game the question is applied to in any case where only the title is shown. For example, in the "related questions" sidebar, or the "similar questions" that appear when composing a question.

So it might even be worth some time searching for similar question titles which already exist to see if the question feels generic enough to include a game name.

I'll bear these points in mind for the future. Thanks!

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    Titles do not have to contain the name of the game, and you shouldn't intentionally edit a question just to add the game name to the title. - Invader Skoodge
    – Dragonrage Mod
    Aug 29, 2019 at 16:38
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    @Dragonrage "This isn't to say that the game name should never be in the title question. But you shouldn't be adding the game name to the title just to add the game name to the title. You should have some other compelling reason to do it, as outlined in Jaydles's answer." Said answers mentions that "You should include the game in the question title anytime it's needed to determine if you would want to read the question", which is exactly the reason I edited those questions. Aug 29, 2019 at 16:42
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    @Wrigglenite, like half the questions on the site could apply to multiple games if you only looked at the question title. that doesnt mean we should rename all of them. it just adds extra clutter. if there are a bunch of questions with very similar titles for different games, im not opposed to renaming some for the purpose of disambiguity, but lets no go around adding game names to titles just because someone might as a question with a similar title about a different game. tags are where the game name should go
    – Dragonrage Mod
    Aug 29, 2019 at 16:51
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    @Dragonrage If half the questions could benefit from having the game added to their title, then it should definitely be added! I don't see why you call it clutter, it's providing context that is otherwise not added to the question when seen in the lists I've mentioned. If you have to guess what game is being asked about, then I see no problem with adding the game to the title. Aug 29, 2019 at 16:56
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    because everywhere else, it is simply redundant information.
    – Dragonrage Mod
    Aug 29, 2019 at 17:05
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As I've mentioned in a comment

If the title is enough to understand what game is being asked about, then it doesn't need the game. If the title is broad enough, adding the game means the same question can be asked about a different game, and it's easier to know which game the question is applied to in any case where only the title is shown. For example, in the "related questions" sidebar, or the "similar questions" that appear when composing a question.

When browsing the Arqade homepage or several other lists of questions, the titles are shown with all associated tags below. But when asking a question, the user is shown a list of titles without tags, which can be very confusing if no context is given, as shown here. The "Linked questions", "Related questions" and Hot Network Questions lists all show titles by themselves, so purposefully removing context from these questions is doing a disservice to the community whenever a question appears on one of these lists.

As for the third question? Personally, I didn't notice. But that's the nice thing about Arqade, everyone can and is incouraged improve posts whenever they see something that could be fixed.

So, if I'm asking about which shouts to use against Alduin, that doesn't need the game in the title. But if I'm asking about the best way to hide a body? Yeah, it's helpful.

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    that's not how the list of questions looks anymore when asking a question
    – Dragonrage Mod
    Aug 29, 2019 at 16:37
  • Precisely because of unclear titles, if I had to guess. It still doesn't show tags, however. Aug 29, 2019 at 16:38
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    no, but it shows the question text. and if you are searching for the question before you ask (like you should) you can easily filter by tag
    – Dragonrage Mod
    Aug 29, 2019 at 16:40
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    HNQ is pretty good reason to change title. I'd suggest to do it always and for all hot questions, but after they become hot. Are there more public places where titles are shown without tag?
    – user135338
    Aug 30, 2019 at 13:59
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    @Sinatr In addition to the lists I've mentioned, any automatically generated link will only include the title, of course. When linking questions in posts, the title - or custom link text - is the only information available. See this very question, for example. Aug 30, 2019 at 15:47
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    @Dragonrage That depends on the first sentence or two of the question, which can often be just as generic as the title. Half the questions on that list don't give any indication what the game is and tags aren't visible on the Ask Question page.
    – Troyen
    Sep 9, 2019 at 9:42

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