9

Should question titles be actual questions or can they be titles? I've been going through a bunch of old questions, and it seems there are quite a few questions with titles that aren't question but titles.

Ex. My question title. It's a title, but isn't a question.

Basically, my question is which is preferred? Question titles that are questions or question titles that are merely titles in disguise?

5
  • They should be questions. There was an MSO post or blog about it, IIRC.
    – Raven Dreamer Mod
    Commented Mar 24, 2013 at 17:57
  • 3
    I think problem statements should be fine. Sticking "How can I fix this?" on the end just to turn it into a question seems pointless to me.
    – MBraedley
    Commented Mar 24, 2013 at 18:29
  • 2
    It's perfectly fine for them to be titles. In particular there are a lot of questions that don't easily distill to a one-line question, and so the topic of the question is better for the title.
    – Matthew Read
    Commented Mar 24, 2013 at 18:34
  • Isn't this title a title and not a question?
    – VanBuzzKill
    Commented Mar 25, 2013 at 15:53
  • I stated that in my question
    – childe
    Commented Mar 25, 2013 at 16:14

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
14

Question titles don't have to be questions. Do try to phrase them as questions, but don't edit existing questions just for that reason.

There was a statistical study that found that questions with an actual question as a title were more likely to get answered / got more views, so for high-profile questions we do sometimes make that edit - but that's not a strict guideline we need to enforce for all questions.

4
  • 1
    I tend to edit them into question format if it's currently unclear or filled with superfluous stuff, like "Can't spongle my blork in Blork Run 2... PLEASE HELP!!11!ONE!" Would become "How do I spongle my Blork?"
    – Robotnik Mod
    Commented Mar 25, 2013 at 3:33
  • 2
    I think editing questions that are already on the front page just to change the title is fine. I would say don't edit old posts just for that reason.
    – user9983
    Commented Mar 25, 2013 at 13:55
  • 3
    Now I really want to get my hands on a copy of Blork Run 2....
    – Beofett
    Commented Mar 26, 2013 at 19:07
  • @Beofett it's available as a package deal with BattleToads: 9001 at your local GameStop.
    – User1000547
    Commented Mar 30, 2013 at 19:27

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .