The Awkward Silence

apaul

1:42 AM

So...

apaul

2:19 AM

@Catija The first answer rolled in on that, it looks a little iffy

A J

4:03 AM

Got two Reviewer badges yesterday.

Introverted Meta Man.

1

Q: Is my question still too broad?

In Room search, housemates, setting boundaries early, I asked how to set some important boundaries early on during a moving process. The question is when. 5 hours ago, the question was voted as too broad. I've since made some refinements. Can you explain whether my question is still too broad, ...

Sid

6:25 AM

Hello. I am new to this site and I have a question.

Are questions relating to general etiquette in different countries on-topic here?

Catija

@Sid Specific general etiquette? :D Can you give an example?

We do have an etiquette tag... you might check that out to see if your question is similar to one there... but if you want to know what the appropriate etiquette is for X in Y culture/country, that's probably fine.

Sid

@Catija as in, say I am going to Japan next month. What is the general etiquette among people there and what are the things that I should do to not earn the wrath of people? :P

Catija

@Sid That's too broad. We'd need a book to tell you, particularly considering it's Japan. We're here to address specific questions... "Do I need to bow when greeting someone in Japan"... for example.

"How do I behave in Japan as a foreigner" is too broad. :)

For example... this is on the other side of things but similar... and probably good information.

51

Q: How do I deal with people who can't deal with local payment customs?

I live in Japan. Japan still has a very cash oriented society especially when it comes to restaurants. Often someone will visit from out of town and will expect to be able to (1) pay with a credit card and (2) pay only their portion on their card. This often ends up turning into a 10 to 20 minut...

etiquette awkward-situations politeness japan

Sid

@Catija How about, "why do I have to bow when greeting someone?" Would that veer into subjective discussion?

Catija

@Sid Nope. Explaining why a custom exists is actually not subjective... or at the very least, it's "good subjective".

> Great subjective questions inspire answers that explain “why” and “how”.

Good Subjective, Bad Subjective

Robert Cartaino on September 29, 2010

Stack Exchange is about questions with objective, factual answers. We’ve been crystal clear about this for as long as I can remember, even back to the earliest, pre-beta days of Stack Overflow. It’s right there in the standard Stack Exchange FAQ:

What kind of questions should I not ask here?

Avoid asking questions that are subjective, argumentative, or require extended discussion. This is not a discussion board, this is a place for questions that can be answered!

Thus, questions that are not answerable — discussions, debates, opinions — should be closed as subjective. It seems simple enough: Fact good; opinion and discussion bad. But why? …

Anyway, I'm going to bed but go ahead and start with one question, see how it goes... and if you need more help, feel free to ask here or on Meta. We have a bunch of Europeans who will likely be coming online pretty soon and can help. I'll be back in about 8 hours. :D

Sid

6:38 AM

@Catija Okay. Thanks for your help! Good night.

ooolb

6:51 AM

what is this

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