6

I've participated in many SE websites, I get the point that it isn't supposed to be like yahoo answers, where people who know little are answered by people who know less.

From comments, I'd get the impression that this is not a website for learners but instead for fluent speakers who who are asking highly technical style and usage questions, similar to the English site. This is at odds with the fact that many questions are posted in English as if the questioner isn't even good enough to write his question in Russian.

If it is site by and for experts alone, that's fine-- no one would confuse me for a fluent speaker, least of all myself and I could avoid a good deal of unnecessary abuse by watching the expert ask each other questions instead of myself getting involved and asking questions. Maybe the FAQ could make this more clear about the expected fluency required to ask a question without getting pounced on for not doing the preliminaries (like, well, what are the preliminaries for speaking Russian? Growing up with Russian parents? Getting the PhD in Slavic studies?)

2
  • If you want to gain reputation, use SO for bike shedding
    – Val
    Dec 15, 2013 at 0:57
  • As soon as I need to ask someone in Russian what color to paint a bike shed, I will think of Stack Exchange.
    – MatthewMartin
    Dec 16, 2013 at 13:36

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
3

It is interesting that when I first opened the site's main page I had an impression that this site is mainly for non-Russian speakers. Currently 10 out of 15 first questions are asked in English, so it is obviously to me that you don't need to know Russian to ask a question on this site.

The question Certain words supposedly in Russian that I can't verify! is a good example that a person may ask a very good question without knowing anything in Russian and even without a goal to learn Russian in the future.

2

Look, there are multiple Russian grammar sites in Russian. So why one would need one more? On the other hand there are very few sites in English where one can ask questions about Russian.

0

I've seen some questions completed asked and answered in Russian, but there is no threshold, exactly as the other sites.

  • If you ask in English, answers should be in English. If someone can understand English but is not as good in writing, they can answer in Russian and someone else can help translating the answer for you (if you need help in that case).

  • Your question can range from beginner to expert, the only thing that you need to provide is research effort. Show in your question that you did try to find the answer by yourself. If nothing turns up (or if something turns up and is too complicated/messed up to decipher), then you're welcome to ask, even if it sounds "stupid". Even apparently easy points can raise interesting questions.

In other words, do not be discouraged by current questions.

-1

All questions you have asked so far on this site are on-topic and I have upvoted many of them, including the most recent question you have asked.

As far as I can judge, its commenters just wanted to point out that Google Translate in this very case is wrong beyond any reason, and does not even remotely convey the meaning you are trying to express in Russian. They did not intend to get the question closed, otherwise they would have just hit the close button.

In my comment, I suggested a new starting point, the one I personally use when searching for phrases in languages I don't master.

I personally would not ever consider giving any remarks about Google Translate and would just have answered the question, if another person wouldn't have done it before (with 3 upvotes) and you had't accepted their answer by the time I saw it.

This in my opinion proves that the community and the site serve their primary purpose: answering questions about Russian Language and Usage.

You must log in to answer this question.

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