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I'm asking in regards to this question:

What is “the cursed tree” in Quran?

The question itself is an obvious lead up to a certain point of view (as opposed to seeking an real answer). Self answering the question by the OP only strengthens my point.

I'm not sure if we have made a decision on this, but isn't proselytizing (which this question seems to be a form of) frowned upon here?

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  • It will depends upon the intention of op – Tachyons Jun 30 '12 at 1:22
  • I also want to add that, What be our position when an op has always questions about a specific view? Much like "Am i correct or not? if not, prove that.", We want a good decision about this – Anwar Jun 30 '12 at 14:56
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    @AnwarShah - As long as he/she follows the guidelines of the site on each and every question, I don't see a problem. – System Down Jun 30 '12 at 17:28
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No. The way that user is doing it is not acceptable.

What he/she is doing here is asking and answering questions to prove a point. As tachyons said, it is OK to answer your own question, but not the way it is done here. If you look at the history of this users questions/answers, he is basically asking and answering questions supporting his viewpoint. He gives several viewpoints in some answers, but is always biased towards one.

In my opinion, this should not be allowed, and the following actions should be taken:

  1. The first time this happens, the users question should be closed (if it's an answer then delete it) and he/she will be warned.
  2. The second time, we will still close/delete, but mods will take other actions i.e. "A day in the penalty box".
  3. If the user still commits the same action, he should be banned.

This may seem a bit harsh, but we should have no tolerance for this type of thing. We have stated several times that we were only going to allow un-biased posts.

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No

In general stack exchange is designed for getting answers from experts . Stack exchange also allows share the knowledge in Question answer form (ie Answer your own question) .But when doing it

1 . Make sure that it will be useful to others

2 . Don't use it for advertising your blog ,website,softwares etc..

3 . Respect other users and views .

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Quoting FAQ:

Etiquette

Civility is required at all times; rudeness will not be tolerated.

Be nice. Treat others with the same respect you’d want them to treat you. We’re all here to learn together. Be tolerant of others who may not know everything you know. Bring your sense of humor.

Be honest. Above all, be honest. If you see misinformation, vote it down. Add comments indicating what, specifically, is wrong. Provide better answers of your own. Best of all — edit and improve the existing questions and answers!

Also

May I promote products or websites I am affiliated with here?

Be careful, because the community frowns on overt self-promotion and tends to vote it down and flag it as spam. Post good, relevant answers, and if some (but not all) happen to be about your product or website, so be it. However, you must disclose your affiliation in your answers.

If a huge percentage of your posts include a mention of your product or website, you're probably here for the wrong reasons.

I think similar norms applies to promoting a view or belief over the site. It is fine to ask and answer your own question but this works only when you genuinely had a question in the first place. If your goal is to promote a particular belief or sect or challenging other sects or beliefs and you are using the question format to that end then the post is not a real question and should be closed as such. Using the question format to post your opinion/beliefs and promote them and conceal the fact that you didn't have a question is not honest.

What should be done in this cases is to try to edit the question and improve it to address the issue if it is possible (which is usually the case) and normally users learn how to write better questions through this process. However from time to time we will have repeated offenders who will insist on their behavior, in such cases a more serious action maybe needed. In these cases inform the moderators with flagging the question. A moderator comment usually has more weight for users and most users will comply with it. Still some users will not. The moderator can raise the issue on the meta and take more serious action if needed (like banning).

(It is good to have meta discussions or blog.SO/MSO posts to link and base the decisions/comments on so the user understand that the point being made is not just one user or one moderator but a policy and the community in general disapproves the behavior.)

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  • I think I do 3 item of FAQ and product promotion is for business. Islam is not business. I am not promoting any product. – Battle of Karbala Jul 18 '12 at 2:38
  • I reject I am promoting any sect. I am promoting Islam as it is. also promoting product is different of answering ISLAM QUESTION in one view. I do not think any expert can be found that be expert in all sects of Islam. so it may seem I promote a single view. – Battle of Karbala Jul 18 '12 at 6:26
  • @Ahmadi, no, the idea behind them is general and I think applies to this also. ps: Btw, I think you are not good in promoting the Shia perspectives if that is what you are trying to do, e.g. you often confuse political issues with religious ones, have irrelevant material not directly related to the topic, ... Sometimes what you say is not what is accepted by major Shia scholars but opinions of people who are not regarded as knowledgeable among Shia scholars or opinions from random online websites. Try to focus your answer on the question, don't go on side issues, cite major scholars, ... – Kaveh Jul 19 '12 at 1:15
  • thanks for your advices. I consider them. only about shia scholars. I usually use official website of top shia scholars like makarem.ir and sistani.ir can you tell me better websites (having english version)? I disagree I tell opinion of people and try use major scholars. can you mention one example? I do not use random website. – Battle of Karbala Jul 19 '12 at 5:20

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