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We all love Islam Stack Exchange, but there is a whole world of people out there who need answers to their questions and don't even know that this site exists. When they arrive from Google, what will their first impression be? Let's try to look at this site through the eyes of someone who's never seen it before, and see how we stack up against the rest of the 'Net.

The Site Self-Evaluation review queue is open and populated with 10 questions that were asked and answered in the last quarter. Run a few Google searches to see how easy they are to find and compare the answers we have with the information available on other sites.

Rating the questions is only a part of the puzzle, though. Do you see a pattern of questions that should have been closed but are not? Questions or answers that could use an edit? Anything that's going really well? Post an answer below to share your thoughts and discuss these questions and the site's health with your fellow users!

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Some thoughts on quality in no particular order:

  • Can we pray after sex if we didn't ejaculate?

    I'm an outsider to Islam, so I'm a little shocked there were no complaints about the nature of this question. It turns out one of the most common ways for people to find this site is via search terms similar to how to do sex in islamic way. In Islam, are there limits on sex between a married couple? has 224k views and is easily this site's greatest hit. Sex sells.

    What I liked about the previous question on the topic is that it has an authoritative, researched, and thorough answer. It ended with some general explanation of variations between two classes of Muslims: "Open" and "Humble". Those are such great terms since they clearly describe the value that each holds dear without judging those values. The answer to this question seems authoritative and researched, but I wish it were more thorough. The answer adds little to it's source. I would have liked a bit more of a theoretical explanation of ghusl in addition to the practical. (Does that make sense?)

  • Aren't nasheeds a serious waste of time?

    From the title alone, this is an egregious example of: Are "defend yourself" style posts ever constructive? Let's avoid this nonsense.

  • Sujud Syahwi for mistaking in a part of a surah during salah

    The accepted answer is:

    1. Largely a quotation,
    2. Negatively voted, and
    3. Makes clear the question was more appropriate for the asker's spiritual advisor.

    I think the question ought to have been closed for the reasons goldPseudo gave:

    For much the same reason a doctor needs to be very careful providing medical advice, or a lawyer providing legal advice, or even a priest providing pastoral advice — and one should be very careful seeking such from random people on the internet — we should not be seen as a source for such "prescriptions." Unless the question is phrased in such a way that it (and subsequent answers) would serve an academic interest in Islam, it should probably be closed.

  • Was King David a Muslim?

    The top two answers are rather short and to the point. I appreciate their basic premise, which is that the asker has a fundamental misunderstanding about Islam. However, neither answer is as meaty as it could be. The third answer goes off the rails a bit for me in that it extrapolates too much from Arabic and Hebrew's common Proto-Semitic roots. As a result, this question will be helpful to people who ask it, but there seems a missed teaching opportunity.

  • What is the proper way of saying Takbir for Eid?

    It's a bad sign when the question is longer than the answer. In this case, I think there's probably a more detailed answer to be found. It would be especially helpful if some sources were provided.

  • Is working in a capital market company allowed?

    Surely there's more of an answer than this? The answer prompts more questions than it answers.

  • Is it allowed to sacrifice Chicken or fish for Eid Al Adha

    Good, succinct, and supported answer. But I'm left wanting more. What should a person do if they are at the North Pole during Eid al-Adha?

  • What are the Niyats (in arabic) for different kinds of Salat?

    Last time I noted concern about trivia questions. I think this question has some value in that it uses an unusual transliteration of Niyyah. But it doesn't mention the more common transliteration, unfortunately. That turns out to be important because it turns out that some people believe that niyats should not be uttered at all. That's kinda an important tidbit if the question is about how they should be pronounced.

  • Is it permissible to do Salat in a non-Muslim's house? and Are you allowed to give zakat to your parents or wife?

    Straightforward answers to straightforward questions. As I searched around for answers on other sites, I noticed that one huge advantage this site has over others is that answers here tend to start in English rather than being somewhat awkward translations from Arabic. My guess is that if you happen to know and search for answers in Arabic, you'll find better sources than this Q&A site. But looking in English, the results here are above average.

I see a strong core of people on this site finding answers to questions, voting on posts, and doing all the cleanup tasks that are required. There's huge potential for an English language site to address long-tail questions on Islam. I'm pleased with the progress y'all made this quarter and I hope you are too. But there's still some more work to be done.

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  • What should a person do if they are at the North Pole during Eid al-Adha? I didn't quite get this?
    – Bleeding Fingers
    Dec 17, 2013 at 12:43
  • @hus787 The answer to linked to another site where it was asked: "A person lives at the North Pole and wants to offer a sacrifice. Is it permissible for him to sacrifice a fish?." It's clear that a fish is no good, but it's not clear what a person in that situation should do. My guess is: nothing. ;-)
    – Jon Ericson
    Dec 17, 2013 at 17:05
  • I think the answer is to the point and doesn't need more because OP didn't actual specify the edge case you mentioned, just that the answerer referenced that question as a recommended read. The edge case could actually be entitled to a new question. And your guess is right. :-)
    – Bleeding Fingers
    Dec 17, 2013 at 18:02
  • Full disclosure: I wrote my chicken/fish answer with full intent to keep it within 400 characters, so edge cases were very intentionally not on the menu.
    – goldPseudo Mod
    Jan 1, 2014 at 2:20
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