I recently asked a question that has been a disaster since the beginning, but I don't think I have learnt my lesson. What did I do wrong?
My question was about identifying an unlabelled component in a device I was repairing.
Preparation:
First, I checked that such questions were on-topic by looking for other examples. I found the identification tag and read the tag description:
Identify chips, connectors, cables, and other components, usually from photographs.
Perfect.
(This was before the recent meta question: Is it on-topic to ask "please identify this connector"? Early voting suggests that it is on-topic.)
Asking the question:
I included a picture and a description, and showed what I had already worked out and some steps I had taken. I did not request any recommendations, brands or suppliers. I asked for the item to be identified.
The included photograph was large and dominated over the text, so I used a standard technique - shrunk the image and allowed people to click to enlarge once they decided they were interested in downloading it.
Unfriendly feedback about picture sizes:
I received some unfriendly feedback for one of the site's top users, complaining about having to go to the effort to click on a link to see the image. The user didn't attempt to edit the question to improve it or politely make a suggestion, but just rudely sniped. (The fact that I don't need to name the person, but you know who I am talking about should be very telling.)
I explained my reasons, and reminded them of the Stack Exchange Code of Conduct, which they dismissed as being unnecessary to follow because it was poor advice.
I mentally dismissed their comments as trolling behaviour, wondered whether that was generally considered acceptable behaviour here and asked to hear only from people willing to follow the Code of Conduct. (That request still stands on this question.)
These comments were later deleted.
Receiving an answer
I received an answer from @ali-chen. It was hugely helpful and I am grateful. In particular, it introduced me to the short notation for batteries based on their dimensions. That was the information that allowed me to find what I needed - which didn't exactly match the example given. A supplier was given in the example, but I ignored that as they aren't local. It wasn't the important part.
I upvoted and accepted the answer.
This was the only part of this process that went right.
Claims of Off-topic
Some comments appeared explaining that asking for recommendations is off-topic.
I responded by reassuring that I wasn't asking for a recommendation of a brand or supplier, just help identifying the component.
These comments were all later deleted.
Question closed as Off-topic
The question was voted closed. The reason given was it was asking for a recommendation. (I don't recall the exact wording.)
Again, this isn't an opinion-based recommendation question. I understand why those are off-topic. It was an identification question.
I flagged it for moderator attention, explaining this.
Question migrated to Super User
The question was migrated by a mod to Super User. The justification for this is a mystery to me. I have a PCB in front of me, not a CLI.
Migrated rejected by Super User
Apparently the Super User mods agreed; they rejected the migration. Now the question is On Hold for being out of scope.
Summary
I am relatively naive about electronic engineering; I accept that my question may have been ignorant and low-level.
I am a relative newbie here; I accept that I may have broken some rules or not understood the community's mores, despite my specific efforts to avoid this.
I am also content that I got the information I needed, and I am thankful.
However, the whole experience was unpleasant and hostile - and worst of all, it hasn't been a learning experience. I can't see what I did wrong, so I can make sure the next question I ask doesn't make the same mistake and get the same treatment.
Is anyone willing to politely explain where I went wrong?