Yes, let's allow identification questions again.
Boosting participation and growingRevitalizing our community
One glaring issue we've faced recently is the alarmingly low activity on Movies & TV SE. As noted in this meta post, user and voting engagement has taken a concerning dip. Currently, we're averaging a mere 1.9 questions per day, which is worryingly low for a Stack Exchange site. SE sites with comparable or even smaller user bases have seen significantly higher participation levels.
Graph showing the number of questions per year on Movies & TV SE:
You'll notice a steep decline in posts in 2018, which coincides with when identification questions were banned. Notably, several of the site's top members left around this same time period as well. This predates the more recent events involving Monica and generative AI that led to an exodus of users from Stack Exchange sites in general.
Graph source: Valorum's post at "Why does Movies Stack Exchange have low activity even on very popular titles?"
Fewer questions inevitably lead to fewer answers and less participation, creating a vicious cycle that can turn our community into a ghost town (if it isn't already). Allowing identification questions once more could be a powerful waythe spark we need to breathe new life into our sitereignite interest and attract more activenew enthusiastic users to our site.
Ensuring quality through curation (voting)
Some have raised concerns about the quality of identification questions, but this argument seems outdated (we last allowed ID questions more than 6 years ago) and cherry-picked, disregarding the numerous high-quality, well-written, and interesting examples we still have, such as those listed here:
Just like any other type of question, there will always be good and bad examples. However, we have the power to curate these questions through our voting system. Questions providing vague detailsVague or unclear identification questions can still be closed as "needs details or clarity," just as we do with other questions.
Respecting the community's voice
Perhaps most importantly, the majority of our community has historically been against attempts to ban identification questions. As evident in the vote tallies of the answers from our previous meta discussions about ID questions (Shall we ban identification questions?, Check in on Identification questions, and We are discontinuing support for identification questions), the community has consistently and overwhelmingly voted against any suggestion to ban them. (Related meta post: Why are ID questions banned when there are only 55 votes in favor of it and 135 votes against it?)
Given the community's clear stance on identification questionsthis long-standing consensus, as expressed in several meta posts, it's perplexing why the ban is still remains in place. It makes one question the need forwonder if revisiting this issuetopic through yet another meta post is truly necessary.
AllowingBringing back identification questions could be aprove immensely valuable asset for reinvigorating our community. Not only could itIt is likely to boost engagement and attract new users, but we also. We already have the means to curate these questions and ensure quality. MoreoverMore importantly, banningcontinuing to ban them would go against the majority'scommunity's wishes, as expressed repeatedly in past discussions. Let's embrace this opportunity to revitalize our community and continue providing a welcoming space for all movie and TV enthusiasts.
