So I was reading this (very nice!) Q&A and noticed the following:

If you're having trouble summarizing the problem, write the title last - sometimes writing the rest of the question first can make it easier to describe the problem.

I was wondering if that should be the default behavior. That is, changing this:

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To this (title at the bottom):

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Of course, the issue of where to put the Markdown result arises (before/after).

I think it's relevant because bad titles are a huge problem. Mainly because they're usually the difference between finding a good SO answer when making a google search and not finding one.

  • 5
    The biggest problem that I can see with this is that the "Questions that may already have your answer" search keys off of the title (and tags), so you won't see possible dupes until after you've taken the time to write your entire question and then the title and tags. At least with the title as the first field, you would write a title and, right away, see a list of similar questions that were already asked. If you really need to, you can always go back and edit your title to make it better after writing the question. – RobH Jan 9 '14 at 17:16
  • Maybe put side by side with the raw text, like stackedit has. Of course then the whole right sidebar would need to move somewhere. – hkk Jan 9 '14 at 17:33

When you write bottom up, starting from the detailed text, going to the title at last, then you end up with bad, unplanned writing.

When you write top down, starting from the main title, into titles of smaller sections, and finally to the text, then you end up with good, planned writing.

It makes more sense to write the title before the text.

  • Many experienced writers do the introduction last. A title is not a plan or an outline. – Kate Gregory Jan 29 '14 at 12:28
  • @KateGregory It is a summary, or an outline in a single line. A title is not an introduction. Your first sentence has no relevance to my answer, nor to the question. – sawa Jan 29 '14 at 13:21

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