Previously we've discussed whether or not we should allow species-identification questions on this site. (http://meta.pets.stackexchange.com/questions/664/species-identification-and-the-help-center was raised when we had this question: http://pets.stackexchange.com/questions/1930/what-is-this-reptile-lizard. Originally it was: http://meta.pets.stackexchange.com/questions/410/should-we-discourage-pet-breed-species-identification-questions) How it works on other sites, is a person describes a book they've read, or a game they've played, or occasionally they post a picture of something to be identified. Why this doesn't work: - If the person asking doesn't give enough information we're stuck turning it into a discussion while we try to get more information. - If the person leaves without giving us enough information, we have a question that can't be answered. - There's a risk of answers that use a lot of guesswork. - It's not easily indexed by google, making it hard for people to find later. - They're not really useful to anyone but the person asking the question because they're so specific to that person. ---- Today I asked this question: http://pets.stackexchange.com/questions/2901/how-do-i-tell-the-difference-between-a-rankins-bearded-dragon-and-an-inland-bea I believe this is different (and on-topic) because it's not a question asking "What animal do I have", rather "how do I tell if the difference between these two breeds". Another example is: http://pets.stackexchange.com/questions/2030/how-can-i-describe-my-cat-color-breed-type Why I think these types of questions will work: - They don't require a whole lot of information from the user, meaning it won't devolve into a discussion, and the person asking can leave the site without leaving us wanting for more. - They can be indexed by google, making them useful to people in the future. - There's no real guesswork involved with answering the questions. ---- I think we should keep "What animal do I have?" questions as **off-topic** but we should allow "How can I tell the difference?" questions as **on-topic** What do you think? Do we want those kinds of identification questions? Or should we ban-hammer them all? Maybe send them all to Biology.se? Yes/No/I dunno?