It seems to me that the Physics.SE FAQ is slightly outdated and could do with a little revision. Many questions by new users on this site are closed, and the various mismatches between the FAQ and the site's actual policy as practiced might be part of the reason for this. It would also be nice to have an up-to-date FAQ so that users could reference it in order to learn why their question was closed and what they can do about it.
Below I have listed a few places where the FAQ seems in need of updating. I hope that this thread can serve to turn up any others.
- The FAQ does not mention book recommendation questions. (These seem to be treated as in-principle off-topic by the moderators.)
- The FAQ (question 1) holds up a "big list" question as an exemplar of an on-topic question. (These are also usually closed nowadays.)
- The FAQ does not mention questions on observational astronomy. (When the astronomy.SE questions were merged into physics there was a consensus to allow such questions as on topic.)
I've held off on suggesting specific changes to the text because I'm not that active on meta and I'm not 100% sure what the most recent consensus on these issues actually is - but if the policy is clear and people can post links to the appropriate discussions, I'll be happy to contribute to writing them up in FAQ form if necessary.