Should location be required or recommended in questions?

Question

I've seen this topic come up a few times here and there over the past week or two, but I guess no one asked yet.

Location can sometimes make a big difference in what hardware is available in a certain region, so my thinking is we should start strongly encouraging the inclusion of a general location (country usually works) so people can recommend hardware easier. If we really wanted clarification, we could require a location.

Including a location can also clear up any question of what currency the OP uses. A good example of this is the distinction between U.S. and Canadian dollars.

So should location be a part of questions on this site?

Answer 1

Recommended, not required.

It's not absolutely essential to have the location in a question - unlike the specific requirements that we do mandate, location doesn't influence what product fits the poster's specification. For that reason, we shouldn't be requiring a location.

However, there are going to be plenty of cases where a location helps - in distinguishing currencies (though one assumes that the OP will specify their native currency in any pricing requirements they have), in working out what's available where, etc. For that reason, we should recommend that a location is included, because it will help us give better answers tailored to the specific situation.