A good martial art recommendation question guidelines

Question

Since martial art recommendations are on-topic:

What should the community's guidelines for a good martial art recommendation question be?

Answer 1

Just a few spit-balled ideas:

1. You need to state what your goals are.
2. You need to state your limitations.
3. You need to not ask for the "best" martial art overall, although asking for the best one for your circumstances is good.
4. You shouldn't ask how to learn clearly fictional styles (although I give people the benefit of the doubt since some fictional styles can look very real).
5. You should not ask for "schools in this area" because that's too localized.

Answer 2

1. Training goals (fitness, health, confidence, self-defense, sport, etc.)
2. Rough timeline for achieving those goals (get fit in 2 months, self defense in 1 year; or unlimited time)
3. Martial arts instruction available
4. Special considerations

Answer 3

Here is a possible presentation, which is a compendium of the current answers plus some inspiration from this good guide on asking ID type questions

1. What are your goals? (Fitness, self defense, spiritual growth)
2. What is your timeline? (Black belt in 2 years?)
3. What are any constraints (Time, transportation, $$, physical...?)
4. What is available in your area (if known)?
5. What is your previous experience?
6. What style are you interested in? Or alternatively, what appeals to you (i.e. striking, kicking, grappling, MMA, weapons?)

In addition to answering as many as the above questions as you can, please check in regularly as the regulars may have questions/clarifications that need your input for resolution.