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Is there way of promoting our questions to seek attention without bounties? I have seen people changing titles, keeping weird and strange titles ("The dark black holes"), sometimes even challenging titles ("Solve it if you can") and these titles really get a lot of attention.

But these are against PSE rules.

Moreover such questions are irritating too (i.e. homework related). Is there a way to stop these types of promotions?

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    $\begingroup$ If there was a way to prevent click-bait titles, don't you think we would have implemented it by now? $\endgroup$
    – Kyle Kanos
    Apr 15 '17 at 11:12
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    $\begingroup$ Roll them back when you see the changes. Or flag for somebody else to do it. $\endgroup$
    – tpg2114
    Apr 15 '17 at 17:10
  • $\begingroup$ I think a "Solve it if you can" would get some downs and a quick edit on the spot. Later it would be closed as homework, but it is a different story. Except similarly impolite cases, I don't see it very bad - the titles are for the googlers of the future, too. Well, I don't really like (euphemism++) the title cases, too, but it is my minority opinion, and it seems in native English environment it is more acceptable, and I adapt to it. $\endgroup$
    – peterh
    Apr 16 '17 at 0:33
  • $\begingroup$ @KyleKanos That made me laugh. Thank you. Getting rid of click-bait is as difficult as getting rid of vibrant colours. People just keep lowering the bar $\endgroup$
    – Jim
    Apr 17 '17 at 13:18
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If you want to draw further attention to your question, editing to improve it is one good way to go. However, doing multiple trivial edits to repeatedly bump the question to the front page is indeed frowned upon. If you see someone doing this, flag the question for moderator attention with a custom flag, or leave a comment expressing displeasure at the behaviour.

Catchy titles are relatively OK so long as they do describe the question. If they do start to stray into clickbait territory then you can edit it out for something that's more descriptive of the actual question. A title like "Solve it if you can" would be rather outside the envelope and should be edited in favour of something descriptive.

Regarding this, though,

Moreover such questions are irritating too (i.e. homework related)

the on-topic-ness of a question and the appropriateness of its promotion are independent. If it is irritatingly homeworky to a degree that makes it off-topic then vote to close (at 3k+ rep) or flag as off-topic. If it is irritating but on-topic, then sorry, it's earned its keep on the site. The rules on over-promotion via edits and titles apply regardless of the question type and content.

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  • $\begingroup$ Don't we have an FAQ about titles? If so, one could link that for the 'irritating but on topic' questions. $\endgroup$
    – Kyle Kanos
    Apr 16 '17 at 16:41

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