Related to this discussion about creating some specific guidance on what is on-topic here and what is not, when a user hits "Ask a question" (on main) he or she sees
To the right, the question "Is your question about economics?" is I believe sufficiently visible. But then, functionality deteriorates: some vague phrases and then a link to the help center.
Proposal: Immediately below "Is your question about economics?" a link with the text "See what is on-topic in economics.se" (or similar) sending the user to the FAQ / welcome page, where we are discussing inserting a text with focused on-topic guidance.
RESPONSE TO @Ana's comment-question:
A new user finds this site. She decides to ask a question and clicks "Ask Question". There are good chances that "Is your question about economics?" will catch her eye. The problem is, she honestly believes that already - so why loose time searching further into the pink box and its links?
We need to alert the user to the fact that her existing belief (that her question is on topic here), may not be true after all. And making people questioning even the smallest of their beliefs requires a strong message.
So if immediately below "Is your question about economics?" there is the message "See what is on-topic in economics.se", her eye will catch that too. It is only now that she receives a clear message that there are some rules and guidelines here that may make her question off-topic after all. If it is clickable, the chances are visibly increased that she will click the link, and go directly to the place where what is on-topic/off-topic is detailed.
In my (professional and private) experiences from on-line user behavior, such "blink-of-the-eye" optimization of signalling and communication brings results: the user may end up not asking a question after all, or she will attempt to modify the question according to the guidance given.
I expect that statistically, this will reduce the noise created by questions that are off-topic, low-quality, too-broad, opinion-requests, it will increase the quality of on-topic questions, and that it will also help new users feel more at home from the beginning.
ALSO: Even "How to Ask" at the top of the pink box is confusing the message. Perhaps it would be better to headline the pink box with "Is your question about economics?"