There's a question posted that initially appeared off-topic because it asked about where to incorporate: Is there an ideal state in which to incorporate in the USA?
While this is a question that could be served by the OnStartups community, could incorporating as a freelancer or self-employed person be something that would come up as an actual freelancing/self-employed problem? Do freelancers or self-employed people oftentimes incorporate in states or jurisdictions they don't live in, such as how a startup might? I've never thought to do this, but is this something people do?
If the answers to these questions are "yes", then we should recognize that some questions posted here may overlap somewhat in scope with our neighbors at OnStartups. This is not a bad thing nor should it mean the questions are off-topic. However, we should ensure that the question applies to freelancers or the self-employed.
If the answer is "no", then this is likely to be off-topic here.
In the example I link to, the question is about finding the best state to incorporate in as a small business. Many freelancers consider themselves to be a small business; therefore, is this really off-topic? How can we edit this post to make it more on-topic and justify reopening it?
In short, the litmus test for determining whether or not a question is off-topic or not isn't "is this on-topic on site X?". Instead, ask "is this a problem that a freelancer or self-employed person would have?"
From the FAQ:
Freelancing Stack Exchange is for self-employed and freelance workers.
It may also be helpful for us to define what the difference is between a freelancer, someone who is self-employed, and a startup. Does a small business fall into the freelancer/self-employed category? What criteria must a small business have in order to be considered in the same category as the self-employed/freelancing crowd? Answering these questions will help us better determine the scope as well as how to tailor certain questions to fit that scope without changing their meaning.