### Homebrew-related questions need to be received better

It's taken me a while to find a way to say this, [but this meta question puts a finger on it.][1]  There is (or seems to be) a *perceived* bias against homebrew that is likely dampening some questions where the community's *experience* and *expertise* in this game form could be of great value.  

At the risk of being a Jonny-one-Note, I will again offer a cogent observation on [a core value of RPG.SE][2] from @BESW  
> We aren't here on the Stack to read the rulebooks to people. We're
> here to help people learn how to synthesize the mechanics, the
> non-mechanical text, the social context, our personal experience, the
> learning of the broader community, to apply all that to a particular
> real-life problem someone's having and find a solution for it.  

Part of the fun of many role playing games is homebrew, or minor adaptations to a rule set *to get the game to fit better at a given table*.  What appears to be happening in some cases (though it's hard for me to put a magnitude on it) is a *received negative connotation* of homebrew.  

I tripped over [this comment][3] and began to wonder how prevalent this perception is.

> This underscores my complaint that moderation by people who are
> concrete reasoners vs those who are abstract reasoners creates lot of
> tension on SE, in general. It's probably the #1 reason I see questions
> on hold, because the questioner used abstract thought process in
> posting, but the people who put the question on hold are concrete in
> their reasoning, and can't get beyond the depth of something that was
> worded just out of their reach. It's painful to watch. – [user9570789
> 20 hours ago][3]

As @doppelgreener pointed out in a comment under the meta in question, some of this has to do with being open to multiple playstyles, but there may be more to this.  If I can put a name to it (I can't at the moment) I'll either add it to this answer or open another meta.  Full disclosure: I am pretty sure I have been guilty of what that comment complains about at least once, if not multiple times. 

### Actionable Suggestions   
(1) Flag and report hostile comments (we should already do that), and be alert for dismissive comments directed at home brew content in questions.       

 - It seems that VTCs as 'primarily opinion-based' are a common response to such material, as if anything that isn't first-party rules would somehow be off-topic.  (thank you @the dark wanderer).  That does not relieve the requirement to *back it up* -- GS/BS guidance must be respected.  

   
(2) Work with querents to assist with the elements of a homebrew related question that can get an SE style answer, and identify those elements which remain within the domain of a table.  *Tone matters.*    

 - There was a time when questions involving homebrew got comments along the lines of "How open are you to changing your homebrew?"  These were more common a few years ago than they are now, and are an example of *how comments can help form and frame a question*. (@daze413 thank you)  Part of sharing our expertise is in helping someone to form a better question.  As I learned the first few times I asked questions on RPG.SE, asking a good question (that shows some research) is a bit of an art form.     

    
(3) Use experience with similar homebrew/modification as applicable.  

 - make sure to link this experience to the problem to be solved in the question, and show how the two situations are similar enough that your experience adds value.   

  [1]: https://rpg.meta.stackexchange.com/q/7906/22566
  [2]: https://chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/11?m=42972950#42972950
  [3]: https://rpg.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/7906/keep-my-homebrew-stuff-secret-in-order-to-avoid-biased-answers#comment25093_7916