+New topic works as expected if selections are made in top-down, left-right “order”:
+New Topic fails to show “Default Questions” when "out-of-order"
Like when:
“Post some content"
before
"Select Category”
Maybe the “Post content section” could be disabled forcing “Select Category” before being enabled and ensuring the appropriate default questions are shown.
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Almost 5 years later...
And this still happens.
It looks like this might be a feature we could turn on: Require category selection before writing topic - ux - Discourse Meta
@jsha do you know how to enable "require a category to be selected before they can begin entering body text" in our settings?
I can't reply on Rudy's thread in Site Feedback for some reason (closed? too old?)
But, I already can't input text into the topic data until I select a Category.
In fact, when I change the category to/from Help it adds/removes the form questions accordingly. Maybe the new topic behaves differently for Leaders? Or dependent on browsers (I tried just on Windows 10 Edge).
I've reopened the thread, have set a new timer on it and moved your posts into it 
Yeah, looks like the Leader role grants the ability to bypass certain things -- both selecting a category and posting in a closed thread
So the main takeaways here are:
I think that feature is on by default if "allow uncategorized posts" is unchecked (as it is for us). And indeed, when I click "New topic", the input field is disabled until I choose a category (note the ⍉ cursor).
@rg305 what are your steps to reproduce?
Color me lazy (not diligent enough)!
It seems to do the job now, but
So, I guess we'll have to mention that to those that come along "empty handed".
We often do When I reclass a post to the Help topic I note it in a reply so other volunteers know they never saw the form. That's still a gap.
Maybe the Help topic could be pre-selected and the empty form shown? Then someone would have to intentionally pick a different category. Might avoid some of the empty handed posts we see?
I looked for a way to make a certain category the default and did not find it. If you know of a way, please let me know; that would be handy!
By the way, I have a strong preference that when someone does post empty-handed, rather than scold them for being empty-handed, we simply paste in the prompt verbatim. Conveniently, it already starts with "Please fill out the fields below so we can help you better." 
I can add a canned reply for that, but I'm not sure if you all can access canned replies. Do you see this in the settings menu while posting?
As a TL3 I can see it (no idea about the lower TLs)
I see two Canned Replies. One for Please Post Publicly and one for Domain Name. I don't know my TL level.
It would be nice to have the form in Canned Replies. I currently open a window, make a new Help topic and copy/paste the form to my welcome reply. I learned what to do from watching more experienced volunteers before I became active posting.
Sorry if my comment implied something else. I often see polite responses. Even jerks get attention. Not to mention we often go far beyond the scope of just LE certs in many cases.
Great, I've added "Please fill out the fields below", with the contents of the help form.
And I did not mean to say that you would scold someone; but it's something I have seen in the past and it's something I have been tempted to do myself, so I figure it's worth being explicit about best practice.
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