As what seems to be the tradition for SE, I decided after 5 up-votes of fixer1234's comment to give some examples. Please note: These are not meant to be a poke at any particular user, just how we all may interpret the broad bullet points. These examples are not meant to distract from the main points of the question.

Here an ISP support agent is asking a generalized question about deployed equipment's use of band-steering from the ISP, and how it relates to customers consumer devices use of band-steering.

Why did i consider this off-topic?

• This is an employee of an ISP asking about equipment they have deployed.
• ISP's work directly with manufacturers to create ISP Specific Firmware that run on these devices. (how did Comcast implement band steering on the latest triple-play modem?)
• The user indicated in the comments; "I cant remember off the top of my head" either the deployed devices model numbers, or the customers make and model numbers of the devices in question.
• The point above leaves us with nothing to answer, other than a generic response about band-steering. Spiff was nice enough to give an answer about how band-steering is generally implemented. Without both the access point make and model, and the end-users device, or card/adapter, there is no problem, or possibly an answer to one.

Here is a question that I thought at the time was on-topic, but was closed as primarily opinion based.

Why did i think it was on-topic at the time?

• Both devices would technically fit under personal networking as defined in the help-section
• This user is not directly asking for a shopping recommendation.
• This question can be answered with empirically gathered data. (Although the data may change from country to country or even between two carriers.)
• This is a user asking about possible performance differences between two consumer services/products.
• This comparison of the two technologies may help future readers make an informed decision if they are also unaware of the finer points of the two.

So was my answer clearly just opinion based? Or was it just this particular users formation of the question? (I should add that this user was clearly confused about the definitions in the help-section in his previous questions that day.)

actual repeater vs router-as-repeater

Here is a comparison between two consumer devices that was edited by Davidpostill to be on-topic. Some of the same bullet points from the above question could also be applied to this one...

How to compare two network adapters?

This question I originally answered was clearly on-topic. Then like a sneaky ninja in the night, the OP edited the question to be a shopping recommendation, which of course we all know is a cardinal sin here in SU, as it violates the commandment "Thou shall not answer questions that could be construed as a shopping recommendation!"

Does my answer here redeem the question which then clearly became off-topic?

In this question, community members interpreted the post as primarily opinion based. It was my interpretation of "better" from the OP's question, that he was asking about the performance differences of the two, and not that he was asking the community which one was better in anyone's opinion. Just look at the wording after better, speed, latency, & range. (Performance)

How can one use CDMA(code division multiple access) in individual communications

Here I am going to break this up into the main points of:

• Why I thought this question was off-topic.

  • This question is not about personal/home networking
  • CDMA historically was used first in military communications, then when it moved to the private sector it was used to maximize communication channels in already licensed frequencies/bands by major cellular providers / telecommunication companies. (see U.S patent #US4901307A Spread spectrum multiple access communication system using satellite or terrestrial repeaters ) & CDMA History
  • The user isn't asking about "how does CDMA work" as harry states it in meta. the question is asking "How do I use CDMA in individual communications." This is further clarified by the poster in the question "unlike GSM that is used in mobile handset for communication"... We can now see the user is talking about CDMA cellular service and how a handset interacts with the cellular tower.
  • Just in case anyone missed it, the paper that Harry quotes in his answer is based of off and listed at the bottom as a main reference: (E.H. Dinan, B. Jabbari, "Spreading codes for direct sequence CDMA and wideband CDMA cellular networks, IEEE Communications Magazine, pp. 48-54, September 1998.) Maybe harry just skimmed through and didn't actually read the paper?

• My interpretations of the question.

  • This could be a student asking a generalized question about CDMA. (still off-topic)
  • This user seems to want to know how to pick through a CDMA stream to isolate a single communications channel. (this could be someone making a DIY CDMA Stingray device )
  • This could also be someone with a HACK-RF-ONE or some other Software Defined Radio with RX/TX capabilities trying to make a pirated mini tower for the old handsets he has laying around.

• My thoughts from the comments in his answer

  • "It's about hardware technology". (nope, it has nothing to do with computer hardware as defined in the help section. you are disingenuously misconstruing definitions.)
  • "and networking is in our domain" (only personal & home networking)
  • "This isn't Meta, so long discussions are out." (well here we are...) ;)
  • "But saying that a technology is out of bounds because it's not used in home computing is:" - "Needs proof" (Not really, this isn't a COURT OF LAW. Its more like a tribunal, where the burden of proof was on you to prove to us, the people reviewing why it should remain open. Did you read the paper in your answer?) I should also add, if you had shown me any reference of consumer networking gear using CDMA I might have reversed my action. - "Perhaps will change in the future" (You may be a wizard in some aspects of computer science, but neither of us are fortune tellers.) - "May be an invalid argument, since we also have company people asking questions here about software & hardware and large networks." (They shouldn't be ~ for-profit companies shouldn't be trying to exploit a volunteer community for help. If they need help they should hire a professional.)

This question mainly relates to users, and contributors interpretations of the Help-Center guidelines:

Super User is for computer enthusiasts and power users. If you have a question about …

• computer hardware,
• computer software, or
• personal and home computer networking

and it is not about …

• programming and software development,
• video games or consoles,
• websites or web services like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress,
• electronic devices, media players, cell phones or smart phones, except
  insofar as they interface with your computer, issues specific to corporate IT support and networks, asking for a product, service or learning material recommendation,

… then you’re in the right place to ask your question!

It seems we get a lot of users who do actually read the guidelines, but still have some confusion on whats actually acceptable to ask.

I have personally had questions that I answered closed because of my misinterpretation of the help-section vs members of the communities interpretation. I have also seen the same users that closed my answers, answer questions that would fit into the category they gave for closure.

I am now of the opinion that its just the guidelines not being specific enough in the help-center. This is not meant to be a jab at any members. I would actually like to hear people of the community weigh in on this.

• Computer Hardware
  • In general Personal computers, laptops & peripherals. not to exclude
    home servers (ubuntu server, windows servers ect in a home /
    personal environment.)
• Computer Software
  • Personal/home computer software, operating systems, not personal-
    programmed software, C#, arduino or rasberry pi sketches, proprietary
    software etc.
• Personal and Home Computer Networking
  • Wired and wireless networking (cards/adapters, Cables, Routers,
    switches, bridges, AP's etc) as so far as it deals with personal and not
    business/corporate environments, (my definition of this would be
    environments that house less than 25-30 connected devices.) and should
    not relate to questions specific to Cellular networks, corporate networks,
    inter-ISP switched networks, or DOCSIS network troubleshooting (Excluding
    inside wiring troubleshooting from Modem/PC to the demarcation point.) an
    exception could also be made for Public participation networks such as,
    Libre Router networks or similar.

TL:DR - based off of broad interpretations of the help section, users and new contributors alike get questions and answers closed. Sometimes by conjecture, confusion, or misunderstanding.

If anyone has any constructive feedback on the subject, feel free to comment or answer. Thanks for reading this.

This question mainly relates to users and contributors' interpretations of the Help Center » Asking guidelines:

Super User is for computer enthusiasts and power users. If you have a question about …

• computer hardware,
• computer software, or
• personal and home computer networking

and it is not about …

• programming and software development,
• video games or consoles,
• websites or web services like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress,
• electronic devices, media players, cell phones or smart phones, except insofar as they interface with your computer,
• issues specific to corporate IT support and networks,
• asking for a product, service or learning material recommendation,

… then you’re in the right place to ask your question!

It seems we get a lot of users who do actually read the guidelines, but still have some confusion on what's actually acceptable to ask.

I have personally had questions that I answered closed because of my misinterpretation of the help section vs. the community members' interpretation. I have also seen the same users that closed my answers, answer questions that would fit into the category they gave for closure.

I am now of the opinion that its just the guidelines not being specific enough in the help center. This is not meant to be a jab at any members. I would actually like to hear people of the community weigh in on this.

• Computer Hardware
  • In general personal computers, laptops & peripherals, not excluding
    home servers (Ubuntu server, Windows Server, etc. in a home or personal environment)
• Computer Software
  • Personal/home computer software, operating systems, not personal-
    programmed software, C#, Arduino or Raspberry Pi sketches, proprietary
    software, etc.
• Personal and Home Computer Networking
  • Wired and wireless networking (cards/adapters, cables, routers,
    switches, bridges, APs, etc.) insofar as it deals with personal and not
    business/corporate environments, (my definition of this would be
    environments that house less than 25-30 connected devices.) and should
    not relate to questions specific to cellular networks, corporate networks,
    inter-ISP switched networks, or DOCSIS network troubleshooting (excluding
    inside wiring troubleshooting from modem/PC to the demarcation point.) an
    exception could also be made for public participation networks such as,
    LibreRouter networks or similar.

TL;DR: Based on broad interpretations of the help section, users and new contributors alike get questions and answers closed, sometimes by conjecture, confusion, or misunderstanding.

If anyone has any constructive feedback on the subject, feel free to comment or answer.

Thanks for reading this.