Update: This was written under the impression that we actually allowed software-rec questions. Hey, there are over 1000 of them as of now. I am talking about how I think a good software recommendation question can still exist.
In fact you are right that there is a sort of ambiguity.
As an example, consider Best QuickSilver clone on Windows:
Wouldn't we tolerate it, if the user instead asked: […]
Exactly. At least from what I've seen in the last months, software recommendations were actually fine as long as they were based on facts (i.e. certain features, measurable speed, user interface constraints, versions, open-source, price). And since software doesn't rapidly change as much as hardware does, those were fine at least at the point of writing and the following few months.
However …
For most of the old software recommendation questions, it's just the usual problem of clutter, lack of consistency, missing context, et cetera. This is a problem with the answers, not the question per se. The question might be driven by a problem many people have.
Sooner or later, this will happen to all of these, if we don't take care of them.
What to do in the future?
So, in the first instance, whenever you see a subjective recommendation-type question …
- Don't close as not constructive immediately.
- Try to salvage it. Ask the OP what their criteria are or emphasize them (maybe even in the title).
- Edit the question accordingly.
Even more so, I think software-recommendations (as long as they're not "What do you use?") can be worth keeping. Maybe we should set up a few constraints for answers, like for example:
- Including name, official website
- Including estimated price, license
- Including context. Let the OP know why this meets their criteria. This is the most important part.
- Including a screenshot, if possible.
So, I don't think all of these should be closed. There is still a marginal difference between "What's the best XY?" and "What's the best XY for this context", if and only if the answers also reflect that.