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So today I asked this question: https://superuser.com/questions/464472/why-do-all-my-usb-devices-malfunction-now-and-then

It was closed within an hour. Fine, OK, bad question, whatever. I'll delete it.

Sorry, says Super User, you can't delete it for two days.

This seems rather passive-aggressive to me. If I asked a bad question, and I don't care to reword it, what purpose is served by making me wait two days to delete it?

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  • 1
    Closing decisions are easily reversible, both by moderators and regular users voting to reopen. Deletions are more difficult (as there is less visibility in comparison).
    – Daniel Beck Mod
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 18:40
  • 3
    As soon as you posted the question, it was no longer your question. You contributed it to the community.
    – Oliver Salzburg Mod
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 18:45
  • That rationale makes no sense, as the community quite obviously didn't want it.
    – user9528
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 18:47
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    @Kyralessa: That doesn't mean you get it back ;D In all seriousness, just because it was closed, doesn't mean the community doesn't want it. The question can still be improved and reopened. Closure is never final. Worst case scenario, we would have a closed question that serves as an example of what not to post on the site. Then, in a way, it's still welcome. Maybe tomorrow, you'll see this whole thing differently and you want to revise your question so it is more appropriate for the site. Cheers
    – Oliver Salzburg Mod
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 18:52
  • @OliverSalzburg, it's hard to imagine how a community could be more unfriendly and unwelcoming than to say, "Your question is a bad one. Now we're going to hold on to it and show it to everyone, with your name on it, as an example of what not to do."
    – user9528
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 19:16
  • 3
    @Kyralessa Closures are not considered bad marks against you as a user. I'd almost garauntee that everyone has a closed question or two. It's all a part of the learning that goes on while using Stack Exchange.
    – James Mertz
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 19:35
  • @KronoS Same link twice?
    – Daniel Beck Mod
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 20:46
  • @OliverSalzburg, this is not a duplicate of that question. I'm specifically asking about the two-day rule.
    – user9528
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 20:50
  • @KronoS, same for you. This isn't a duplicate of that question. This question is about the purpose of the two-day rule.
    – user9528
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 20:55
  • @DanielBeck Whoops! That's what I get for doing copypasta Here's the second link
    – James Mertz
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 20:59
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    @Kyralessa The answer is the same for both question. Therefore duplicate content. You seem to be agitated by the actions taking place here. At first I thought you were a new user, but I see now that you're a very experienced SE user. These rules, regulations and practices shouldn't be new to you, and therefore I'm a little perplexed as to you attitude toward this whole thing. If you have more to say, I suggest migrating this discussion over to Ask a SU Mod but plz don't
    – James Mertz
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 21:12
  • take offense to the actions taking place, and assume that they are vindictively directed at you. They aren't.
    – James Mertz
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 21:13
  • The can't-delete-for-two-days thing is completely new to me. And there were no questions here that addressed it. That's why I asked about it, here in this question that you decided should be closed even though the "duplicate" question has nothing to do with that matter. (The answer to that question says nothing about why the two-day rule exists, which is what I was attempting to ask.) I'm not sure what it was that brought me to SU on a whim today, but I'll try not to let it happen again. I'll stick with SO where I feel like I understand the rules.
    – user9528
    Commented Aug 21, 2012 at 21:31
  • Interestingly, the question was addressed on Channel 9's Defrag show today. Skip to 9:25.
    – user9528
    Commented Aug 30, 2012 at 2:29

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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As the other question did not address the why really well, let me summarize what I found on the matter.

This has already been asked on Meta Stack Overflow:

  • How to delete closed question

    I would like delete a question of mine since it's been closed. Is there a way to delete a closed question? I am owner, so why am I not able to delete it the normal way? Do I have to ask some moderator?

People are usually referred to How does deleting work? What can cause a post to be deleted, and what does that actually mean?. Specifically, the section:

When can't I delete my own post?

You can't delete answers that have been accepted.

You can't delete any question that:

You can't delete any of your questions or answers if you haven't registered your account (i.e. associated an OpenID with it).

So the reason is simply: to allow for possible reopening.

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