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I have a hardware-related question. I want to know whether and how Thunderbolt 3 connectivity can be added to my PC setup.

This answer says that questions regarding computer hardware can be asked on .Super User.

I've posted my question twice, but it keeps getting closed as off-topic. The private message says "Instead of asking what to buy, try asking how to find out what suits your needs." - but I'm not asking what to buy!

Flagging for moderator intervention and asking for explanation didn't help. The flag got removed in seconds without further explanation.

How can I rephrase my question to make it comply with Super User's guidelines?

Alternatively, is there another site where I can ask this question?

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    I just found hardwarerecs.stackexchange.com although it seems to be still in beta at the moment.
    – herman
    Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 11:27
  • 2
    On superuser you can ask about hardware. But you're not asking about hardware, you're asking for a hardware recommendation. This is off-topic according to their help-center. Besides hardwarerecs, no site on the SE network seems to be a good fit for your question.
    – BDL
    Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 11:35
  • It's worth noting, as well, that duplicating one of your questions (especially a closed one) is frowned upon on any of the SE communities. If your question is closed due to it being off-topic reposting it doesn't make it on-topic (and gold badgers may well just close your post as an exact dupe). If your question is off-topic you should be trying to amend it to be on topic, rather than reposting it.
    – Larnu
    Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 11:43
  • @BDL I'm asking whether and how a hardware problem (lack of needed TB3 connectivity) can be solved. Sure, an answer could be a hardware recommendation, but lots of answers to acceptable questions are software recommendations, such as browser extensions, utitlities etc. It seems the rules are much stricter for hardware than for software.
    – herman
    Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 11:46
  • @Larnu it wasn't an exact dupe. I rephrased part of the question. The private notification did not mention how to get the question reopened.
    – herman
    Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 11:47
  • diy.stackexchange.com has a hardware tag. And X99S tells which slots there are; eg. Intel DSL6340.
    – Martin Zeitler
    Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 11:53
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    Sure, an answer could be a hardware recommendation, but lots ...: What other answer than an hardware recommendation would answer your question? Your motherboard doesn't have that technology, so every possible answer will be a recommendation for some hardware.
    – BDL
    Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 11:56
  • @BDL the answer could be "it's not possible", as one user replied to the original question before it got closed. Or "it's possible with this type of card" without mentioning a specific product. But look at this question: superuser.com/questions/1524359/… - since it's not standard windows functionality, what other answer could there be than a software product recommendation? But the question is not closed, instead it even has a bounty preventing it from being flagged as off-topic!
    – herman
    Commented Feb 14, 2020 at 12:01
  • The reason your hardware recommendation question was closed, is due to the fact, questions seeking hardware (and software) recommendations are out of scope. I personally was willing to perform research to see if the TB3 product you wanted to buy would work with your motherboard. Was only meet with resistance
    – Ramhound
    Commented Feb 15, 2020 at 17:09
  • @Ramhound the only reason my question looked like seeking for hardware recommendation is because I did some research myself so I found out my MB doesn't have TB3 out of the box. Prior research should be encouraged. But the rationale behind scoping out product recommendation questions is to avoid Nvidia vs AMD, Intel vs AMD, Android vs Apple type questions. My question was clearly not of this nature. I only needed to know how to find something that will allow TB3 products to my PC. Software questions of this nature are typically not closed. Not sure what resistance you are taking about.
    – herman
    Commented Feb 16, 2020 at 12:28
  • @herman - I vote to close dozens of questions seeking a software recommendation daily. The community also does a great making sure the majority doesn’t see stuff that isn’t within scope until they have participate in the community long enough and earn the required reputation to see deleted contributions
    – Ramhound
    Commented Feb 16, 2020 at 16:54
  • @Ramhound oh, I still see lots of them. Here's one the great community gave 21 upvotes: superuser.com/questions/237228/…. And it was seeking product recommendation far more directly than my question. I'll flag it then.
    – herman
    Commented Feb 16, 2020 at 21:18

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