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Questions tagged [close-reasons]

Questions about reasons for closing a specific question (use [specific-question] too), and the predefined reasons users are able to choose from when voting to close

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43 votes
1 answer
866 views

Please don't vote to close Excel questions as off-topic

During routine review queue patrols, I noticed that several microsoft-excel questions were being voted to close as off-topic: https://superuser.com/review/close/335558 https://superuser.com/review/...
bwDraco's user avatar
  • 46.4k
30 votes
2 answers
272 views

Isn't the close reason "gaming" a dupe of "off-topic" on Super User?

Due to this question, the close reason on Super User not computer related has been replaced with off-topic now: close reasons http://www.imageuploading.com/ims/pic.php?u=19720qFeUy&i=122378 This ...
fretje's user avatar
  • 10.7k
24 votes
1 answer
707 views

What steps can I take to check and improve lower quality questions?

It is sometimes unclear in which way a question should be handled. What can I do to check why excactly it doesn't meet our standards? What could I do to inform the user and improve it to be of higher ...
Tamara Wijsman's user avatar
20 votes
6 answers
877 views

Official stance on Facebook questions on SU?

https://superuser.com/questions/73214/facebook-profiles-for-non-people-okay Ok, there are many questions that reference Facebook, but this one seems to be directly about facebook. I need an official ...
Troggy's user avatar
  • 10.2k
20 votes
3 answers
489 views

What should be featured in our list of off-topic close reasons?

Many people seem to think that question closure means that the question has come the end of its lifecycle here, while it's clearly not so. As part of making things more clear to the folks asking why ...
Sathyajith Bhat's user avatar
  • 62.1k
20 votes
2 answers
3k views

The infamous "My PC is freezing" question...

We all know what they are: My PC is freezing and I don't know what to do? Please help me! Here's my specs: I think it's a windows 7 It has a power supply There's some RAM ...
James Mertz's user avatar
  • 26.5k
20 votes
2 answers
266 views

Question in close queue is marked as duplicate, but the duplicate is terrible!

Recently I was looking through the close votes review queue when I came across this question, and it was flagged as a duplicate of this question. These two questions really are exact duplicates of ...
Wes Sayeed's user avatar
15 votes
3 answers
563 views

Close not computer related questions on StackOverflow instead of migrating them to SuperUser

Recently the SuperUser FAQ has been updated to be a little more strict on what questions should be asked Super User is for computer enthusiasts and power users. If you have a question about … ...
Ivo Flipse's user avatar
  • 24.8k
14 votes
4 answers
507 views

Closure of questions regarding pre-release/beta software

Five years ago, the issue was raised as to whether questions related to problems with beta software are on-topic. The gist of the logic for why they are not is in suggested wording for a custom close ...
fixer1234's user avatar
  • 27.8k
14 votes
1 answer
112 views

Why is the "noise or pointless" close option still enabled here?

So why do we still have "noise or pointless" as a close option on Meta Super User (and Meta Server Fault) and nowhere else? I've just noticed that the "not a real question" option is missing. They ...
ChrisF's user avatar
  • 41.4k
13 votes
1 answer
129 views

Is it time to update this close reason?

Image & text of the Software recs close reason (just so no-one thinks this was closed already ;)… Questions seeking product, service, or learning material recommendations are off-topic because ...
Tetsujin's user avatar
  • 50.5k
13 votes
1 answer
71 views

Will an option to migrate to Web Apps be added to Super User's Close dialog?

The title says it all really. Now that Nothing To Install WebApps is live, will it be added to the close dialog?
ChrisF's user avatar
  • 41.4k
12 votes
1 answer
244 views

Change the close question text

Would it be possible to get the text in yellow box on questions closed for requesting hardware and software recommendations to contain a link to those respective sites? Below is a recent example. ...
Burgi's user avatar
  • 6,678
11 votes
3 answers
280 views

Should we split up the off-topic "shopping" closing reason?

One of our current off-topic reasons reads like this: Questions seeking product, service, or learning material recommendations are off-topic because they tend to become obsolete quickly. Instead, ...
slhck's user avatar
  • 232k
11 votes
1 answer
131 views

Off topic close reasons – do we need specific points for Stack Overflow or Web Apps?

It's been a couple of days since we're using the new off-topic close reasons, including: Questions seeking product, service, or learning material recommendations are off-topic because they tend ...
slhck's user avatar
  • 232k
11 votes
0 answers
114 views

Can we add a little more to the close option Off-Topic --> Recommendation?

I created a meta post that shows how to ask questions that may involve recommendations. I think that it would be good to add this to the closing option of Off-Topic --> recommendations. This is ...
James Mertz's user avatar
  • 26.5k
10 votes
1 answer
90 views

Should clicking the "Close" button in a review audit, where closing the question is not appropriate, cause an *immediate* failure of the audit?

I just encountered a review audit (i.e, an "attention test") question in the close votes review queue for the first time. That is, it was a question that did not deserve any close votes that had been ...
Excellll's user avatar
  • 12.8k
9 votes
5 answers
1k views

Why was the question "Why are there 8 bits per byte?" closed?

TL;DR: I'm looking for opinions on why this question should be open or closed. Answer: I now understand why it has been closed: It is not a real problem because it has no practical use. https://...
Tamara Wijsman's user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
392 views

SSD recommendation closed as off topic, but subject is on topic, what edits can re-open it?

I was looking for backup/archival solutions and wondered about the possibility of using (one or more) SSDs. Before asking, I searched for duplicates and I found: Would an SSD be a good option as a ...
Francesco's user avatar
  • 674
8 votes
3 answers
186 views

Suggestion for new Vote to Close Reason: Shopping recommendation

Now, a good number of questions I get around to closing are obvious shopping questions, and tend to be closed off topic when I do. Considering shopping questions are a definite no-no, could we have '...
Journeyman Geek's user avatar
  • 132k
8 votes
2 answers
159 views

Why isn't there a Close > Too specific option?

We have a Close > Too broad reason, but why not a Close > Too specific? Or as I learned researching this, a Too localized reason? It's quite often that I see users are asking why their specific ...
agtoever's user avatar
  • 6,372
7 votes
1 answer
186 views

Are "X vs Y" product comparison questions not constructive?

The comparison of two distinct products with similar purposes, as in this question, seems to be the sort of question that solicits opinion and therefore not constructive. However, these questions are ...
bwDraco's user avatar
  • 46.4k
7 votes
1 answer
125 views

How do we improve those banners you see when a question is closed?

For example, this question was closed (and rightly so) for asking for software recommendations. Couple of problems: The fact that the question was closed makes little sense, because why ask OP to ask ...
user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
124 views

Why was this question about computer hardware closed as off-topic?

Why was this question closed? I can't see how it does not relate to computer hardware.
Gilles 'SO- stop being evil''s user avatar
7 votes
0 answers
77 views

What happened to the “too old” message?

I just voted to close this two-year-old question because I believed that it was off-topic for Super User, and that it belonged on another site in the Stack Exchange network.  However, I was not given ...
Scott - Слава Україні's user avatar
6 votes
2 answers
157 views

Are languages too localized?

Are questions related to specific natural languages too localized? One of the reasons questions are closed as too localized is geography as stated e.g. here, even if the question is possibly relevant ...
Daniel Beck's user avatar
  • 111k
6 votes
2 answers
171 views

What details do you need? Or please stop voting to close as “Needs details or clarity”!

Not only the flag but also the close reason is utterly useless by itself. If you cannot be bothered to leave a comment explaining why you think the question is unclear or which further details are ...
Daniel B's user avatar
  • 64.7k
6 votes
2 answers
98 views

Are TeX/LaTeX questions off-topic?

This question was closed as off-topic. Yet it fits squarely within the topic of Super User as defined by the FAQ (it's a question about the beamer plug-in for the TeX program, to put it into general ...
Gilles 'SO- stop being evil''s user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
126 views

Add a new off-topic close reason for questions asking for scripts

Recently, I've seen several questions in the close queue that simply ask for a script to be written to perform or automate a particular task. These questions are currently closed as too broad with ...
bwDraco's user avatar
  • 46.4k
5 votes
2 answers
241 views

Should questions related to problems with beta software/prototype hardware be closed?

I saw that Windows 8.1 Preview No sound on Macbook Pro Retina was closed since it's Preview/Beta code and the issue may very well be fixed by MS or the PC manufacturer in the months to come before ...
Karan's user avatar
  • 56.9k
5 votes
1 answer
79 views

Does Super User have a "could not be reproduced" vote reason?

My primary hunting grounds Ask Ubuntu, Unix & Linux and Vi and Vim have a "could not reproduced" close reason (or something close enough). Does Super User have something similar? I know I can only ...
muru's user avatar
  • 1,336
5 votes
2 answers
115 views

how to deal with an answer that is resolved, but not answered?

For example, if the problem was resolved without answering the question, how do you deal with the question so that it doesn't remain opened. Perhaps a device was replaced, or a different software ...
brice's user avatar
  • 2,377
5 votes
1 answer
114 views

Why is my question considered to be "off topic"?

I asked this question: Automatically reclaim my IRC nickname (without underscores) globally? Without any comments it was "closed as off topic". I don't understand why. The box informing me about the ...
unor's user avatar
  • 3,146
5 votes
1 answer
89 views

Close reason not shown?

This question has been migrated from StackOverflow - and apparently back. Both sites show the question as closed, but the close reason is not displayed anywhere.
grawity's user avatar
  • 481k
5 votes
1 answer
108 views

Why was my network synchronization question closed as offtopic?

I have a question about my Super User post: Real-Time Sync Utility My question got recently closed as off-topic. While my actual question (what I wanted to know) was on topic in the first place, I ...
Qw3ry's user avatar
  • 245
5 votes
0 answers
96 views

Was this question closed because a new user made an (easily correctable) Markdown formatting mistake and (correctable, ESL) grammar?

WSL2 duplicated terminal was Mod-closed as "Needs clarity or details", but even as originally written it was (again) quite understandable to me. It definitely had two problems: The new ...
NotTheDr01ds's user avatar
  • 25.6k
4 votes
3 answers
97 views

Why was this off-topic (resource recommendation) flag declined?

I flagged this question as off-topic, using the reason "Questions seeking product, service, or learning material recommendations are off-topic because they become outdated quickly and attract ...
Robert Columbia's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
108 views

Are consumer features of fingerprint biometric scanners on-topic?

My question about fingerprint biometric scanner was migrated to IT Security. I think I made it clear that the question is about consumer features of these devices, e.g. speed of detection, reliability,...
haimg's user avatar
  • 23k
4 votes
1 answer
608 views

How to ask a question which is similar to other questions but not exactly similar

I find many questions which are similar to my question but not exactly what i want to ask. Some people feel it duplicate so they vote down or sometimes it leads closing a question. I can edit a ...
Amit Kumar Gupta's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
71 views

Why my question was closed?

I'm referring to this one. The reason was "Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on ...
Sekhemty's user avatar
  • 9,736
4 votes
1 answer
53 views

Are questions on the form "will hardware component X work in my system?" really seeking "hardware shopping recommendations"?

I came across the question Will my PSU 450w be able to handle?, but I have seen this in many other cases as well. The basic form is that someone comes along, lists their system specs, and asks about ...
user's user avatar
  • 30.2k
4 votes
1 answer
132 views

Question about hardware is closed as off topic

I asked a question about computer hardware. I looked through the section about what is considered on topic on this site and I didn't see any problems with my question. However my question was closed ...
gartenriese's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
150 views

Asking questions about facebook in superuser [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Official stance on Facebook questions on SU? I wanted to ask a question about facebook in superuser only to discover that almost all questions tagged facebook have been closed....
flybywire's user avatar
  • 4,100
4 votes
1 answer
34 views

Help center doesn't explain that question about bugs in pre-release software are off-topic

I just used the "Questions about bugs in pre-release/beta software or prototype hardware are off-topic" close reason to vote to close a question. I was looking for somewhere in the Help Center where ...
heavyd's user avatar
  • 64.6k
4 votes
0 answers
46 views

What makes a history-tagged question closed?

I love to read about computer history. There are many questions regarding history on SU and a history tag. Some of the questions are closed: https://superuser.com/questions/tagged/history?sort=votes&...
n611x007's user avatar
  • 6,506
3 votes
1 answer
278 views

A Kindle question closed; why? It's software+hardware...

https://superuser.com/q/276010/65570 was closed with a message "Questions on Super User are expected to generally relate to computer software or computer hardware in some way". According to the ...
imz -- Ivan Zakharyaschev's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
166 views

Why was this question (356778) closed?

Can data tapes be recorded/played on a standard cassette recorder? was closed as off-topic. I can see why someone would think that this is about a tape recorder ("electronic devices") but in the FAQ ...
Nate Koppenhaver's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
52 views

Why was my question about "Intentions and security risks of AIM bots" closed?

I've recently made a question at SuperUser about the intentions and security risks of AIM bots and it was downvoted and closed as Not a real question. I've browsed the site guidelines and I'm not ...
Álvaro González's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
79 views

Is "noise or pointless" coming back?

I noticed that many questions closed as noise or pointless were later changed to not constructive; however, today I saw a question with this old status again: Is this intended, or is it a bug?
gparyani's user avatar
  • 1,851
3 votes
1 answer
79 views

saving streaming video played in web browser is off-topic on superuser?

I really want to save this video as I love the show but I have some troubles with their fast English ... so ... I asked here any-idea-how-to-save-video-from-this-site and the question was closed as ...
Radek's user avatar
  • 3,114