Timeline for Do we need a definition and policy on what would be considered "overly broad" questions?
Current License: CC BY-SA 2.5
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2017 at 17:21 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
replaced http://meta.programmers.stackexchange.com/ with https://softwareengineering.meta.stackexchange.com/
|
|
| Mar 16, 2017 at 17:21 | history | edited | CommunityBot |
replaced http://meta.programmers.stackexchange.com/ with https://softwareengineering.meta.stackexchange.com/
|
|
| Dec 30, 2010 at 21:23 | comment | added | Philip Regan |
...Since questions like that could be used as reputation farms of a sort, that's why I suggested to slap 'em community wiki and move on. To help aid the discussion, I have posted an update to my question that I think better explains my intentions here.
|
|
| Dec 30, 2010 at 21:22 | comment | added | Philip Regan | @Mark: As far as I see it, the question didn't need editing and the vote to close was unfair. I've always felt that the notion of closing a question as being too broad as being too blunt an instrument, that it leads to pigeonholing decisions on questions that could yield good answers. Broad does not always equal bad or unanswerable; it could end up being a question that leads to the basics of a particular topic that is then qualified by the community. That benefits everyone, including the mass of newbies that hit the site every day (casual observation there)... | |
| Dec 30, 2010 at 21:14 | comment | added | user8 | @Philip don't be obtuse. I've answered your questions: you just don't like the answer you've been given. The question, as it was originally asked, was bad because it was too broad. What's mind-boggling to me is that you're getting riled up over a question that's remained open and even I'm saying is a decent question in its current form. Are you now arguing that there should be a policy against editing questions to make them clearer? | |
| Dec 30, 2010 at 21:10 | comment | added | Philip Regan | @Mark: And you still haven't answered my questions. | |
| Dec 30, 2010 at 21:09 | comment | added | Philip Regan | @Mark: I think the definition of "broad" (and its existence as a reason to close) and the policy of closing for broad context should be revisited. While this isn't nearly as important as past issues, it is one that I think hasn't been hashed out enough and some questions are suffering as a result. What you considered a bad question I (and others) considered a good basic one. | |
| Dec 30, 2010 at 20:46 | history | edited | user8 | CC BY-SA 2.5 |
added 103 characters in body
|
| Dec 30, 2010 at 20:42 | comment | added | user8 | @Philip It's far more cut & dry then you're making it out to be. Keep 2 things in mind: 1) use common sense. A broad question, by definition, is a question without sufficient detail. Can someone reasonably infer the scope of the question and provide an answer that fully addresses the question? If so, it has the makings of a decent question. If not, it's too broad. 2) Realize that real live people are voting to close, upvote, and downvote. They make mistakes and they miss things. Just because one question stayed open doesn't mean it's unassailably good and an exemplar for all future questions. | |
| Dec 30, 2010 at 20:24 | comment | added | Philip Regan | @Mark: I get what you're saying, but you're still not answering my questions; you keep rallying against broad questions but you're not offering alternatives to those that feel they have no other choice. Again, how was the second a bad one compared to the first before the editing? It was a simple question, but if it isn't acceptable to your standards, then where can someone ask that type of question if they don't know enough about the topic to give more context to it? Yes, it was only one vote, but it was unfair vote when held up to other questions of the examples' ilk. Simple != bad here. | |
| Dec 30, 2010 at 20:24 | history | edited | user8 | CC BY-SA 2.5 |
deleted 1 characters in body
|
| Dec 30, 2010 at 20:12 | history | answered | user8 | CC BY-SA 2.5 |