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I know there is a lot of discussion about subjective questions, not just here, but all over the Stack Exchange network of sites. And I'm posting this because my question [Boss Asking To Work Overtime But Under the Radar] was closed, but I'm not arguing that it shouldn't have been. I'm wondering where I should have posted the question, if it is not appropriate for Programmers SE.

In my view, if I can't post something like that here, then which SE site is appropriate for it? Any? Or was it just a matter of how the question was asked? It is a bit frustrating, because the question generated a lot of good answers and those answers helped me a great deal, but now if these types of questions aren't welcomed here, then where can someone turn to?

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    I want to also point out that, in my view, the question met all 6 criteria of "The Six Subjective Question Guideline". (meta.programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/350/…>
    – RHPT
    Oct 4, 2010 at 17:15
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    @RHPT: For me the problem with that question is "too localized". In that case SE sites doesn't fit well. Maybe Yahoo Answers :-)
    – Maniero
    Oct 4, 2010 at 17:48
  • @RHPT: In the early time of the guideline we've been focusing a bit too much on the experience part, perhaps people might reconsider now and reopen the question if the opinions are sufficiently useful or constructive for others... Oct 4, 2010 at 18:04
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    Hmmm... "Dear Abby"?
    – Shog9
    Oct 4, 2010 at 18:34
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    Some questions are not suited for any of these sites. Asking "If it isn't appropriate here, then where?" isn't really a good argument. Oct 4, 2010 at 19:43
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    All these downvotes are bad for my self-esteem.
    – RHPT
    Oct 4, 2010 at 21:54
  • YouTube style: 4 people have missed the upvote button. ^^ Oct 5, 2010 at 14:51

2 Answers 2

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Please note that I use "you" in my answer, but this could refer to anyone who can benefit.
See the "make it relevant to others" section of ask advice, which is an adaption from Google's Tips...

The story might make the question too localized/specific, but that's not the reason I've closed it for.


As I were one of the people who decided to vote for a close these were my thoughts:

1 -> inspire answers that explain “why” and “how”.
4 -> invite sharing experiences over opinions.
5 -> insist that opinion be backed up with facts and references.

The question asks for opinions and does get different opinions as an answer.
They all say you should do something, this doesn't result in an useful decision...

As nothing is backed up by experiences/facts/references, there is nothing to base your decision on.

3 -> have a constructive, fair, and impartial tone.

As there are a lot of different opinions, the answers aren't constructive towards a decision.

This is what the close reason is about.
There can be questions that have constructive opinions that can help you create a subjective answer...

2 -> tend to have long, not short, answers.
6 -> are more than just mindless social fun.

These two are just fine, but not enough to have an overall effect.


While it seemed a bad idea to leave some questions open, it now seems a bad idea to close some questions.

To answer your questions:

In my view, if I can't post something like that here, then which SE site is appropriate for it? Any?
Or was it just a matter of how the question was asked?

The question is on-topic, but as it isn't subjective in a good way it might not be useful in its current form.

I would suggest to reform it to match the enforcement notice more, so it invites experiences and then the rest would come automatically. Please note that the notice isn't there to enforce questions that are solely based on experience, but experience tends to work out better for a question to be useful...

It is a bit frustrating, because the question generated a lot of good answers and those answers helped me a great deal, but now if these types of questions aren't welcomed here, then where can someone turn to?

Sorry, perhaps I looked wrong at the answers that where there when I voted? I'm in for re-opening.

Reforming the question might help, but feel free to disagree with me...

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    In my opinion, the question was off topic. It would have applied to lots of fields, not just programming. Oct 21, 2010 at 18:23
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I agree about explaining why it has been closed. Especially when it's a mod closure, where it doesn't have the same accountability as a regular user closure.

This site is always going to be on a bit of a knife edge with regard to what is good subjective and bad subjective, so offering guidance as to what criteria people feels it breached when the question is closed is going to be really help guide questions in the right direction.

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