No, it's not a bad thing to discuss - it's just not suitable for Programmers.SE (in its current form)
In General:
When considering whether to vote to close a question, I have a simple metric I use:
Will this question make [me] a better programmer.
i.e. I attempt to objectively determine if there is value in the question (and any answers) at the time of voting.
Obviously applying empathy if I'm not directly involved/educated in the topic, and if it's borderline I might wait a bit and see how it evolves before voting.
The "six subjective guidelines" I don't agree with, because it's not a matter of subjectivity, and "sharing experiences" is not a valid measure of whether something is useful (sometimes experiences are helpful, sometimes they're not).
Voting to close is not a one-way decision; it doesn't mean the question is bad or irredeemable. If a question is improved and made into something useful, I will happily vote in favour of the question.
This is all about me wanting to help create a Q&A website which is useful and respected - not one that is considered a dumping ground for everything closed on StackOverflow, nor a place where the signal:noise ratio (i.e. useful:mindless-fun) is too low.
I want to share programming wisdom, (not discuss showers, dreaming, and tacky TV shows).
Specifically:
For this specific question, when I voted, there wasn't any point in it. It was more of a discussion - so find a discussion forum to have it in, or pop into the SO chat room.
When combined with responses such as these:
I've always said I do my best programming in the shower.
and
Driving, definitely the best ideas are coming while driving.
and
Often when I can't sleep at night. Usually because I have a problem on my mind.
and
Sometimes a few weeks after release: I look at my code and wonder "what was I thinking?"
and
I came up with the solution to a totally intractable database problem in a dream the other night.
and
Usually on my way home, about 5 minutes after leaving the office.
and
This totally reminds me of that Big Bang Theory episode...
None of those are helpful and will not make anyone a better programmer.
To make it a good question...
It needs to focus on making people better programmers, and tuning the question towards what we can do to improve our inspirational abilities.
And to keep it on-topic, it needs to be specifically targeted at programmers - what sort of ideas do programmers have/need compares to other people? Well, ideas on API design. To inspire yourself for that, you might get a list of method names from ten popular APIs, print them out, jumble them up, and see if that helps inspire you as to good names for your own API.
The question body should remind people it's asking for programming advice on coming up with ideas, to make sure the answers are focused in the right direction.
