I am finding that questions which are in context are being close due to "off-topic"

Question

I'm becoming frustrated at questions being closed due to being "off-topic" where they are clearly on topic. Two recent questions have been closed

• Please recommend a patterns book for iOS development: I got two decent answers and wanted more on the topic. As stated in my question body there are many books that teach the language, and how to write interfaces, but very little on actual patterns and practices for solving common design scenarios. So why is this off topic? Some may say that one books is better than another, however I don't really care. I'm looking for professional advice so I can go out and apply patterns within the books that I find best to me.
• What is the convention for the star location in reference variables?: Two decent answers with good reasons either way, if I didn't ask this question I would be less informed and still not know what is the best. Again, this I can choose to do what I like, as long as I stay consistent.

So, if these are subjective, where do we ask these types of questions? If we get valuable answers what's the harm? I don't ask these types of questions on stackoverflow and ask on p.se instead as the FAQ clearly states that subjective questions are allowed within reason. I believe that both of these questions meet the "within reason" criteria.

Answer 1

Just for the record, of the two questions you linked to, one was closed by 5 community members and the second was closed by a moderator in response to a user's flag on the post. Both were closed for the reason of "not constructive", which is defined not only in the FAQ's first three questions, but also two blog posts on the Stack Exchange blog - Good Subjective, Bad Subjective and Real Questions Have Answers - which are also linked to in the FAQ.

The first question, about iOS development, is a reference request. Generally, reference requests do not make good questions for Stack Exchange sites. As previously discussed on Meta, the community is in favor of questions that are about solving a particular problem. The Stack Exchange format isn't good for generating lists of resources, but it's meant as a platform that requires humans to synthesize knowledge and experience combined with links to reputable resources to support that knowledge or experience.

Although that question probably isn't salvageable, there are good questions in there about techniques for separation of concerns or the creation of a service model for domain objects using the Objective-C language on the iOS platform. Instead of asking for books about those subjects, the recommended approach would be to search through existing questions, then ask specific questions about your problem. Instead of getting a list of books, you'll get people's expertise and knowledge, along with links to various books, articles, blogs, documents, and so on that are appropriate for the situation.

The second question, about reference variables, will likely begin a debate or extended discussion. One of the criteria for a good question on any Stack Exchange site is that it helps you solve some problem. Although there are some objective problems related to style and choosing a style, this particular question is just polling for opinions on which selection is better. Once you start getting into the realm of personal preferences and opinions, the question is no longer a good fit for the question and answer format of a Stack Exchange site.