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What Stack Exchange site would address software suggestion questions?

I saw that, in general, questions like the one reported in the title are closed by community. I just cite one as an example: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6548826/angular-js-vs-backbone-js

I also read this: Should "Best features\software\etc. " questions be closed? which basically says that the focus of Stack Overflow is to get answers to programming questions.

But I saw that this is a general attitude of the community, not only on Stack Overflow but also on other Stack Exchange portals, for instance look here: What are some good tools one can use for creating and maintaining an online CV?

So, as far as I understand, this is a rule of the community that any comparison question is closed.

Am I right on this?

My question is why are comparison questions, especially on technology, closed?

They seem very useful to me.

Is there a 'right' place to post them or it is not at all the goal of Stack Exchange community to answer to them?

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3 Answers 3

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Since today we have a new site called Software Recommendations for this kind of questions..

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    I'm non-committal on that proposal, but it would be sort of nice to have a place to 'point' such questions to.
    – Andrew Barber
    Commented Dec 4, 2012 at 14:36
  • Looks like a fail... I never heard of that site up to this very moment. And it has the worst answer rate out of all Stackexchange sites
    – user186214
    Commented Aug 13, 2014 at 19:04
  • @Pumbaa80 Bad answer rate is to be expected on such a site. If someone is looking for software with certain restrictive parameters, and nobody knows of one (perhaps because there isn't such a thing), the question remains unanswered.
    – user259867
    Commented Aug 13, 2014 at 19:08
  • The site is a big success IMO due to the fact that there are not so many answers on the questions. It means there are mostly quality questions.
    – juergen d
    Commented Aug 13, 2014 at 19:09
  • Stackoverflow does not suffer from such inactivity, though
    – user186214
    Commented Aug 13, 2014 at 19:47
  • I see there's a discussion about this in meta.softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/830/…, so I'll move over there.
    – user186214
    Commented Aug 13, 2014 at 19:51
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They are normally closed as "not constructive".

From the explanation to the not constructive flag:

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance

The problem is that recommendations are very often subjective and it is very likely that such questions cause answers that does not fit in this format.

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  • thanks for the answer. I do not completely agree on what you say: "The problem is that recommendations are very often subjective". Commenting a software/framework is not like saying 'is it better strawberry or raspberry'? A comment is often articulated, with some motivations, pros and cons. It is interesting to know what expert users think. To stay on the same metaphor it would be more like "is it better strawberry or raspberry if you have diabete"?
    – Daniele B
    Commented Dec 4, 2012 at 14:33
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    @DanieleB The problem is, every expert is likely to have their own opinion, and those opinions are likely to be colored by their own personal choices and realities.
    – Andrew Barber
    Commented Dec 4, 2012 at 14:38
  • @AndrewBarber I agree on that. It is reasonable. But you also can understand which are the main weak/strong points. Having a suggestion from experts defines better your domain of choice.
    – Daniele B
    Commented Dec 4, 2012 at 14:41
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    @DanieleB I absolutely agree that it can be very useful to have the input of various experts on such topics. It's just that the Stack Overflow format is not conducive to that kind of thing. Imagine, for example, you upvote and accept what seems to be the 'best' answer, and so it shows on top, as it should. But future readers might put more weight on that one answer than they should. There are some 'recommendation' questions that have 50+ answers, where answer #50 might be just as valid as answer #1. This format does not accurately allow that type of situation to be reflected.
    – Andrew Barber
    Commented Dec 4, 2012 at 14:45
  • @AndrewBarber Yes, what you say is very convincing. Hence it's likely we will never have such questions allowed in any part of stackexchange, and that's really a pity, because when I read them they are very helpul. How can area 51 area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/44877/… handle this problem?
    – Daniele B
    Commented Dec 4, 2012 at 14:51
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Recommendation questions are not allowed on SO. SO is not recommendation engine.

See

  1. https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/136648/should-lets-close-old-recommendation-questions
  2. What Stack Exchange site would address software suggestion questions?
  3. How to request book recommendations
  4. Why are library recommendation questions prohibited?

If you like to see/ask recommendations follow Software recommendations proposal as said by juergen d.

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