Add a custom close reason

Question

A recent question highlighted a common issue with close reasons. In this case, the question was closed because the OP flagged that he was mistaken and his code worked.

There aren't any choices that exactly match this situation. In fact, there are many reasons to close that aren't covered by a single option. This results in drama; not so much in this example (a good Meta question was the only result), but much butt could have and has been hurt in similar situations.

I'd suggest that a further close reason be given which combines closure with a custom post notice.

for example,

would create a close reason

Preemptive responses:

• Yes, it is probably not a good idea to allow anyone who can close to access this, so it should be available to mods and perhaps 10k+ users
• Yes, I know you can close and then add a post notice, but this is a multistep process and is less clear
• I know that deletion would have been an option in this case; its just a recent example of this issue rearing its head and deletion isn't always the best option in all cases
• I know that in similar cases the OP should be encouraged to answer their own question, but that doesn't even fit in this case; his answer would have most likely been NAA
• Yes, you should probably include a swag filter

Postemptive responses:

• No, nothing is wrong with "Too Localized". This is only an issue when no close reason matches why a question was closed and using one of the canned reasons may result in controversy.

Answer 1

As detailed here, this is now implemented (at least after a fashion).

Mods can create a small set of stock "Off topic" reasons for a site, which can be used by anyone. They can change this list at any time if need-be.

For everyone else, there's an "other" option that creates a new entry in the close dialog for that question and also posts a comment with the text.

Answer 2

Ok, well there are some other angles to look at. Obviously, you've covered the part about not allowing everyone to use this feature, as it would quickly become abused because it basically allows you to enter whatever reason you want to close a question. However, allowing it for only 10k users also draws up an issue in itself.

What if the 10k user is, say, the third user to vote-to-close this question? In this situation, the two previous users have voted to close as too localized because, well, that's the reason it would normally be closed in the case described. Now the 10k user types in a custom close reason. Is that close reason meant to override the too localized, even though it's a 2:1 decision? Would we then allow other users to select that 10k user's custom reason as their vote-to-close reason as well?

I feel that "too localized" does cover the reason for closure here and is descriptive enough, and in most other cases similar to this. After all, the first sentence for that reason is This question is unlikely to ever help any future visitors which is completely true if there never was a problem to begin with. If you think they might get confused, just post a comment explaining why it was closed. If they start to argue or anything, just lock the post or flat-out delete it for reasons of moderation.

A possible alternative: Allow moderators or 10k users to type in a custom reason along with their regular close vote, and add a box to the top of the message similar to what happens with duplicate links. This may over-complicate the vote-to-close popup though.

Answer 3

I'm sensitive to "none of these reasons" work, but I consider that a good thing rather than a bad one. In most cases, if one of the existing reasons isn't appropriate the question should remain open. Downvote it if you don't think it's a good question, but unless the question meets one or more of the criteria, it should still be available to answer. Generally I think this is the best response when none of the reasons apply (except in your particular example; see below for a suggestion to address that).

Having a custom close reason for moderators might lead to undesirable behavior and even more arguments. It would allow a moderator to close a question for any arbitrary reason. That seems antithetical to community rule. Question closure doesn't seem to be one of those extraordinary situations where elevated moderator privileges should be applied. It's quite the common occurrence and we've generally agreed that the reasons listed are the ones that should result in closure. Yes, they are fuzzy and some overlap, but a fixed and limited number of reasons seems more appropriate than an unlimited and arbitrary set, even if only available to trusted moderators.

As alternatives, I suggest allowing multiple reasons for a closure with the most common reason being listed as the official reason. In cases where a voter doesn't agree with the others on the reason, I would have the hover over for the person's name show his close reason(s). This would address arguments about which close reason was the appropriate one. I don't view questions about whether a question should be closed as always counterproductive, but arguments about why a question should be closed are rarely productive. The exception, perhaps, being migration vs. closure, which helps to define the subclasses for off topic.

I would also add another reason, available only to mods, Closed at owner's request. This could be used in response to a flag or comment on the question. This reason does seem to be a legitimately missing reason, but doesn't seem to be one that should be exercised by regular users. I could live without this because, as you say, deletion may be the better option when this would apply and comments are always available in other cases.