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What questions should be closed with reason “too localized”?
Question closed because was too localized

Why do we close too localized questions? If there aren't a bunch of random answers or flaming happening in the comments why bother closing it?

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    @BoPersson - Doesn't seem like a dupe of that to me. This question is asking "what is the harm of leaving localised questions open" that one was contesting that categorisation of a specific question.
    – Martin Smith
    Jan 5, 2013 at 20:44
  • Sometimes instead of closing them they should edit them, sometimes it's worth to close them.
    – Ramy Al Zuhouri
    Jan 5, 2013 at 20:48
  • I have no idea why this is downvoted. I did a search and only got why is my question to localized. Not why we close too localized
    – user34537
    Jan 5, 2013 at 20:58
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    Dunno either. The usual line is "downvotes on meta are different and indicate disagreement" but you haven't actually expressed an opinion that can be disagreed with that I can see. You just asked for a rationalisation.
    – Martin Smith
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:00
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    I actually like this question a lot and think it would be a good FAQ post.
    – user159834
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:20
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    @MartinSmith Not explicitly, no. But if you're honest, "why bother closing it" is pretty clearly a stance on the issue. The rationalisation is already present under the radio button if you want to interpret the question literally.
    – user200500
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:21
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    @Asad - "Why bother closing it" is a reasonable question for discussion on meta to me. The close vote explanation says it is unlikely to help anyone else but doesn't explain why these questions are actively harmful.
    – Martin Smith
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:42
  • @MartinSmith Sure, it is a reasonable topic for discussion, and from the current vote counts it looks like twice as many people as not disagree with the premise that a question shouldn't be closed if it doesn't have flaming or random answers. I don't have any feelings one way or another on the issue, but as far as "actively harmful" is concerned, anything that doesn't result in a net positive is undesirable on the site. You don't close questions only when they get to the point where they have negative value. Curation doesn't work like that.
    – user200500
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:53
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    FWIW I agree that a lot of questions in this category should be closed but I've upvoted this question as I think it is a reasonable thing to ask.
    – Martin Smith
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:59

2 Answers 2

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I think that is because that particular question is not going to help anyone else apart from the person who asked the question.

These are type of questions, whose answers would have easily got by a bit of googling itself. Probably OP is trying to get others to fix his code than putting any effort on that.

Closing these questions will also make sure that quality questions are asked here. That will make the OP think before posting such silly questions again which shows no effort at all from his part.

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  • That sounds more of a not a real question then too localized
    – user34537
    Jan 5, 2013 at 20:57
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    @acidzombie the key is is not going to help anyone else apart from the person who asked the question. "Too localized" questions may additionally be "not real questions" too, but so what?
    – Pekka
    Jan 5, 2013 at 20:59
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    @acidzombie24, Localized questions could be real questions also. It's just that a bit more of effort from OP would have helped him solve it. And it is not going to help anyone else apart from him since it is too localized.
    – iDev
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:14
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Because we don't think it will be helpful to anyone else.

It could be a misspelled function name or a missing semicolon. What are the odds that anyone else would come looking for exactly the same problem?

And we definitely don't need anymore answers pointing out the obvious.

The next step is to consider if it should be deleted as well.

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    Not only are they "not helpful", they are harmful - extremely irritating to wade through posts about syntax errors or typos when you need a solution to a legit problem.
    – user159834
    Jan 5, 2013 at 20:49
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    And then you got the self-answered ones: ✓ I had the wrong file name.
    – user159834
    Jan 5, 2013 at 20:50
  • Thats describing not a real question. That doesn't sound like too localized
    – user34537
    Jan 5, 2013 at 20:56
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    @acidzombie24 Not a real question is for questions that are ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in their current form.
    – Josh Mein
    Jan 5, 2013 at 20:59
  • Also why does it matter if it helps no one else? "What are the odds that anyone else would come looking for exactly the same problem?" <-- then whats the point of closing it if no one will look for that problem? Its just forcing no one to be able to answer it even if they want to answer it
    – user34537
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:03
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    @acidzombie Stack Overflow is not a support forum (where localized questions are usually welcome), it's trying to build an archive of questions and answers. You have to draw the line somewhere - if we followed the "why does it matter" stance, we could arguably as well allow political discussions here and questions about gardening, or parenting.
    – Pekka
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:05
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    @Pekka: Well its still programming. I'm just saying if no one is going to look at it then why are we closing it for? But ACB kind of answered it. To keep question quality up
    – user34537
    Jan 5, 2013 at 21:54
  • -1 because nowhere do you explain why this is actually harmful which is the point of the question.
    – Martin Smith
    Jan 5, 2013 at 22:56