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Not a real question (NARQ) is a "broad" category that encompasses the following:

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form.

Can we specify which form of "NARQ" the question falls under by saying

  1. NARQ--ambiguous
  2. NARQ---vague
  3. NARQ--incomplete
  4. NARQ--overly broad
  5. NARQ--rhetorical

so that the OP knows exaclty which one of five reasons people feel it is a "NARQ?"

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    That is already being explored here, albeit in a different way: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/171732/… May 7, 2013 at 17:54
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    NARQ is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, rhetorical and cannot be comprehended in its current form.
    – Undo
    May 7, 2013 at 17:56
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    But I like to use it as a verb, like "I just NARQed (pronounced "narked") a bunch of questions." :P
    – Doorknob
    May 7, 2013 at 18:11
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    6) NARQ--because I say it is
    – Bart
    May 7, 2013 at 18:21
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    Why would you want to have NARQ broken up? I can guarantee you if someone will complain about "why was this closed as NARQ?" they will do the same in a more specific "why was this closed as overly broad?"
    – Mike
    May 7, 2013 at 18:30

1 Answer 1

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Well I think it is already pretty much self-explanatory.This question is either a question or not. Also this is currently an opened debate you can refer to it.

Let's take this question:

I have a picture and I try to make it appear on screen. Now the picture is visible. But not on the screen. Just visible. I'm not sure how to show it.

What's wrong with my picture.

  • Ambiguous -

    Open to more than one interpretation; having a double meaning.

Did you mean the Visible property is true but you can't see it at runtime?

  • Vague -

    Of uncertain, indefinite, or unclear character or meaning.

You're not sure what to do or what you want? You should read a little about it first.

  • Incomplete -

    Not having all the necessary or appropriate parts.

Can we have some code? What picture?

  • Overly Broad -

    Not limited or narrow; of extensive range or scope:

With the provided information I can think of 100 possible solutions...I certainly won't write them all here and try to find the one that fits your particular case.

Most of these points goes together I'm not sure if it's a good idea to split them. If it's not a question, it's simply not a question no matter what the specific reason is. What if you come accross a question that meets all of your new NARQ specifications? Which one will be predominent and why?

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  • I dislike your example of overly broad. In that case it's incomplete. It couldn't be anything; there is likely just one thing, we just don't know enough to know what it is. A better example would be something like, "How does Java manage memory". You know enough to answer the question, it's just that answering it would take a book; it's too broad of a question to be able to cover everything in one SO answer.
    – Servy
    May 7, 2013 at 18:18
  • @Servy I totally misread the question in the first place. I updated May 7, 2013 at 18:20
  • "Well I think it is already pretty much self-explanatory.This question is either a question or not." So, "can you do my homework for me?" or "How should I learn Java?" count as real questions?
    – djechlin
    May 7, 2013 at 18:41
  • @djechlin I meant the question either falls under the category not a real question, or it doesn't. Not about the fact that a question is a question if you put a ? at the end. Simple enough ? May 7, 2013 at 18:43
  • That's begging the question. Someone says "can we clarify NARQ?" and you say "well if it falls under the category of a real question, then it is, or else it's not." Your examples are fine but I downvoted because I don't think just asserting that it's clear enough (which I disagree with) and going through one example adds any value.
    – djechlin
    May 7, 2013 at 18:47
  • @djechlin Then maybe you should take the time to read until the end of the post where I actually make my point and say "No we don't need to clarify NARQ" :-) May 7, 2013 at 18:48

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