unclear what you're asking vs. too broad closing reasons

Question

unclear what you're asking
Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking.

too broad
There are either too many possible answers, or good answers would be too long for this format. Please add details to narrow the answer set or to isolate an issue that can be answered in a few paragraphs.

What is the difference between these two closing reasons? Both need more details to be answered and I am often confused which one to choose.

I often leave such questions open unless they are very blurred - in hope that the OP may provide missing details. Is this appropriate attitude? Both descriptions contain "please do something with your question".

It looks like there is often high chance to improve it to be valid on SO. Is it really necessary to push it into close-reopen process? There are 56k+ closing requests and rising. Shouldn't be such questions eligible to close for those reasons after say 1 hour?

Answer 1

What is the difference between these two closing reasons?

Unclear what you're asking:
"I have read this question multiple times, but I still have no idea what the actual question is. You should really clarify this.".

Too broad:
"I have read and understood the question, but to answer it would require an amount of effort and content that can not be expected in the scope of Stack Overflow/Stack Exchange".

I often leave such questions open unless they are very blurred - in hope that the OP may provide missing details. Is this appropriate attitude?

Well, it's really up to you, but I'd say "no". Close if they should be closed. But if you don't know how it should be closed, feel free to abstain from voting. And with regards to the close vote queue, simply voting to close less is not a solution. It only leaves problems in place.

Is it really necessary to push it into close-reopen process? ... Shouldn't be such questions eligible to close for those reasons after say 1 hour?

Close early. This prevents users from wasting effort on a question which needs to be changed anyway to hang around. And it provides the OP the time to update their question to be more clear and in line with what we consider a good question. And no, this should not be delayed for an hour. Closure (or putting a question "on hold") is not necessarily a final destination.