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Prompted by this question on SO: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20640219/, although it's not the first time I've encountered similar.

Since posting the question, the OP realised they misunderstood, and the question should not have been asked in the first place, so there really is no benefit in the question remaining on the site.

How about adding 'No question to answer' or perhaps more accurately 'No answer required.' as a reason to close for cases where the question never needed to be asked.

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I don't think there's a need to create a new close reason for this purpose. Such cases are rare. I think the best course of action would be to notify the OP via comment, for example:

Hi X. It seems like your problem was solved. Since it's not useful to future visitors, can you please delete the question?

Some people never return after asking the question. If the OP doesn't respond, you can flag it for moderator attention.

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  • Or vote to close.
    – Time Traveling Bobby
    Commented Dec 19, 2013 at 14:01
  • @TimeTravelingBobby: Why should it exist on the site if it's not useful to anyone?
    – Amal Murali
    Commented Dec 19, 2013 at 14:02
  • AFAIK, I'm not sure if self-deletion is recommended for new users, as it counts towards a ban.
    – brasofilo
    Commented Dec 19, 2013 at 14:07
  • True, but closing will accomplish the same without bothering a mod. Mmmhh...flagging as "low quality" might be a good middle-ground. It will go through the queue.
    – Time Traveling Bobby
    Commented Dec 19, 2013 at 14:07
  • @brasofilo: Deletion is deletion as far as I know. Except if they have changed the rules, that is.
    – Time Traveling Bobby
    Commented Dec 19, 2013 at 14:08
  • @brasofilo: Only if the number of deletions are above the threshold. I don't think one single delete should cause a ban.
    – Amal Murali
    Commented Dec 19, 2013 at 14:09
  • Well, I think it should be considered before recommending self-deletions. cc/@TimeTravelingBobby
    – brasofilo
    Commented Dec 19, 2013 at 14:10

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