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Since my previous question was closed as a duplicate but the issue wasn't resolved, I'm asking a new one as the close reason recommends me to. It either demonstrates the issue or should stand based solely on the edits to this question.

There is a message that tells users to ask a new question when their previous one is closed. This is counter-productive and feeds into a dangerous narrative.

The counter-productive aspect is explained for multiple reasons:

  • When the system sees that most of the user's questions are closed, it rate limits the number of questions they can ask, so asking another question that is going to be closed without understanding why it's closed would only accelerate people towards this path.

  • There have been several observations that editing works at getting your question reopened. Let's leverage that!

  • Folks kind of get frustrated when they see that the user doesn't learn the rules on the site and continues asking questions with the same issues.

  • In the end, once you reach the question quality rate limit, the only recommendation we can give is to improve your previous questions, when it would have been more efficient to say that from the get-go.

The dangerous narrative it feeds is that closing is non-welcoming. Of course it would be considered so - we give the askers conflicting guidance everywhere and make them frustrated. So, please, remove any indication on all documentation, internal or external that the action after getting your question closed is to ask another one.

screenshot of a notification on a question closed as no long reproducible

screenshot of a notification on a question closed as a duplicate

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    Not sure where it's listed in the help center pages; but there already is a post asking for that to be removed from closed post notices.
    – Tinkeringbell Mod
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 15:15
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    @Tinkeringbell yes, I found it after being linked from MSO. This request is to make this a internal policy rather than tweak a specific message. Make everything consistent both inside of SE and outside.
    – Braiam
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 15:18
  • I'm not sure what the use of an 'internal policy' would be, especially not if not reflected in tweaks to existing messages or help center pages... Should it then only be used when rolling out new things? Also, your post can probably do with some editing then, as there's bold text asking to 'remove any indication'... which reads suspiciously like tweaking messages to me.
    – Tinkeringbell Mod
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 15:22
  • @Tinkeringbell no, internal policy that SE should not consider this a solution. Like they didn't consider in their model about the new queues that an action on first question can be closure.
    – Braiam
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 15:23
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    Again though: What is the use of such an internal policy going to be, and why is your question asking for 'removal of any indication' instead of 'please make this an internal policy'?
    – Tinkeringbell Mod
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 15:27
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    @Tinkeringbell because it has to be on all documentation, but since external documentation is (I hope) a representation of the internal one, I want that the internal one modified and that said modification to bleed into the external one. Change thyself to change the world, isn't how it's said?
    – Braiam
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 16:21
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    the fix is really easy - they should just add word "don't" in front of "ask". One word change
    – gnat
    Commented Sep 8, 2021 at 18:04
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    @TylerH as I explained to Tinkeringbell, this FR isn't only of the close notice, its scope is global. Anywhere where they are speaking about questions and what to do when it's closed, they shouldn't recommend them to reask them. CM documentation (the ones that handle /contact) and every bit of guidance internal and external that SE has: posting the same question again, is not a solution for a closed question.
    – Braiam
    Commented Sep 27, 2021 at 20:33
  • @Braiam The only place that content exists is the close banner, so that makes the other one global, too.
    – TylerH
    Commented Sep 27, 2021 at 20:49
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    @TylerH that's irrelevant. It can exist elsewhere, which this FR would address. It targets every piece of documentation that exist on SE, not just the close notice. You can see by my comments that internal discussion and thinking does consider this a viable solution to getting your question closed. Also, that's false. It exist on other close reasons too.
    – Braiam
    Commented Sep 28, 2021 at 11:25
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    @Braiam It's unreasonable to make a feature request that covers all possible future environments where a quasi policy, written or unwritten, may exist at any level of emphasis for the specific wording of a single phrase used in a single location on the entire network. It's equivalent to passing a law that outlaws carrying an ice cream cone in your back pocket while walking down the street on a Sunday. The phrase exists in one location, and there's already a feature request to change the phrasing at that one location. That's all there is to it.
    – TylerH
    Commented Sep 28, 2021 at 13:32
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    @TylerH well, we did that for unpinning the accepted answer. We modified all public documentation based upon a internal acceptance of a feature. This is on the same level: SE as company stop recommending people to reask the question when is closed, the same way it stopped pinning the accepted answer on all sites and considered it instead a flip rather than set into stone.
    – Braiam
    Commented Sep 28, 2021 at 14:18

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