Questions tagged [off-topic]
This tag is for questions regarding off topic questions (in other words: questions for which a community-specific close reason applies), including whether a question is on topic and what to do with off topic questions. DO NOT use this tag to post questions you know to be off-topic for the site.
609
questions
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Allow bold/italic formatting in first question notice translations on international sites (English sites do make use of it)
When the user of any SE site is ready to post their first question they will see the notice, e.g. on ruSO now:
Source English text for the top paragraph in this popup is the following in traducir:
...
-6
votes
1
answer
215
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Can I discuss topics related to a site's subject, but not suitable for a question, somewhere on Stack Exchange?
I have been using Math Stack Exchange for a while now and my experience has been pretty great. But I have faced a limitation.
On this site as we know we are only allowed to ask relevant questions and/ ...
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votes
3
answers
219
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What is the expected way for a NEW user to identify the correct SE for a question?
Are the different SE sites intended to operate as a whole? Or is there no expectation that any one site should care about getting questions answered unless they are on topic for that site?
Use case: ...
- 6,577
15
votes
0
answers
256
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Add on-topic notice to the top part (logo row) for 1 rep users
Whenever I see the blatantly off-topic questions on the site, I'm curious why the asker did this. This is probably due to a hidden from the asker's eyes on-topic notice.
What if we make the on-topic ...
2
votes
0
answers
50
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How can I find on which sites my question will be on-topic? [duplicate]
I'm going to ask a question about a web application, in detail how to arrange the objects on the page so the application is well usable on most devices and appears nice and practical to end users.
I ...
- 6,675
7
votes
0
answers
37
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Add direct link to on-topic page of help center for closed as off-topic questions
Currently the closed as off-topic questions have a banner like this:
This banner contains two links:
off-topic: https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/closed-questions
help center: https://meta....
- 69.6k
238
votes
1
answer
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What is migration and how does it work?
I posted a question which was closed as off-topic and it seems like it could fit on another site in the network. How can I go about moving it there?
What is migration?
When can a question be migrated,...
2
votes
2
answers
120
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Where can I ask a question about VPN design?
I have the following question about VPN design:
Are there VPNs implemented to use several connections instead of just one?
Some sites I have already tried:
Stack Overflow: closed as off-topic
...
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25
votes
2
answers
279
views
Better flagging as off topic
Related: No custom off topic message when flagging on SO
I recently noticed something: The off topic subreason chosen by flaggers doesn't make any difference at all. Specifically, the subreason ...
- 27.9k
11
votes
1
answer
200
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How can I close a question on a language site that is written in that language, but off-topic?
I want to close a question on French Language that is absolutely not about the French language at all; it's just a random question in French. When I press "Close", the only options I have ...
- 27.9k
47
votes
0
answers
474
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Please reinstate the words "off-topic" into the closing dialog
Recently, the button for "off-topic" in the closing dialog was changed to "A community-specific reason". To be clear, I agree with the gist of the change, since "off-topic&...
1
vote
1
answer
129
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How can I get the purpose of a specific Stack Exchange site so as ensure that I am posting to the appropriate site?
I posted a question to an SE site that I thought was perfectly appropriate. It got a few answers and comments and then was migrated to another site. Reason:"Off topic".
At the migrated site, ...
- 6,675
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votes
3
answers
244
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Where can I find what kind of questions are accepted on specific Stack Exchange sites?
As an example, on Seasoned Advice, questions about food-related health issues are not encouraged, but questions about utensils are accepted. I got to know this from comments on other posts.
I know ...
- 10.1k
10
votes
1
answer
252
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If a question was closed with multiple revamped community-specific (off-topic) reasons, the close notice may not properly describe the reasons
Here's a close notice from a question that was closed with multiple off-topic (community-specific) close reasons, relating to only one specific network site and no longer reproducible:
(For context, ...
CommunityBot
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5
votes
0
answers
84
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Add an "Off-topic" option to the top level of Close popup [duplicate]
Every time when I have to close a (blatantly) off-topic question I spend time finding this option inside Close question popup. Currently it's "A community-specific reason" and then (on the ...
- 69.6k
12
votes
1
answer
266
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Are GameSalad and other visual programming "languages" on topic here? [closed]
Are tools like Scratch, Alice, and GameSalad considered on topic? I see in a lot of questions users saying in the comments that the question is too simple for the site, since it is for "experts", and ...
- 16k
51
votes
6
answers
667
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Make "What's on topic for this site?" visible
Often, when I want to ask a question (such as now on tex.stackexchange.com), I wonder:
"Is it on topic or not for this specific SE site?"
then, I'm parsing the page visually, trying to find if ...
- 16k
49
votes
1
answer
641
views
What is the cause of the recent increase in blatantly off-topic posts on Meta?
For the past few days, I have the feeling that there are a lot more blatantly off-topic questions ('lost souls') on Meta Stack Exchange. OK, that could be just a feeling, so I've created a short ...
- 6,675
27
votes
4
answers
586
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Please reduce the volume of programming questions on Meta Stack Exchange
It used to be so quiet here, a nice place where users understanding the basics of the SE network of sites discussed important matters, made wonderful feature requests and sometimes even filed a bug ...
- 9,372
-18
votes
3
answers
211
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Why are we deleting off-topic closed questions at all?
What is the benefit of deleting off-topic closed questions at all? What is wrong with the idea that they couldn't stay in closed state forever?
Closed question are searchable by the entire community (...
- 84.9k
-12
votes
2
answers
174
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Deleting closed off-topic questions and the post ban
tl;dr We're very quick (at some sites) in deleting closed off-topic questions. By doing so we're closing doors for people with "We are no longer accepting questions/answers from this account"...
- 2,595
4
votes
2
answers
86
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Is asking whether a particular question fits within the scope of a certain community within the scope of its corresponding meta site?
If I have a question in mind, but I'm unsure whether it fits the the scope or is allowed in a certain Stack Exchange community, can I ask whether it would be allowed to ask it in the corresponding ...
- 8,314
5
votes
1
answer
138
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Where do PayPal questions belong?
Pretty sure that questions like this one do not fit on Stack Overflow, as it's not related to programming whatsoever.
Do we have proper site for this in the network? Or should we just close it as ...
CommunityBot
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-3
votes
1
answer
69
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What's the appropriate Stack Exchange site for asking about a software library to solve a particular problem? [duplicate]
I have recently asked this question on Stack Overflow, asking about the existence of a Python module to solve a particular problem, and the question was closed due to being "off-topic". ...
- 187k
3
votes
0
answers
111
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Is there an appropriate SE site about intersection between technology and rural culture?
My current question is about rural technology, to be specific, this question is more about history and cultural tradition.
My question falls more into the topic covered by this book.
In which site I ...
CommunityBot
- 1
14
votes
0
answers
128
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Empty text field next to light bulb on questions closed with multiple community-specific (off-topic) reasons
It seems that recently, a bug was introduced in the post notice on questions that were closed with multiple community-specific (off-topic) close reasons. There's a spot for a text field next to a ...
9
votes
1
answer
309
views
What tags for a totally off-topic question?
I spent some time trying to be helpful for Get rid of [suggestions], [advice], [recommendation] and likes.
Many of the questions here are so far off-topic that there should be no possible tag for ...
GlorfindelMod
- 254k
2
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What exactly is an off topic question? [closed]
I've seen the moderators define specific questions as "off topic" on Stack Overflow. Nevertheless, I haven't been able to find the proper definition of "off topic." Is it a type of ...
- 27.9k
11
votes
1
answer
226
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Where are questions about software packaging mechanics on topic? [closed]
Today I had two (ancient) questions of mine closed as 'off topic'. Both relate to Debian packaging mechanics.
Is it possible to specify a range of versions for a conflict in a Debian package?
How ...
- 27.9k
-34
votes
2
answers
228
views
Introduce a rule: When questions are closed as "off-topic", the moderator who closes must not do so without also proposing a better place to ask [duplicate]
Back in 2011 and 2012, SE was different. These days it feels as if more than half my questions get shut down as off topic, and of those, only half are done so politely and helpfully. Here's the latest ...
- 9,634
-12
votes
2
answers
133
views
Is asking for guidance a "request for materials"? [closed]
Why are questions asking about guidance closed as off-topic requests for materials? Would it not be beneficial to the community to allow the more experienced users to pour their knowledge on the newer ...
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179
votes
11
answers
3k
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Shouldn't "off-topic" be only about... off-topic?
A related question/discussion point to this one posted just now, but with a completely different rationale.
Whenever a question is closed because it doesn't contain SSCCE, or specific code, it also ...
- 1,267
12
votes
1
answer
294
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What are the actual guidelines for deleting popular off-topic closed questions?
I recently noticed a relatively popular question (34 upvotes on the question, 42 on the top answer) get deleted on Stack Overflow (https://stackoverflow.com/q/29876518/1108305). This question was ...
- 4,051
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votes
2
answers
118
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Suggested feature - simplify migration process
I am suggesting to add a new feature that simplifies the question migration process.
Requested feature: Adding a "Migrate" option next to the "Close" option.
The migration ...
- 6,675
84
votes
7
answers
3k
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Should one downvote answers to off-topic questions?
It annoys me when people post answers to obviously off-topic questions like this one, especially after those questions have already received several close votes. Migrations seem to happen rather ...
- 537
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votes
7
answers
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Help us make "Off-Topic" close reasons clearer to the OP
Goals for "Off-Topic"
We'll be asking for your help on a number of closing issues, but this post is focused on how we can improve "Off-Topic" closures.
Don't worry, we plan to keep ...
2
votes
0
answers
46
views
Automatically detect and dynamically build the list for offtopic migration options [duplicate]
Questions on Stack Overflow has only 5 options when closing as off-topic when the question "belongs on another site in the Stack Exchange network":
Close ->
A community-specific reason -&...
- 8,314
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votes
1
answer
130
views
Which Stack Exchange site is good for asking advice-based questions? [duplicate]
Recently, I saw many users asking for advice-based questions on Stack Overflow. These questions are getting closed because they are off-topic. Is there any SE site for such users to take advice from ...
- 6,675
11
votes
3
answers
250
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Should/do we discourage edits, by privileged users or not, to off-topic questions that will end up deleted?
This is not a duplicate of Is "don't polish turds" a valid rejection reason"?. We want to prevent those edits from getting into the queue in the first place. That also focuses ...
- 26.9k
13
votes
1
answer
172
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Can flagging off-topic MSE questions be made easier?
We see lots of questions posted on MSE that aren't anything to do with the running of the network and I habitually have to click a few times to get to the correct reason for flagging.
Would it be ...
- 8,314
-16
votes
2
answers
141
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Should a question be closed without a discussion? [closed]
I recently posted a couple of questions in two stack communities (this one on physics and this one on skeptics) that have been closed, both deemed off topic.
In one case (skeptics) it has been ...
- 36.3k
4
votes
0
answers
58
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Are there times that questions are more or less likely to get closed as off-topic before they can get answers?
I was wondering whether the time that a question is posted has an effect on whether the question is likely to get closed as off-topic. I noticed that some questions that look like they fit the ...
- 6,675
3
votes
1
answer
164
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How should you handle non-closed, non-down-voted questions if you are not a moderator?
I would like to ask about the following, systematically observed, moderation-style of the biology site that I would loosely interpret as planting "answer traps".
Here an example of what I ...
- 6,675
9
votes
3
answers
171
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Suggestions for Off Topic Tags
I would like to suggest a clearer notification if a Tag is used that doesnt belong on a particular site. For example, on Stack Overflow the ffmpeg tag states:
"questions about using the FFmpeg ...
GlorfindelMod
- 254k
33
votes
0
answers
274
views
Why are the "off-topic" flag options (including "blatantly off-topic") listed under "needs improvement"?
When I see an off-topic question on a site where I have the "cast close votes" privilege (mainly, SO), I can click on Close, select "A community-specific reason" (AKA/previously, &...
- 15.3k
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votes
1
answer
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Migrating Comments to Chat Off Topic(words of warning, short)
Apologies for the rough edit, but it's too much work at this point to put it back the way it was. and the original post really was too long anyway.
The reason for this post basically boils down to the ...
CommunityBot
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3
votes
2
answers
69
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Question with multiple topics: site recommendation
I want to ask a question that involves several topics: a PHP framework, MySQL database, user experience, page loading performance, server performance. Since the question is complex, I can't find a ...
5
votes
1
answer
112
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Do questions about the identification of objects/species have a place in the Stack Exchange Network?
When I made an account for the Earth Science Stack Exchange, I came across this meta post:
I've had enough. Let's ban rock id questions.
In this post, the author addresses the issue that the website ...
- 35.7k
0
votes
1
answer
184
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Is the chatroom to be used for topic related chatting or not? [duplicate]
I found a chat section in Stack Overflow. Is it to be used for simply chatting or a particular topic?
For example, if Android is the name of the chat room, is there only Android-related chat allowed?
- 26.9k
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votes
1
answer
111
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The off topic notice should include option to migrate in the notice, and allow author to do it [duplicate]
I recently googled for a topic, found a very similar question of the same topic in Stack Overflow, and posted my question. After a few days nobody had answered it, but I found the answer on my own and ...
CommunityBot
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