Someone other than the OP adding "homework-and-exercises' tag to a question, and then the question gets closed as a homework-type-question?

Question

On this question by Kashmiri, here, it was originally posted without the "homework-and-exercises" tag. And if you look at the question itself, nothing about it seems homework-type. Later the question was edited by another user - where the homework-and-exercises (H&AE) tag was added - then the question was closed due to it being a "homework-type" question.

Apart from the fact that the actual question does not appear to be a homework (HW) type question - indeed the OP sets up a hypothetical scenario from which a conceptual question is asked, is it even considered "safe" to edit-tag a question as a HW type question - possibly giving another member impetus to also close it as a HW type when they see the tag without a careful read of the question?

What do you think?

Edit: At the time I posting this question, I did incorrectly think of the possibility that questions tagged homework-and-exercises could hypothetically be given a close-vote by some members, simply based on this tag. Of course, there are plenty of questions with the homework-and-exercises tag that do offer a conceptual question, something that wasn't very clear to me (and rules surrounding close voting in general) having only been a contributor to PSE for just on six months.

Obviously, this is not the case, and have yet to see such a circumstance by any member. What I have seen is that care is taken when deciding whether or not to close-vote, or any other vote/action, by all our members.

Answer 1

I was the one who edited in the homework and exercises tag. I did so on the grounds this seemed like an exercise i.e. it was just calculating the orbital velocity at the surface of the planet.

I guess it is debatable whether the tag is appropriate, but my view is that if I am in doubt I will edit in the tag then leave it to the other members of the site to decide on closure. Remember that adding the tag does not close the question. It takes close votes from five site members to close the question.

Your question suggests that the site members will cast a knee jerk vote to close when they see the homework and exercises tag. I trust this is not the case. The tag exists only to draw attention to the question, and a vote to close should be cast only after reading the question and deciding whether the close vote is appropriate. In this case the close votes were all cast by experienced members of the site so I believe it unlikely that they voted without reading the question first.

For what it is worth, the first close vote was mine and I stand by that decision. If it's the consensus view that the question be reopened I will respect that decision, but I still consider my close vote justified.

Answer 2

In the concrete case, it indeed seems to be a conceptional question rather than a typical HW-like question where the HW tag applies.

That said, in general, whether a question is HW-like or on-topic is determined by the Phys.SE community (partly via close & reopen votes), and its conclusion should in principle be independent of whether the HW&E tag is applied or not.

There seems to be no need to introduce a Phys.SE policy on when specific tags can be added, partly because such policy would complicate day-to-day operations and be difficult to administrate.

Answer 3

I'll start by just making sure we are on the same page. The HW&E tag (which I'll just call the homework tag) and the closure using the "homework-like" reason are

1. two distinct things, and
2. not reserved only for questions that were explicitly assigned as homework.

I point this out mainly for the comment of "I would like to say I don't ask questions that are homework because I don't have any teacher that can give me homework."

Onto addressing this post then.

And if you look at the question itself, nothing about it seems homework-type.

Not necessarily... I have worked out problems similar to this before. I would argue the question isn't asking about understanding a physics concept; rather, it is asking how to prove something about a physics concept. In other words, it looks like the OP wants someone to do the work on this for them rather than understand something like "what is the appropriate conditions for a trajectory that is an orbit to be made?". It's borderline, but I wouldn't go as strong as to say there is nothing homework-like at all.

indeed the OP sets up a hypothetical scenario from which a conceptual question is asked

This is debatable. If someone posted a question that was something like, "Let's hypothetically say we have a box sliding on a table with friction. Would it be possible for the box to stay on the table? I'm not asking for any computation, it is just a theoretical query if something can happen.", then the question would probably be closed as well. This is because in order to answer the question you still have to show the work of whether or not the box can stay on the table. The post in question is more involved than my example, but the idea is the same. It's not an explicit call to work out the problem... but really the question is still, "hey can you work this out for me?"

I will note that just saying "This question doesn't call for any computation, it is just a theoretical query if something can happen." doesn't mean the question is now safe from being closed as a homework-like question. The intent of the question does not (or at least should not) play a role in whether or not it should be open or closed. A post should be judged on its own independent of what the OP says, their background, etc.

is it even considered ethical to edit-tag a question as a HW type question, to then close it as a HW type question - to give others impetus to also close it as a HW type when they see the tag?

Yes, that is ethical. It's how the site works. Users (with enough reputation) can edit questions how they see fit, and they can vote to close questions. While many questions with the homework tag get closed, getting the tag does not mean "close this question". Ideally, if users understood the site better before posting questions that deserve the homework tag, then actually none of them would be closed, since it is possible to post a question with this tag that is also on-topic for this site. The tag isn't the reason for the closure, nor is it an explicit signal to other users saying, "hey, close this question".

I don't think people other than the OP should add HW&E tags, especially in cases where it is not really clear if it is HW&E since it may lead to unfair closing, as happened in the case above (OP is adamant the original question is not HW&E). For obvious HW type questions, OK. But not in such cases. What do you think?

Something that is unclear to one user may be clear to another. I'm not sure how one would implement a system that lets you change tags only when it is "obvious enough". A hard "other users cannot add the homework tag" is a horrible idea, as it prevents the proper classification of questions in the case where the OP has not (or will not) properly classified it.

Answer 4

I don't really have a direct answer to the question, but I'd like to add some thoughts on the working of the site. So, the ability to close vote is a privilege awarded at 3k rep and these are the only people who can call judgement to close vote or not.

Now, to reach 3k rep, you must have given quite a lot of valuable contributions with some being superior than to equivalent contributions by other members of the site (that is if you want to reach it in <300 questions and answers).

I think this system does make sense that the people who have contributed the most are the people who can decide the fate of questions posted on the site. However, it is also bothersome as I see some members becoming a bit more negative over questions over the years. As in, the ideals of what they find acceptable fluctuates as time passes.

As per the homework tag, I think homework and exercises usually means that the question sounds more like a homework to the person who is trying to help than if the question is actually homework or not. In the sense that, there are questions which will force the answerer to think a bit outside what they usually do vs run through some routine procedures. While I personally don't think closing questions such as Kashmiri asked is a good idea, I understand why a close vote would be put by someone who has answered over hundreds of questions.

Hope my opinion laid some insight on the matter.