My recent question was manually removed from Hot Network Questions and later closed as a homework question, but it eludes me why.
According to the FAQ on homework questions, the definition of homework question is:
A "homework question" is any question whose value lies in helping you understand the method by which the question can be solved, rather than getting the answer itself.
The purpose of my question was, on the contrary, to ask whether 13 is really the answer for the problem described in my post. The very title of my question is: Is 13 really the answer for the Devil's problem in physics? As I explicitly wrote in my question, I don't study physics. I liked physics at school, but I'm now a university student studying languages, as you can see from my posts on other SE sites. My motivation, as explicitly stated in my question, was this: It's mystical and a bit scary if the Devil's dozen really pops out of nowhere in such a simply stated problem.
I wasn't interested in learning or understanding any physics methods; my interest was to find out whether 13 is indeed the answer for the problem in question. It's the Devil's dozen that made me interested. For me, the value of the posted solutions is that they prove that 13 is indeed the answer, not that they teach me a method.
I did imply in my question that I wanted to see a solution, but that was merely because I wanted to verify. I wanted to get convinced whether 13 is the answer. And I thought that people reading my question would want to get convinced, too.
Since the posted solutions confirm that 13 is the answer, I don't really need any more answers there, but if the question remains closed, visitors won't see it and thus won't be able to appreciate the beauty of the problem and its mystical appeal.
My question was well received by SE users, getting 25 upvotes and becoming followed by 12 users.
Is my question really a homework question, and if so, why?
UPDATE: An answer below suggests that my question is rather a check-my-work question. However, my question doesn't fit the definition of check-my-work question:
It's long overdue that I make this post revisiting our policy on "check-my-work" questions. These are questions, often (but not necessarily) homework-like, that present a complete mathematical or logical derivation and ask whether it's correct.
The word "complete" is made italic in the original definition, so it's not my emphasis. My question doesn't present any derivation at all. It merely presents a problem and asks whether its answer is 13. I asked to solve the problem. How can it be a check-my-work question?
At any rate, shouldn't the rules be interpreted in view of their actual intent as well as the mission of the Physics SE? My impression is that the rules about homework and check-my-work questions are there to protect the Physics SE from boring, low-quality posts by lazy students. My question is very different. I believe I posted a very interesting high-quality problem that is especially appealing in view of its elegant and mystical answer. Such problems belong to the physics folklore, and the reaction of the community to my question speaks for itself.
Please ask yourself a simple question: Does the post about the Devil's problem make the Physics SE a better place? I'm relatively new to the Physics SE and will trust your judgement, but I do want you to ask yourself that question. If you judge that it is to advantage of the Physics SE to hide my question from visitors, so be it.
UPDATE 2: My question got re-opened and later re-closed. I appreciate the detailed answers below, but, to be frank, I cannot but shrug my shoulders, especially when reading arguments like "just being interesting does not make something on-topic." Sure, an interesting question about biology isn't on-topic on Physics SE, but why wouldn't an interesting question about physics be on-topic there? My question is about physics and is interesting, as evidended by its popularity. I agree that most homework-like questions should be considered off-topic, but only because they are boring and uninteresting. To put it simply, homework-like is a code word for uninteresting.
Furthermore, if my question about the Devil's problem deserves to be closed, why doesn't my question about a magic wall deserve the same? It's a classical homework problem, and moreover, I posted that question because a friend of mine, who studies physics, got that problem for homework. He mentioned the problem in a casual conversation with me, and this is how I got interested, which eventually led to me posting that question. So why didn't anyone vote to close it? I am perplexed by such inconsistency of your moderation. As a side remark, it's disappointing that no one on the Physics SE was able to post a valid answer for that homework problem, as my friend later learned from his university lecturer.
Now, for the sake of demonstration, I've just posted an intentionally boring, uninteresting question. I'm pretty sure that because of your flawed policies and practices, it will be deemed on-topic and remain open, whilst my popular question about a fascinating mechanics problem will remain closed.