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Well, I don't point this specifically on anyone, But, err...

Before we had this scheme of automated close reason insertion, I've seen Physics.SE people suggest new users (who ask questions vaguely or badly or whatever) on how to ask questions here. At least, they've pointed out what's wrong with a particular question. Nowadays, I barely see such constructive comments. For example, this one. Recently, we had a discussion on this. And, I said...

The automated close reason is for the purpose that users don't necessarily have to add comments :)

I'm quite happy that I added "necessarily" in that phrase. So, have we really stopped constructive commenting? I know there's no necessity that you should insert comments. But, inserting comments would help a lot. And, stopping comments isn't such a good idea. It'd make things worse...

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    $\begingroup$ Because I'm too busy to actually finish writi $\endgroup$
    – tpg2114
    Aug 22, 2013 at 18:05
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    $\begingroup$ Quick rule: If there's anything that the close reason doesn't totally cover, or if you think that there's some ambiguity in figuring out how the close reason applies to the q, leave a comment. The new system isn't intended to stop commenting, rather it's supposed to reduce the number of boilerplate comments we need. $\endgroup$
    – Manishearth
    Aug 23, 2013 at 8:15
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    $\begingroup$ Maybe because some of the comments were "-1..." or "... The above is intended as an explanation for my downvote." comments from me, which I' am for some reason leaving out and voting on the existing comments instead... : ) $\endgroup$
    – Abhimanyu Pallavi Sudhir
    Aug 23, 2013 at 15:41
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    $\begingroup$ I realize I've been quite passive in recent weeks, but I'm not taking all the blame for this! No but I usually try to comment constructively before the question is put on hold, which - I see - you have acknowledged as a fairly common practice below David's answer. And I don't think people should stop doing that just because the close reason is more specific and thus more likely to give the asker the right clues. Commenting has a different (more personal) feel to it than generic close reasons (however specific they might be). $\endgroup$
    – Wouter
    Aug 23, 2013 at 20:19

2 Answers 2

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You're seeing fewer comments because the close reasons are now more specific, and they explain what needs to be improved about the question, which is what we used to use comments for. If you would write a comment that simply restates what is in the close reason, there's no point in doing that. Of course if you have something to say above and beyond what the close reason includes, then you can certainly still use a comment for that.

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    $\begingroup$ I think this works well on SO because, there are a lot of people hanging around all the time. Maybe, the askers can visualize what's going on almost immediately, by seeing their question closed along with a sticky-note. Here, things are rather slow. Moreover, I've seen people pointing out issues that can be repaired in a particular question before it gets closed (sometime, the author tries to revise it and we've guided him). My argument is "How does the close reason always guide the author in revising his question?" o_O $\endgroup$
    – Waffle's Crazy Peanut
    Aug 22, 2013 at 18:51
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Just a thought - perhaps this is an unintended side effect of having more close voters.

Previously, 1 or 2 votes would accumulate, and a mod would then cast a binding vote and perhaps feel obliged to explain it more (to try to diffuse the perceived threatening nature of having a mod near-unilaterally close your post, as would be disheartening on any internet site).

Now more of these close votes come from us regular users who, as 1 of 5, feel the responsibility doesn't rest squarely on our shoulders to communicate with the OP. In this case, it seems responsibility is not conserved - the more it is shared, the more it is diminished overall.

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    $\begingroup$ Yeah... I see your point. I've noticed new VTC users coming into the actual closing queue (either by 3k rep. score, or by Manish's "help us moderate" post). I think this along with the updated close reasons may be responsible for our laziness ;-) $\endgroup$
    – Waffle's Crazy Peanut
    Aug 24, 2013 at 18:42

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