28
votes
Accepted
Should we test lowering the vote to close and reopen threshold?
YES
Physics.SE should undergo a 30 day test with 3 votes required to close and reopen questions.
- 16.4k
25
votes
Is over-vigilant monitoring of questions driving people away from the site?
I have a lot of sympathy with your position and I will generally put some effort into trying to interpret questions that are awkwardly phrased. However I think it's reasonable to expect someone asking ...
- 351k
22
votes
Folks, we need to talk about the surface-area-of-a-chicken question
My take on it: No, this question is nowhere near on-topic. It is simply not about physics.
I agree it's a fun question, and that this can make it attractive to some people. But we don't set the site ...
- 131k
20
votes
Folks, we need to talk about the surface-area-of-a-chicken question
Suppose the question had asked “How do I find the approximate volume of an asteroid ?”. I doubt there would be any serious arguments for closing that question. If we are happy to accept a volume/...
- 47.6k
17
votes
Little tolerance with mathematical-physics questions
Generally speaking, mathematical physics questions are on-topic and more than welcome.
Note that advanced questions naturally tend to have fewer views, upvotes, and potential answerers. But don't get ...
QmechanicMod
- 197k
16
votes
Care over closing "duplicate" questions
People should be encouraged to close questions as duplicates, but they should certainly take care to choose an appropriate duplicate target. Even if the target does have answers that correctly answer ...
- 11k
14
votes
Careless mistakes in formulas shouldn't be treated the same as non-mainstream physics
I did not vote to close but I do not see a relation between the two comments pointing at the maths mistake and the closing vote. That is, I don't think the typo is what led them to close the question ...
SuperCiociaMod
- 24.3k
12
votes
Is over-vigilant monitoring of questions driving people away from the site?
But, surely there should be a way for answers to be allowed for questions that get closed?
Oh goodness no. That defeats the entire point of putting questions on hold (a.k.a. closing).
Actually, ...
- 75.8k
12
votes
Accepted
What happened with the experiment to lower the vote-to-close threshold?
Ah Dec. 2019... those were simpler times eh?
So what happened was by Jan. 2020 we were on the list and working to get a more complete dataset defined to extract, and the Community Manager (CM) who was ...
- 16.4k
12
votes
Bounty reimbursement
Voting to close bountied questions is a feature that has often been requested at mother meta, see e.g. Allow users to vote to close bountied questions. So far it has not been implemented.
Being of &...
ACuriousMindMod
- 123k
11
votes
Is over-vigilant monitoring of questions driving people away from the site?
The following three points combine to contradict your thesis:
The number of questions asked per week has been steadily increasing for the entire duration of PSE's existence.
The number of users ...
- 28k
11
votes
Accepted
A better system for close voting
One does not need to be an expert in quantum-mechanics to see that some of the questions are clearly subpar and need to be closed. When in doubt, don’t be afraid to use the skip button! Alternatively, ...
- 1,424
11
votes
Flag questions that are actively being answered when voted for closure and postponing the closing until submission
A large part of the purpose of closing questions is preventing them from being answered. We close questions that we do not wish to encourage on our site, and receiving answers encourages people to ask ...
ACuriousMindMod
- 123k
10
votes
A better system for close voting
This is already possible via a different system: the close-vote review queue already comes with the possibility to filter the questions it can show you.
This can be on the close reason and on the ...
- 131k
10
votes
Folks, we need to talk about the surface-area-of-a-chicken question
Disclaimer: I did not give closing or reopening votes for the surface area of the chicken question.
I have to say that this is one of the few times I completely disagree with Emilio Pisanty's opinion, ...
10
votes
Folks, we need to talk about the surface-area-of-a-chicken question
The issue I take with the question is its nonsensical context ("building a chicken army to conquer the world"). If the question were just about "How do I measure the surface area of an ...
- 19.8k
10
votes
Should users answer questions that they think should be closed?
I am the (or at least one of the) user(s) in question, and I think that your impression of my motivation is mistaken. Since at least part of your concern is your view of my motivation let me state my ...
- 94.6k
9
votes
Should we vote to close old questions?
My philosophy when reviewing question is to not look at the date, the author or the answers. An off-topic post is off-topic regardless of when was it posted, by whom, and of the presence of very good ...
9
votes
When should moderators close questions?
I would say that moderators get it right most of the times. But sometimes they err, in which case I can think of four routes you can take:
Vote to reopen. If the question is very clearly on-topic, it ...
9
votes
Flag questions that are actively being answered when voted for closure and postponing the closing until submission
I sympathise because I have had this happen to me. In the past I have seen a homework question and thought that even though it was homework there was a nice conceptual discussion to be had. Then as I'...
- 351k
9
votes
Accepted
Should I refrain from marking a question as a duplicate of my question or of a question that I answered?
Here's what I do. I try to be "objective" as in – would I vote to close if the answer was by someone else? but a little bit more critical with my own stuff. So,
If the new question is very ...
8
votes
What happened with the experiment to lower the vote-to-close threshold?
Y'all may have seen the update I wrote as it was linked in the comments but I wanted to give y'all a specific update because the use case y'all have for this is very different from our goals of the ...
- 101
8
votes
Folks, we need to talk about the surface-area-of-a-chicken question
Yes, the question is on-topic.
Measuring the surface area of an object is either on-topic or it is not. It is absurd to suggest that measuring the surface area of a rock is on-topic, but measuring the ...
- 446
8
votes
Should I refrain from marking a question as a duplicate of my question or of a question that I answered?
I think you're over-stressing about this. Closing a question requires a consensus of five different users (potentially down to three at some point in the future) that the question should be closed. It ...
- 131k
7
votes
When should moderators close questions?
The fundamental rule of moderation is:
Moderators can never win¹
If they don't close egregious homework questions the moment they are posted we moan and if they're over zealous about closing ...
- 351k
7
votes
Is over-vigilant monitoring of questions driving people away from the site?
This is a Stack Exchange problem, not a Physics Stack Exchange problem. I have had many questions closed on me across SE, and for many reasons. It is often discouraging, and after a question is closed,...
- 119
7
votes
Not unclear if there's an answer
Is the unclear close reason being used for a purpose I'm not seeing
here?
I saw the question right after it was posted and offered a comment to the OP. The original post is (from the edit history):...
- 59.3k
7
votes
Accepted
Should we vote to close old questions?
I don't think questions should be considered ineligible for closing because of their age. People do sometimes use those questions as examples to help them learn what is appropriate for the site and ...
- 75.8k
7
votes
Is Vote to Close as Off-Topic an appropriate remedy for questions that are deemed too "populist"?
Edit: The response below was given within the state of the system as of late 2018. However, changes to the system were introduced in March 2019, which (finally!) allow moderators to remove questions ...
- 131k
7
votes
Should we test lowering the vote to close and reopen threshold?
This should be an easy answer.
Yes.
We should trial this. Stack Overflow tried it and were really happy with the results. And that's just what it is, a "trial". Rather than speculating on what the ...
- 24.4k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible