Questions tagged [close-reasons]

Concerning the pre-defined, site-specific reasons for closure in the off-topic section of the closure dialogue.

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9 votes
3 answers
225 views

New audience-specific texts for our custom close reasons

Background With recent changes to the closing system, we can now tailor the texts for custom close reasons to different audiences: One text that informs close flaggers, voters, and reviewers when the ...
1 vote
1 answer
38 views

Was für Details? (Der Streusel-Snack)

Ich habe nach der Herkunft eines Wortes gefragt (Streuselschnecke, 1), wurde aber wegen Mangel an Klarheit und Detail geschlossen. Dabei ist auf German.SE nicht ersichtlich, wer die Frage geschlossen ...
2 votes
1 answer
54 views

Why answer deleted for spam or rudeness

There is the (now closed) question on Christmas greetings. While I can see to close it as a translation request, it can also be argued that it has merrit as cultural expectations differ and play a ...
6 votes
2 answers
180 views

Why should somebody consult an online translation service before asking here?

Community recently downvoted and closed this question as off topic: How do you say "He was looking for you" in German? The given canned close reason "requests for proofreading, spell ...
2 votes
1 answer
74 views

Off Topic - Prior research, why only translation requests?

Just by looking at this question one can see, that a great part of it can be answered by a small google search and some intensive thinking. Is there an etymological connection between these two ...
2 votes
1 answer
90 views

Why is there a "Does the asker explain why a dictionary did not help?" step in the closure flow chart?

In this post this is a closure flow chart: I don't understand the purpose of the step "Does the asker explain why a dictionary did not help?" Here's the logic table: ...
20 votes
1 answer
3k views

How do I ask good, on-topic questions about meaning, translations, or differences?

What can I do to ensure that my question on the meaning or translation of a word or phrase or the difference between two words is on-topic and attracts good and useful answers? This is a FAQ to help ...
4 votes
2 answers
171 views

Let’s change “general references” to “databases”

Proposal In help texts, close reasons, and similar, replace general reference with database. If space permits, elaborate that database means dictionary, thesaurus, conjugation tables, or similar. ...
1 vote
1 answer
50 views

What is wrong with closing a question as a dupe?

Increasingly we hear complaints about closing a question as a dupe to another question. Sometimes much effort is put in editing a question to make it look different but this not always results in an ...
3 votes
3 answers
80 views

Showing various close reasons for closed questions

TL;DR I can remember having seen a closed question with two reasons listed below it. Not sure if it was on GL or some other SE site. I don't even know where to look for that now. Q: Is this feature ...
1 vote
1 answer
50 views

What does an opinion based big list question need to be accepted? [closed]

This question arose from the following question on main: What are the preeminent German newspapers? It appears to be an interesting question that will definitely help learners to practise their ...
11 votes
1 answer
390 views

Wann soll ich welchen Schließgrund bei Fragen nach Übersetzungen, Bedeutungen u. Ä. verwenden?

Deutsch Auf Meta gibt es einige Diskussionen darüber, wann Fragen nach Übersetzungen, Bedeutungen, Unterschieden o. Ä. auf dieser Seite willkommen sind und wann sie geschlossen werden sollen. Was ist ...
7 votes
1 answer
203 views

What is a phrase-request and when do we accept it as on topic?

We have quite a clear opinion on when to allow a translation request: How do I ask good, on-topic questions for translations or about differences? There is consent that we do not allow peer reviews ...
10 votes
4 answers
339 views

These are our new custom close reasons

From a recent proposal it was clear, that we accepted to have new custom close reasons replacing our existing custom close reason. To go live we need your vote, your suggestions, and your critique on ...
8 votes
2 answers
189 views

Proposal: Close reason for translation questions that require expertise of a language other than German

In the last 90 days, a custom off-topic close reason along the lines of the following was used ten times (raw data for 2 k users): I’m voting to close this question as off-topic because it is about ...
15 votes
3 answers
390 views

Let’s take another approach to close reasons

Ranty introduction In the last year, I made several attempts to sanitise our close reasons or capture some common denominator as to when we close questions, in particular regarding which questions ...
3 votes
0 answers
61 views

Let's add German explanations to our help center

In a recent discussion about our close reasons, it was proposed to add a German explanation. While a basic knowledge of English is required to handle the SE user interface, it is debatable whether ...
5 votes
3 answers
218 views

What kind of questions have to indicate prior research?

I ask this question to have a clear consensus about this, stemming from the current opinion of the community (and not something discussed during site planning on Area 51 or alongside another ...
2 votes
2 answers
75 views

Let's abolish "general reference" for grammar

Quoting the help center: If your question could be answered by a dictionary, a grammar book, or another general reference, consult these. Explain why this did not help you when asking your ...
11 votes
4 answers
178 views

"Research effort" revisited

From previous discussions, and from entries in our help section we now increasingly close questions that do not show enough research effort. This leads to confusion and frustration of new users who ...
7 votes
1 answer
122 views

Should we be less picky on questions that we close as off topic?

From our help section we say that a question is off topic if (amongst others): If your question could be answered by a dictionary, a grammar book, or another general reference, consult these. ...
3 votes
3 answers
64 views

Are questions on the pronunciation of single words on topic?

We do allow questions on pronunciation as this can at times be rather difficult for learners and occasionally even for natives. However there are some questions asking for the pronunciation of a ...
9 votes
1 answer
73 views

Please put more love into close reasons

Whenever we close questions we feel to be off topic we can choose other for a custom wording: Choose short but meaningful words to help the OP to improve their question. Dots only as shown above ...
2 votes
2 answers
72 views

When to close as "off topic", when to close as "unclear what you are asking"?

After recent discussions on the topicness of translation requests or questions about difference in meanings Rewording the on-topic help section When is a translation request to German off-topic? How ...
4 votes
1 answer
568 views

Close reasons for this question?

"Oh god, what a question...", I thought, but then realized it's not that simple (even if not meant that way): The question is not: "What's 'im'?" The question is: "When do you use 'im' and when do ...
6 votes
1 answer
440 views

How to deal with "Google Translate says ... but it doesn't make sense."?

I can understand the use of automatic translators to some extent. But, for instance, take a look at this question – whose original form stated the following "I knew that da was meaning there, but ...
1 vote
1 answer
44 views

Close Reasons: Too Localized?

In this question @OregonGhost mentioned, that the question is "too localized / too specific" meaning it will most likely not carry any significance to anyone else visiting this site. When voting to ...
5 votes
1 answer
125 views

Hey... Is this General Reference?

Since recently there have been some discussions and two meta posts about the General Reference reason, although it was called differently, I decided to post this scheme taken by the blog post "Are ...
2 votes
4 answers
168 views

How to handle typos that are significant in respect to why the question came up?

There's recently being a question on our main site which was excessively edited back and forth. The issue was an obvious typo: "now a days" instead of "nowadays". While I approve editing typos, I ...
3 votes
2 answers
181 views

Rewording the on-topic help section

In the light of recent confusion about what is on-topic here, I'd like to have the on-topic help section reworded. Currently our on-topic site contains a very generic and way too unspecific text: ...
8 votes
3 answers
325 views

Do we need additional close reasons?

There have been rather many questions lately that ask for differences between words or phrases and which should be easily solvable with a dictionary or a similar resource and therefore do not require ...
2 votes
1 answer
74 views

Can A Dictionary Definition be "Insufficient" if There Are Reasonable Grounds for Confusion?

Recently, someone noted that a German-sounding word, "smuck, had a highly pejorative meaning in English, and asked if the word had similar connotations in German? What does "Schmuck" mean ...