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Comments on Should we remove closed questions from the question list?

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Should we remove closed questions from the question list?

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Should we exclude closed questions from the question list?

Closed questions (and their answers) would still be linked on the owners' profiles, would be included in search results, and would produce the usual notifications from activity on them. This change would only be to get them out of the main view.

If a question is closed and being worked on (to fix the issues), this lets the author do so out of view. If the issues that caused it to be closed are addressed and the question is reopened, it returns to view. Meanwhile, it's not "in the way" and likely not attracting more downvotes. ("I know it's broken; you don't need to keep telling me!", the author might be thinking in response to more and more downvotes while trying to edit.)

If a question is closed and not being worked on to fix the issues, then it's unlikely to be helpful for it to be listed. While it sometimes happens that a third party sees a question, knows what the author was trying to ask, and fixes it (I've done this), it's uncommon. I can think of a few options we might consider to mitigate this: search by closure status, a filter, a user preference, show to people with the Curate ability. I'd like to understand how big a concern it is first and then we can decide what to do about it.

This question is not meant to preclude other housekeeping automation. I'm asking if withdrawing closed questions from the main public view would be a useful first step.

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Lundin‭ wrote almost 3 years ago

I once proposed something similar here: Giving question feedback in private - a moderating system to reduce conflicts. Scroll down to proposal. Particularly the part regarding removing closed posts as swiftly and as effortlessly away from the main site to some feedback area. Maybe this can be implemented as a category somehow, only visible to mods and trusted users. The OP must naturally still be able to see & fix their own post.

Monica Cellio‭ wrote almost 3 years ago

Thanks for the reminder; I had forgotten about that post. I think as a practical matter we should think in terms of a filter rather than a category; in addition to the category code not currently being designed for more fluid movement like this, a community can have more than one Q&A category and having a sibling "closed" category for each would get out of hand. I like the suggestion in an answer of having a toggle (default off) for seeing these in the question list -- anybody can go and look, but most people probably won't. (If you're looking for questions to answer, you're not going to want to see them; if you're looking for people to help in other ways, you might.)

Lundin‭ wrote almost 3 years ago

Monica Cellio‭ So maybe a first step would be to not show closed posts to anyone but the one who posted the question (and maybe those who posted answers). Then add a feature where anyone can opt-in to see closed posts.