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Comments on Should we remove closed questions from the question list?
Parent
Should we remove closed questions from the question list?
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.
I believe Somewhere Else only high-rep. users can see Closed Questions (except their own). I think that is a pointlessly …
2y ago
Closed questions should remain visible to the general users (unregistered and first-time users is a different issue). R …
2y ago
I argue no, because in my experience, closed questions often (in fact VERY often) have answers that are extremely valuab …
2y ago
No, we should not completely remove them from the question list, making them effectively private or moving them to a ded …
2y ago
Yes I have been thinking about this for a while, even before Codidact existed and I think the hard reality is that it …
2y ago
Post
Closed questions should remain visible to the general users (unregistered and first-time users is a different issue). Reasons:
- It avoids site policy being enacted "behind closed doors".
- It illustrates what the norms are. Seeing what questions got closed can be useful, especially for new users, to understand what's allowed and what's not.
- It allows discussion of what should be closed. If questions get closed and then silently disappear, most users won't have the chance to argue on meta that the question shouldn't have been closed.
- If you're worried about your closed question accumulating more downvotes, too bad. That's a consequence of writing a bad question. You can always fix it or delete it.
- It allows others to suggest changes in comments.
Response to comments
What do you think about the suggestion in this answer of having a toggle?
I don't have a problem with a toggle, since that's something individual users choose to do. The default should be to see closed questions. If that bothers someone enough, then they can shut that off is they wish. They should, though, first see what it's like when seeing everything. That way they should have a better idea of what they're not going to see, and what the consequences of that might be.
This has to weighed against the first site impression of new users
Right, which is why I said in the first sentence "unregistered and first-time users is a different issue".
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