Timeline for Why was my question about the Devil's problem deemed a homework question?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jun 29, 2020 at 11:11 | comment | added | user258881 | @ZeroTheHero Probably, you misunderstood my first comment. I am also of the opinion that "Interesting-ness" should not factor in during the closure of a question :-) | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 20:33 | comment | added | ZeroTheHero | @rob Right. It seems then that homework-like is code word for “uninteresting”... Look: we can try splitting hairs but this question - which I find interesting - could have remained closed and nothing would have been lost. There is already an accepted solution. Deleting? No. Closing: IMO yes, and I say yes because I would not want to encourage this generic type of question. Will some HW make it through and not get closed? Sure. No big deal. | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 20:19 | comment | added | rob Mod | @ZeroTheHero Of course it's subjective. We're here because we are people who enjoy asking and answering questions about physics, and all enjoyment is subjective. As for people who intentionally post questions they find boring, I would say that's exactly what the homework policy is meant to squash: boring questions about inclined planes from people who don't care about them. My opinion is that interesting questions which happen to turn into a calculation are often collateral damage from our strictly-interpreted homework policy. I think we could benefit from being more judicious in what we keep. | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 20:17 | comment | added | JMac | @ZeroTheHero My personal take on that is that there's some onus on the person asking the question to point out why it is interesting from a physics perspective, which to me, generally requires more than just posting a question that ends up having an interesting solution. | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 19:50 | comment | added | ZeroTheHero | @FakeMod “interestingness” is subjective. I also find it interesting but it does not belong to the site. I mean: I’m sure for every question there will be some who find it interesting. Find me an OP that willing posts a boring question? | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 19:11 | comment | added | user258881 | @rob Thanks for explaining! I see your point :-) | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 18:47 | comment | added | rob Mod | @FakeMod, I have a public affection for interesting questions. I view the guidance about on- and off-topic questions as an attempt to describe what the community wants, rather than a contract to which we are bound. Sometimes we get a great question that superficially breaks one of our rules; I am loath to discard such content because of a rule meant to prevent something else. If we find ourselves making many such exceptions, we can have a Meta discussion about whether to write different guidance. People change over time, after all. | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 16:37 | comment | added | JMac | @FakeMod There are some people who might argue that these types of questions should be allowed. I think it's fair to say they have a right to cast a reopen vote if they feel the question is a good fit. If it were reopened though, it could still also be closed again. If that were to happen, I doubt it would get enough reopen votes a second time, though a second closure might also be a bit of stretch. | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 16:35 | comment | added | Mitsuko | Thanks, I've just added an update to address this. | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 15:16 | comment | added | user258881 | "Yours is exceptionally interesting, and perhaps the community will vote to reopen it on that merit.": Then I suppose the community's decisions are flawed if it does this, right? I mean, deciding the off-topicness of a homework-like or a check-my-work question by it's difficulty or beauty doesn't seem the right way to go, IMO. It would be nice if you would also agree, and thus kindly remove such a statement from your part. | |
| Jun 28, 2020 at 14:27 | history | answered | robMod | CC BY-SA 4.0 |