Timeline for Why is "Is it possible to..." a poorly worded question?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
15 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 17, 2024 at 13:36 | comment | added | Doc Brown | @Demi: questions about deep, theoretical CS results should be asked on Computer Science. | |
| Jan 27, 2021 at 18:51 | comment | added | jgritten | So where does everyone suggest going for questions of obtaining feasibility and direction? If this isn't the place, then where? | |
| Aug 31, 2017 at 6:44 | history | edited | Laiv | CC BY-SA 3.0 | added 8 characters in body |
| Apr 17, 2017 at 20:35 | comment | added | user251748 | @Demi that would be really exciting. That's why I learned programming in the first place. | |
| Aug 14, 2016 at 22:23 | comment | added | Demi | What about questions where "is it possible" might hinge on a deep theoretical result, which somebody cannot be expected to figure out just by trying to do it? | |
| Jan 21, 2016 at 15:50 | comment | added | user40980 | @BenAaronson I do not make the claim that "is it possible should be closed" because of those words. I do state that it is a poorly worded question and the OP should reconsider the question and its wording. The nature of questions worded this way often make it rather difficulty for the community to rewrite them. Nonetheless, they are still poorly worded. | |
| Jan 21, 2016 at 15:48 | comment | added | Ben Aaronson | @MichaelT Having a meta question for yes/no answer questions and XY problem questions is a good idea. It just feels to me like creating this mental shortcut from the phrase "is it possible" to problems that may or may not be there is going to do more to create spurious close votes than it is to help. | |
| Jan 21, 2016 at 15:47 | comment | added | Ben Aaronson | @MichaelT I may have been wrong about those close votes being linked to that comment, though it's also possible they chose that reason. And I agree, "is it possible" could be symptomatic of an XY problem (though I don't think it was in this case, it seems more like curiosity). It also has other meanings though- I think I've seen "is it possible for an A to B" to mean "is doing B consistent with the definition of A", for example. | |
| Jan 21, 2016 at 15:38 | comment | added | user40980 | @BenAaronson those two close votes are for 'unclear' - not too broad. Part of the issue with that question is that it is likely an XY problem lurking behind it. The "is it possible" is a symptom of this and if the OP were to consider the issue and wording of the question the real underlying problem could be addressed. | |
| Jan 21, 2016 at 15:35 | comment | added | Ben Aaronson | @MichaelT That's good, but it seems like meta posts like this get turned into "rules of thumb" that get applied with no thought as to whether they're actually relevant or not. Take this recent question which (by the looks of it) got two close votes for that reason, even though it obviously doesn't invite a yes or no answer. | |
| Jan 21, 2016 at 15:14 | comment | added | user40980 | @BenAaronson there are good questions and there are poor questions. Sometimes we get questions like Is it possible to make a python server that takes commands from netcat? which has a post body that amounts to "Title sys it all". That is the classic example of what is trying to be addressed with this post on meta. | |
| Jan 21, 2016 at 15:03 | comment | added | Ben Aaronson | Usually, when you have a question like, programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/307861/… , it's understood that you need to elaborate beyond just yes or no. Why would "is it possible" questions be an exception? Isn't it just as obvious that the answer needs to be "yes, and here's how/why your specific concern isn't an issue" or "no, and here's why not"? | |
| Jan 21, 2016 at 15:03 | comment | added | Ben Aaronson | I don't really understand this answer, honestly. As an experiment I clicked "hot" on the front page, and 12 of the 40 questions there had titles worded in a way where, technically, they would admit a yes or no answer. Of those, 2 were on hold. | |
| Apr 7, 2015 at 21:51 | comment | added | gnat | related: Question closed because yes/no answer "When asking a yes/no question there are one of two possibilities..." | |
| Apr 7, 2015 at 19:09 | history | answered | user40980 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |