Is the word "adjectival" used in this context?
This is a straightforward question about grammar, asking if "adjectival clause" can be used in the same way as "adjective clause."
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2It may be helpful to point out that off topic is a technical term here. When a question is closed as 'off topic' that doesn't mean that it is not about English language and usage at all; it means that is outside the topic of this site. – jsw29 May 30 at 15:50
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I didn’t vote on this question, but those who did nominated lack of research as the reason to put the question on hold or to close the question. The reason is provided in the banner at the top of each closed question.
On Stack Exchange, there is an expectation that people who ask questions show what they’ve found. This is partly a courtesy to answerers so that people don’t waste time detailing what the asker already knew.
Another part has to do with the history of the site, which started as a Q&A for programmers. They wanted to avoid the gimme the codez mindset. In today’s context, it can be described as a do my homework for me approach, which isn’t what Stack Exchange is about.
Stack Exchange was set up to be a repository of good questions on a specific topic, together with expert answers to those questions. Requiring ‘research’ helps to keep questions interesting and at a high quality, which in turn helps retain experts within the community. It also helps to pinpoint the specific issue so that future visitors can drill down to answers addressing that specific issue.
Since the answerers are almost all volunteers, there is no financial obligation for them / us to stay (to help provide good answers). Each topic or community will typically have a pool of common questions, and scrolling through essentially the same question over and over again isn’t particularly interesting or captivating.
But if someone has tried to find an answer to their own question, the contradictions or puzzles that emerge are often interesting and worth thinking about.
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3In the overwhelming majority of cases, however, people who vote to close a question by using the boilerplate 'show research' reason do not really think that the question could be improved by showing research. Rather, they think that, if the OP spends two minutes with a dictionary, the OP will find the answer, and realise that there is no question left that would need to be asked here. 'Show research' is a euphemism for the reason that in the past used to be expressed more clearly by pointing out that the question can be answered by readily available reference sources. – jsw29 May 30 at 16:10
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@jsw29 Yes, the corollary of requiring people to consider their own question before posting is that there would be fewer questions posted. That’s consistent with voting to close the questions you mentioned. – Lawrence May 30 at 17:23
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3Yes, I wholeheartedly agree that such questions ought to be closed, for the reasons that are explained in this answer. My point was that a banner that says that the OP needs to show research often obfuscates the real reason for closing, which is that the question is too basic; the old wordings of the reasons for closing were more honest and less misleading. – jsw29 May 30 at 21:05
