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Perhaps this is a bit too broad a question, but we'll see. Here goes.

Right now, the consensus seems to be that list-question SWRs are opinion-based or too broad (and thus off-topic). List-question SWRs are ones that, rather than looking for words that fit some sort of semantic criteria, look for words that fit certain derivational/orthographical criteria.

(The most-maligned SWR list questions are these types, which are- though interesting- rightly closed.)

My issue is that many of these are closed inconsistently- we close some of them and we leave some of them open. Looking just at the titles of the following questions, there's no way to predict which ones are open and which ones have been closed. They're quite similar, and their status seems to rest more on who was going through the review-queues at the time in question.

In each of them, any answer is as valid as the next, as long as it's not factually incorrect. It's essentially going to turn into a list of data-point-answers.

Open:

Closed:

There's one more genre of list-question that I can think of- they aren't looking for a word, but again, any accurate answer is as defensible as another; there's really no way to separate them fairly:

(Some of these ones are de-list-ifiable through)

So what is it? Are such questions on or off-topic? Should such questions be left open or closed?

(Related)

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    The activities of CV and VTR are to some extent a matter of personal judgment. There are users who are quite strict in applying the rules, others tend to save questions and answers for the amount of useful information they provide. Among the 128K+ questions you’ll find many other “inconsistencies” in that respect. –
    – user 66974
    Commented May 6, 2023 at 11:11
  • The problem with list requests that is most striking is: I am doing a research paper and want you not to help me, but to do all the work. After all, I set up the assignment, you have to do something.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented May 17, 2023 at 13:34

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