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My question Is 'colorblind' the best word for people with color perception deficiencies? was closed as being too localized. I've gone through the faq and I can't find any reference to asking practical questions. This statement is highlighted:

You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face.

I admit the use case is possibly quite localized (a label a in user interface), but the title of the question is broad and useful for other people who want to use the term.

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  • I voted to close because "colourblind" is the standard term for people with impaired colour perception - as OP himself clearly acknowledged by saying he wanted to name a facility intended to assist colorblind users. I therefore felt we were being asked to come up with circumlocutory alternatives motivated by etiquette, which I feel are off-topic/too localised unless English happens to have some standard "set phrase" for the exact context. Which in this case it doesn't.
    – FumbleFingers
    Jan 27, 2012 at 22:55

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I didn't vote on your question, but having read it I agree with its closing for the following main reason: while the title offers a question which is widely applicable, the actual body of the question tells a different story.

Your question body asks for a very specific term (a label for the checkbox) which will only really be applicable to yourself. How many people are going to come to EL&U looking for a way to name such a function?

If your body had matched your question title, I think it would have stayed open. In today's world, political correctness is widely applicable. A lot more people could use the answer to "what is a PC way to refer to color blindness" rather than the answer to "how should I name this function".

If you want to try to get the question reopened, I would suggest changing the question body to match your title. This will make it less "localized". No promises, though.

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    The OP also seemed to be wondering whether there is a more comprehensive term. OP seems to be saying there are degrees of impairment which color "blindness" might not cover.
    – MetaEd
    Jan 24, 2012 at 4:11
  • To notice that the question is not asking for the name of a function, but rather the phrase to use in a user interface.
    – apaderno
    Jan 24, 2012 at 4:13
  • I don't necessarily want my question re-opened, I want to understand why it's considered "too localized". A label in a user interface is not much different from a title in a magazine.
    – methodofaction
    Jan 24, 2012 at 16:28
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As it is, the question seem too localized because you are asking for the label used in a checkbox for assisting colorblind users, but then you offer four alternatives that are equally valid.

I should not be closed because you are asking for a phrase to use in a user interface because, if you are not going to use a not grammatical phrase just for keeping it short, the same phrase could apply to different cases, where somebody would need to refer to colorblind people.
The problem I see is with asking for a politically correct phrase, as that is different from country to country, and can be set considering factors that are external to the language. See Use of "separation of church and state" in non-Christian countries where the OP is asking for a different phrase to use instead of separation of church and state, where church in English mean also "institutionalized religion as a political or social force."

As far as I remember, users on Stack Exchange are welcome to explain the context in which the question is being asked. The context should not be used as excuse to close the question, as the question is still asking for an alternative phrase to use. Then, if Use of "separation of church and state" in non-Christian countries has not been closed, I don't see any reason for closing this question. How much people had the need to use an alternative phrase to separation of church and state, which is also used in other languages (see the Italian separazione tra chiesa e stato that is the exact translation of the English phrase)?

To notice that this question is not asking the name to give to a class, a function, or a method in a programming language, which is the kind of questions that is off-topic on EL&U, and with a good reason (because the function name to use in a programming language is not necessarily an English word, and the name to use for a function could be limited from the programming language, which could have reserved words).

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