This is a question about interpreting the definition of an appropriate SE question, specifically, whether any question that can be answered only by a list of suggestions is inappropriate (and why). This discussion started between me and a moderator of English SE, KitFox, here.
I'll quote some of the points for you: I was asked to "...avoid asking subjective questions where every answer is equally valid," which is clearly consistent with the FAQ, and I was told that "...this boils down to a list question, which is off-topic here. Questions asking for lists of something generally produce many answers that overlap. They don't invite a single, concise, definitive answer that can be accepted by the asker because many answers contain correct portions, or all answers could be considered correct. Additionally, list-type question tend to rely on opinions and often end up with a lot of non-constructive discussion attached."
I see a number of issues with these statements, and I would like to discuss them, so I could understand SE better.
Firstly, I replied that list-type questions do not rely on opinions by design, and do not necessarily cause a lot of non-constructive discussion. It is just not true. If I asked, "How can I copy text in Windows OS?", and the answer would be, "A) By right click and Copy; B) By Ctrl+C", this list would not have any opinions, and it would not cause more non-constructive discussion than any other question. Calling this question "subjective where every answer is equally valid" is not true either -- there is a limited amount of correct answers, and instead of asking which answer is the best, I just ask to list them all (or as many as you know). This is a primitive example of a list-type question that, in my opinion, can be answered and should be answered on SE.
Now, the question I asked in the thread I linked at the top is exactly like this. I asked "How can I do A in a way that would satisfy conditions W, X, Y, and Z?". The answer would be a list, but just as with our previous example, it does not have to be a list of opinions. There is a limitted number of correct answers to this question, so why is it wrong to list them?
Secondly, I replied to the comment regarding "many answers that overlap" by asking why is it important to have one winner, one single best answer, and what is wrong with having multiple good answers? Moreover, even if we do indeed prefer having only one good answer, the fact that no one on SE seems to be willing to provide every valid answer in one concise post is not exactly the problem of the question, is it? The question cannot be changed to make it simpler for people to answer, it is a list-question in essence, so it's natural that some people overlook potential solutions and other people fill these gaps with their answers.
Finally, please consider that the post you've just read contains over 600 words, and if my question was answered just by a list of suggestions separated by commas, an answer of the size of this post could fit over 600 solutions, which is clearly much more than anyone here is capable of providing, clearly much more than I need, and clearly more than the number of all existing solutions, considering the limitations of the question. So narrowed-down list-type questions do not produce answers any longer than other questions, and the FAQ defines an excessively broad question by saying that, "If you can imagine an entire book that answers your question, you’re asking too much," which is clearly not the case, because I can't imagine an entire book that answers the question in question.
