Sometimes a question needs to be closed as off-topic
but none of the canned reasons are a good fit. This leaves us with Other.
Other demands a comment. Typing is hard. What are some good canned comments?
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Great question. +1) We need one more reason above "other" that says "It is off-topic because it is blatantly off-topic" which covers many other questions like how to improve, translation, naming, criticism, jokes, etc. One more, "dictation of Youtube link or other transcription service"– user140086Mar 12, 2016 at 11:34
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@Rathony Not that I disagree but I don't remember seeing an example of that or where that is prohibited. Can you provide some links?– candied_orangeMar 12, 2016 at 13:03
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We don't have that specific guideline (rule) on our or ELL Help Center. But I saw those questions closed on both ELU and ELL with "other" reason that says "I am voting to close this question as off-topic because it is a transcription request".– user140086Mar 12, 2016 at 13:13
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@Rathony I presume you're talking about questions like this: english.stackexchange.com/questions/311551/…– candied_orangeMar 12, 2016 at 13:41
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Yes, that's right. I see one or two a month. Most of them were closed.– user140086Mar 12, 2016 at 13:42
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One wording that I have used more than once in situations where a question is about something not even tangentially related to this site's areas of interest is "I am voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not a question about English language or usage."– Sven YargsMar 12, 2016 at 19:58
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1@SvenYargs I can understand the impulse to use that wording but I would encorage a more specific explination both for the benifit of the OP and other newbies that would come across the question, least the only thing they learn is to not mess with Sven Yargs.– candied_orangeMar 13, 2016 at 3:05
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4 Answers
Done @J.R.'s way:
The help/on-topic page discourages things we don't have a canned close reason for. Here are some canned comments in a copy-and-paste friendly format:
- "How to improve my English?" (this is not constructive anyway)
This question may be off-topic because ELU discourages questions about "How to improve my English?" as noted in the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page.
- Translation and non-English languages — please see the translation tag info for details
This question may be off-topic because ELU discourages questions about "Translation and non-English languages" as noted in the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page when outside the limited scope of the [translation](https://english.stackexchange.com/tags/translation/info) tag.
- Naming, including naming programming variables/classes
This question may be off-topic because ELU discourages questions about "Naming, including naming programming variables/classes" as noted in the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page.
- Criticism, discussion, and analysis of English literature
This question may be off-topic because ELU discourages questions about "Criticism, discussion, and analysis of English literature" as noted in the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page.
- Jokes that do not rely on the English language
This question may be off-topic because ELU discourages "Jokes that do not rely on the English language" as noted in the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page.
As @J.R. correctly points out taking the time to customize a comment can be very instructive to a new user. This answer is actually intended to give you that time by freeing you from the more repetitive typing. There is certainly room to add more instructive comments.
Here's one I've used more than once:
Given that you're relatively new to the site, I'd like to tell you about our sister site, [ell.se]. In the future, that may be a better place for questions like this one. You can read more about the two sites at our [_What is the difference between ELU and ELL?_ meta post](http://meta.english.stackexchange.com/questions/3722/what-is-the-difference-between-elu-and-ell/).
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Given that you're relatively new to the site, I'd like to tell you about our sister site, English Language Learners. In the future, that may be a better place for questions like this one. You can read more about the two sites at our What is the difference between ELU and ELL? meta post.– J.R.Mar 12, 2016 at 12:56
As @Rathony points out some questions are closed as off-topic because the community has decided they are not what this site is about. While it's always good to direct a new user to the help it may confuse them to cite the help as the reason the question is being closed when the help doesn't expressly prohibit the question.
I propose to gather such close reasons here:
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because ELU is not a transcription service
I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is not constructive
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3Not constructive is not a constructive close reason! What even do you mean by it? Mar 14, 2016 at 13:23
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@curiousdannii a fair point. I've seen it used and have cited an example. Considering that example, what would you propose instead? Mar 14, 2016 at 22:19
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I vote to close questions like that with the message that trivia is off-topic. Mar 14, 2016 at 23:06
The help/on-topic page expressly forbids things we don't have a canned close reason for. Here are some canned comments in a copy and paste friendly format:
- "How to improve my English?" (this is not constructive anyway)
This question is off-topic because the topic "How to improve my English?" is expressly prohibited by the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page.
- Translation and non-English languages — please see the translation tag info for details
This question is off-topic because the topics "Translation and non-English languages" are expressly prohibited by the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page when outside the limited scope of the [translation](https://english.stackexchange.com/tags/translation/info) tag.
- Naming, including naming programming variables/classes
This question is off-topic because the topic "Naming, including naming programming variables/classes" is expressly prohibited by the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page.
- Criticism, discussion, and analysis of English literature
This question is off-topic because the topic "Criticism, discussion, and analysis of English literature" is expressly prohibited by the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page.
- Jokes that do not rely on the English language
This question is off-topic because "Jokes that do not rely on the English language" are expressly prohibited by the [help/on-topic](https://english.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic) page.
As JR correctly points out taking the time to customize a comment can be very instructive to a new user. This answer is actually intended to give you that time by freeing you from the more repetitive typing. There is certainly room to add more instructive comments.
It would also be useful to see this answer edited and ratified into something the community agrees with so we can use these with confidence.
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2One potential problem with canned comments is they seem impersonal to new users, and repetative to seasoned users. Typing may be hard, but I think it's often worth investing some time to soften a remark or provide clearer guidance. I think "This question is off-topic" can seem blunt and opinionated, and "expressly prohibited" is a bit heavy-handed. Not every question clearly falls into one of those pidgeonholes, and opinions sometimes differ about when a question should be closed or remain open. In a can, I'd prefer: "This question may be off-topic because ELU discourages questions about..."– J.R.Mar 12, 2016 at 11:20
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One more, "dictation of Youtube link or other transcription service"– user140086Mar 12, 2016 at 11:37
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