Questions tagged [specific-question]
The specific-question tag has no usage guidance.
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Request for undeletion and reopening of a question on the main site: "Retriable or retryable?"
A poster asked the question Retriable or retryable? on February 9, 2016. It was closed for lack of research on February 15 of that year. On November 9, site participant sumelic edited the question to ...
12
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1
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Why was the amber/yellow lights question closed as general reference?
My question Amber or yellow lights was closed as general reference. I do not understand why: what general reference?
The one reference that was cited in a comment is the Wikipedia article about the ...
12
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2
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WD-40 pronunciation question treated badly
We had a potentially interesting question based on pronunciation of a common house-hold chemical....
The question was quickly shoved off without much ado to the closed questions queue and closed..
It ...
8
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2
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Inappropriate replacement of question?
Please see this question on dialect and (specifically) its edit history. While I can’t say that I approve of the original question’s choice of example, I think that the “revision&...
8
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2
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Why was this grammar question closed as general reference?
The question What does “would not have been possible had I remained” mean? was closed as general reference.
It's a grammar question. Of course any grammar question can be looked up in a grammar ...
7
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2
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Is asking a question on English usage which is obvious for native English speakers but not so for English language learners off-topic?
I asked this question and it was closed as off-topic.
Is asking a question on English usage which is obvious for native English speakers but not so for English language learners off-topic in this site?...
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3
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Closing on-topic questions as duplicates of questions closed as off-topic
Regarding this question, I believe duping it to a question that was closed as off-topic is a bit disingenuous. I believe there was general consensus the question itself was on-topic. Is this really ...
7
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1
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What is wrong with my question and how could I have done it better?
I was reading the meta post on coping with downvotes in which ColleenV made an excellent point about how receiving multiple downvotes warrants a closer look at the post in question.
Earlier today I ...
6
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1
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Should this question have been closed?
This question was closed as off-topic, for reasons I can't understand. It's a question about slang (albeit the OP was a bit confused about the original usage as compared to the slang usage), which ...
6
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1
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The "short fuse" question is not opinion based
The question What sparked the figurative usage of “short fuse” in the 1960s? was closed as an “opinion based” one.
I am not asking for opinions, and the fact that users give their personal opinions ...
6
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3
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On the recently-migrated question "Need help with understanding the sentence"
... which is now on ELL : https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/122505/need-help-with-understanding-the-sentence
After the following comment by the OP:
I personally agree with the second option (...
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4
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Is it offensive to use someone's comment as a basis of another question on its own?
I'm surprised. I did this without any intention to be offensive. Yet I was told I was deeply offensive.
Long story short: @RobbieGoodwin posted an anecdotal comment under my question, saying that he ...
5
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3
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Why is the question about "the name of a small unluxurious restaurant" so attractive?
What is the name of a small unluxurious restaurant?
42 votes? Nearly 10k views? 20 answers? In only one week? I can't believe it. I even had thought about skipping this question with a thought: "Nah, ...
5
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1
answer
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Why was this question closed as "not clear what you're asking"?
I am a native speaker of English (not a pineapple), who classes himself as a "serious enthusiast" of the language. This site, as has been discussed elsewhere (most notably here), takes some ...
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2
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Question feedback - Did I do anything wrong here?
I'm not a native English speaker, but I usually do try my best in interacting with the Stack Exchange-sites. I haven't been using this site much so maybe there is something culturally I have missed ...
5
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1
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Could anyone please provide me a feedback on my effort to improve my question?
I have a question about my English Language & Usage Stack Exchange post: When do I use each word? Notes, notices, updates, status, releases, announcements?
I asked this question, and it got ...
5
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1
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Why was this question about a single word's pronunciation ("whinge") closed as off-topic?
I noticed that How is "whinge" pronounced? was closed as being off-topic.
I once noticed somebody spelled "whine" as "whinge" and thought it was an egregious and ...
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Please help me improve my babel answer?
I have authored an answer to a SWR. While I believe my suggestion provides a near precise answer to the asked question, it seems to be rather unliked.
I understand the word may be rare, but an ...
5
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1
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273
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Re-open request: "Stick vs aerosol" question
A question on "What does "you like stick and I like aerosol" mean?
has been closed as "Primarily Opinion Based".
It's not opinion-based. There is a clear meaning to those who know that deodorant ...
5
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0
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84
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Question closed as duplicate but it wasn't
I asked a question about comma usage: Comma in "If in addition"
The question was closed as a duplicate. The question that my question is a supposedly a duplicate of is about parentheses and ...
5
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0
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Please consider reopening my question
My question is closed as off-topic.
First, my question is not so elementary. It is not about the usual use of past perfect as in
When I came up with the idea of climbing all the statues taller than ...
4
votes
1
answer
368
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What is wrong with my question?
Is it correct that my question: Idiom request for wasting time or money was put aside as not respectful of the site rules. I have a short experience here but I think it was clear and it actually ...
4
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1
answer
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Does this question belong on English or Writers? [closed]
Before a commenter mentioned it, I was unaware that there was a Writers site. Is https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/49380/techniques-to-disguise-authorship-of-text better suited to English ...
4
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1
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Redundant duplicates obviated by general references
The question, What's a word for “to eliminate the need for”?, has been voted as a duplicate of Is there a word that means “make someone (or something) redundant”? which is itself closed as a general ...
4
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How can I edit this question and start the reopening process to make additional answers possible?
dog-leg, dogleg, or dog leg? has one well-received and currently accepted answer but was quickly closed for lack of research. It was only my second question here, over three years ago now.
I'd ...
4
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0
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Why is my question closed as "unclear"?
What's the correct word to refer to a believer of scientism?
I don't understand what's unclear with this question.
The comment says:
Wait... what is scientism exactly? It sounds like a very ...
4
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0
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249
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Determiner question
The question below seems to be very simple at first glance and swifty got closed:
Are articles pronouns?
However, the answer is not as clear as it seems at first glance. For those of us well ...
4
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0
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322
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Can we reopen this question please? [Now re-CLOSED]
Edit note 2:
The patient and long-suffering OP has now re-asked aspects of this question in three separate posts. So, there's now probably no harm in leaving this one closed.
This useful question on ...
3
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4
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Vote to reopen 'gradations of beautiful' question
A question was asked about ranking the strength of the synonyms of 'beautiful'.
It was closed very quickly as 'Primarily Opinion Based'.
I think this is misguided. Questions about nuances of words ...
3
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2
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161
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Why was my flag declined, and can we close this question?
I flagged this question as unclear, expecting it would be a pretty cut and dry case.
Every answer expresses uncertainty regarding what the asker is asking. There are multiple comments asking for ...
3
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3
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Any guesses why my question was downvoted?
I was surprised to see my question downvoted. I care less about the loss of rep than about why the person might have done it. Can you find anything wrong with the question? Do you think the person ...
3
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1
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156
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How can I improve my question?
I asked a question on the distinction between hypocorism and diminutive when referring to the form of a word. I cam back this morning to find that it had been downvoted.
Now, as a user of several ...
3
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0
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Request to reopen "Resistance decreases with temperature"
"Resistance decreases with temperature". How to interpret this sentence? doesn't seem like an unreasonable question to ask on ELU, but it's been summarily closed with the "justification&...
3
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0
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Can we change the linked-to question here, folks?
This question here was rightly closed as a duplicate:
Which is grammatically correct: "There is tea and juice" or "There are tea and juice"?
It has currently been linked to the ...
2
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Curious about my question being closed as off topic when I see other similar ones well received
I was just reading this question:
Why is it "behead" and not "dehead"?
And it reminded me of a question I asked a while back:
Why does the word delight have positive connotations?
I'm not sure why ...
2
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2
answers
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I need a better answer for why my question was closed, so that I can become a better user
I am not unused to having to use the meta of an SE in order to figure out what I did wrong in asking a question, and what I can do better next time. This post is similar.
Here's the question I had ...
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2
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Why was my question downvoted?
I recently asked a question on English Language & Usage, and it was received poorly. Now, I have nothing against criticism, but I just wonder why. Here's the question.
What should I use when ...
2
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1
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112
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Wording of question caused confusion; how to correct it?
I asked this question:
I _____ a work of fiction. (Fill in the blank.)
By "work of fiction", I meant "fictional story", or "fictional narrative", or "product of imagination that relates a series of ...
2
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1
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Should this oxymoron question be reopened?
Oxymoron pronunciation
This question is closed for not including research. Is this because the specific dictionaries are not cited?
I think the question is fine, if that is the only problem.
I think ...
2
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1
answer
37
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How is this question opinion-based?
How is this question opinion-based? ("May I have a mango!" is it an Imperative, Optative or Interrogative sentence?)
There is nothing that seems inherently subjective about it, nor does it ...
2
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0
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Why was my question closed as 'off-topic'?
I recently asked this question on ELU: Should there be a comma in "You again?"?
The answer to this question may be obvious to some of you, but for me, it isn't. I tried searching on ELU and ...
2
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0
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Request to reopen "Is 'deuce' (tennis) a corruption of the French phrase 'à deux de jeu'?" [closed]
This is a request to reopen the question, "Is 'deuce' (tennis) a corruption of the French phrase 'à deux de jeu'?", as per the reasons stated in the question's comments.
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Why was my question about '(s)he' vs. 'he/she' closed as being opinion-based?
Could somebody please explain to me how is Between '(s)he' & 'he/she' -- which is recommended/ preferable? opinion-based.
The question explicitly contains
Are both "(s)he" and "...
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Why is the question off-topic?
I can see that users are voting to close the question Where does Martian meaning inhabitant of Mars come from? as off-topic.
What’s the problem with the above question? or is it just a question of ...
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How to change a closure from "proofreading" to "duplicate"?
Ed Chu's question Is “I was having a walk” correct? has been closed (with just one vote plus mod) for supposed "proofreading". I think the proofreading flag was inappropriate here, as the question is ...
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Is this question still off-topic?
The question What's a word for a 'thing that makes one sleepy'? has attracted a good number of upvotes and a series of interesting answers IMO, but users appear to think that it is still ...
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2
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Request to undo comment up-vote and flag
I upvoted a comment (under highly contentious "All-American" answer) in an attempt to be ironic/funny.
I actually find this answer incredibly offensive. Somebody has their
act together, and has ...
1
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1
answer
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Should we migrate this game terminology question here?
Subject question: https://gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/256801/whats-the-difference-between-bug-and-glitch
Should this question be migrated from Arqade to English Language & Usage, ...
1
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1
answer
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Would you kindly undo the rejection of my edit and re-open this question?
This suggested edit for this question was just rejected. It was an attempt on my part to incorporate the OP's clarification made in this comment on my answer into the question.
The edit was rejected ...
1
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1
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How did this question ever get so much attention?
There is a question of mine that sometimes makes me chuckle. A trivial, very non-urgent question with little to no practical value. A question on why names starting with "J" are more common than words ...