7
votes
Accepted
What exactly is a recommendation question on Ask Different?
Software Recommendation questions are allowed here and they will almost always be closed if they don't follow the guidelines for asking a good question in general and in specific listing detailed ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
6
votes
Accepted
What happened to '…not about Apple hardware or software' as a Close reason?
We can only have 4 close reason choices and we opted to drop that one in favour the new customer support reason. You can still use "Other..." I believe and enter the text there.
- 45.2k
6
votes
Accepted
What to do with questions where repair/replacement is obviously the only answer?
Flag to close would be my preference for dealing with these types of questions. For a reason you can say, "Unclear what you're asking" because, really, what are they asking for here? A repair center? ...
- 45.2k
5
votes
Are Apple iCloud / iWork beta web apps on topic for the main site?
My opinion is that they should be acceptable (and not off-topic) much in the same way Siri and Messages were. While they are are technically "beta", I think it is largely in name only as the general ...
- 14.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Many supposed questions are actually requests for debugging
This is a hard problem and I’m glad you are approaching it from the viewpoint of how to be helpful of people asking for help and respectful of the time and effort to properly answer a question.
It’s ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
5
votes
How do we file complaints about a moderator closing people's posts when he doesn't know better?
You can file a complaint by clicking on the "Contact" link at the bottom of the main page.
nohillsideMod
- 92.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Is this question on topic?
It's absolutely on topic. With a few exceptions there's an OR clause between the following:
Apple Hardware
Apple Software
Apple Services
See https://apple.stackexchange.com/help/on-topic
Even ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
4
votes
What exactly is a recommendation question on Ask Different?
This is a good question and one that will be hard to definitively answer, although we could try to define, over time, what is and isn't covered by this particular close reason.
One type of question ...
MonomeethMod
- 63.5k
4
votes
What exactly is a recommendation question on Ask Different?
Not to be argumentative here (hah!) It seems that the definition of "Off-Topic" is fairly clear (IMHO) in that the subject matter is something that is open to interpretation, varies with your ...
- 22.4k
4
votes
Accepted
Are questions about Apple history on-topic or not?
Firstly, thank you for your involvement and contribution to the site. I hope you find it to be a valuable resource!
With regard to your question, although it wasn't me, I agree with the Moderator's ...
MonomeethMod
- 63.5k
4
votes
Explanatory text or policy for duplicates are clashing
Is there some harm with the reverse time ordering for this specific close?
If so, please let us know and we can look at it. When both questions have been asked more than a year before now, I’m less ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
4
votes
Accepted
Accepted, but wrong answer - question marked as duplicate to the wrong answer
You initially asked
It is safe delete everything bellow /private/var/folders/?
Another (more important) question - has the OS X something as rc.6, e.g. an shell script what is running when changing ...
nohillsideMod
- 92.7k
3
votes
Off Topic Questions - When is a question/problem within scope?
Generally speaking this site is for people using Apple products, the hardware used in combination with them, and the software that runs on them. So any question relating to any of these is more or ...
nohillsideMod
- 92.7k
3
votes
Off Topic Questions - When is a question/problem within scope?
I like to look at this from a distant perspective any time I look to moderate between two people on whether something is on topic or off topic by reading over the core tour and help articles:
https://...
bmikeMod
- 228k
3
votes
What exactly is a recommendation question on Ask Different?
We do have the software-recommendation tag. This might be a good place to talk about when that is appropriate.
- 7,574
3
votes
Accepted
Are questions regarding topics whose legality is questionable allowed?
That jailbreak exists should be a tip off to the acceptance of grey-area questions on the site. If they weren't allowed, the tag wouldn't exist, right?
We are not the police and the laws are not ...
- 45.2k
3
votes
Accepted
Would you ask about 3rd-party iOS apps here?
Yes - using iOS makes questions on topic for any use of that device. Whether it's a third party or first party device, it's still about a user of an Apple product.
Now - questions covering "on topic" ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
3
votes
Accepted
Sales Figures are Off Topic?
I thought I voted to put a hold on this - but others beat me to the punch. My initial thinking combines two reasons we close questions:
Asking about how Apple does it's business isn't the core ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
3
votes
Accepted
Adding a close reason to explain why recommendations (hardware, book) are Off Topic
I've added a close reason and linked it to the "How to ask a good question" article in the help center. It needs a second moderator to review the wording and approve the change.
The intention is not ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
3
votes
Adding a close reason to explain why recommendations (hardware, book) are Off Topic
Sounds good! I was using very similar wording, also inspired by the Stack Overflow close reason, as a custom close reason in the free-form box on the close dialog.
I like the wording as it stands: ...
grgMod
- 193k
3
votes
Should I close a question if someone is asking for mailing them files?
There's two main categories that these questions fit that, whilst related, are substantially different and require different resolutions IMO:
OS X
For OS X, these types of question are more common ...
grgMod
- 193k
3
votes
What to do with questions where repair/replacement is obviously the only answer?
I'm with Ian - down vote and then vote to close questions that are looking for an off-site resource without documenting the proper research the site asks for:
Consider helping us help you. Take a ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
3
votes
Why does the FAQ say "asking how/why Apple does <some thing XYZ>" is off-topic?
Here are some guidelines to help people decide to cast close/reopen votes as well as help you if your question was placed on temporary hold and remains closed.
First - look at whether the question is ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
3
votes
What exactly are "off-site resources" from the "off-topic" close reason?
Here are off source resource questions I believe should be closed:
Recommend the best book for high school Mac users
What list of iPad models is the most complete?
Where can I buy a twentieth ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
3
votes
Accepted
Shall I close or even delete question based on misunderstanding?
I’m a big fan of there’s no harm in a wrong answer or even a question that can be edited. If the question is something you didn’t realize, answering how you discovered the actual answer can be super ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
2
votes
What happened to '…not about Apple hardware or software' as a Close reason?
Also. Too broad or unclear often apply when someone asks what seems to be a PC or android question. Once you close it as unclear, it can quickly be deleted or edited if there is some relation to Apple ...
bmikeMod
- 228k
2
votes
What exactly is a recommendation question on Ask Different?
What about script writing?
(I know it appears outside the scope here, but hear me out for a second).
It could be argued that this is a recommendation to find an off-site resource for developer ...
- 89.2k
2
votes
Does this post's status suffer from wrong close reason and is indicative of robo reviewing?
I've had a look at your original question (including the full timeline) and thought I'd share my thoughts even though I wasn't one of the close voters.
Is it on topic?
I recall reading your question ...
MonomeethMod
- 63.5k
2
votes
It's broken - then get it fixed!
It will be a case by case basis but I don't think the example you gave should be closed.
It is a reasonable question and others will search for this issue as well. The problem for Ask Different is ...
- 28.7k
2
votes
Why is a specific, non-customer support question on hold as basic customer support?
The close reason used here has two parts. For your question the second part
[...] or questions asking to recommend or find off-site resources (Mac/book/software/tutorial) are off-topic for Ask ...
nohillsideMod
- 92.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible