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It looks like our new list of close reasons is missing "too localized", to be used in cases like these:

  • "Where's the problem in my arduino code dump?" (scope too limited)
  • "What's the fastest X?" (only correct until a faster one comes out).

Do we still want to close questions like this? Is there a better way to define what it means to be too specific?

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The current suggestion network wide is that these situations should be covered by using the Close as Off-Topic with the Other option and using the description to describe why the question should be closed. This is then added as a comment to the question along with the vote.

The reason why the "too localized" reason did not make it into the current set of close reasons is apparently because it was one of the most widely abused and mis-used close reasons before the shake up. Although it was occasionally used correctly more often than not it wasn't and the result was misunderstanding, accusation of bias and recriminations.

So, with regard to your example 'localised questions', I would suggest the following reasons:

Where's the problem in my arduino code dump?

  • This question appears to be off-topic because it is asking for someone to review and possibly debug your code. While tangentially about robotics it is mainly a programming question with such a narrow scope that it is unlikely to help future visitors to the site.

What's the fastest X?

  • This question appears to be off-topic because it is asking for information which is likely to go out of date very quickly. While an answer may be relevant now, it is unlikely help future visitors to the site.

If we feel that this is a significant problem, we could consider adding Questions which are too localised to the Some kinds of questions aren't allowed here section of our What topics can I ask about here? page in the help centre. Suggestions for this can be added to my answer on our What should our FAQ contain? meta question

We could also add it to our list of close reasons, but since we only have three of these and each 'too localised' close is likely to be for a different reason, I think that sticking with Close > Off-Topic > Other is fine for now.

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  • $\begingroup$ Hmmm... it might be sufficient just to list a few types of questions that are offtopic with the appropriate explanations as to why they are offtopic (such as those you just mentioned). $\endgroup$ – Ian Jun 30 '13 at 2:22

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