5 ms·
Good explanation, but what's the purpose of deleting duplicates and "off-topic" questions other than saving some SO storage space? Edit: IMO closing duplicates
by singularity2001 8y ago
Good explanation, but what's the purpose of deleting duplicates and "off-topic" questions other than saving some SO storage space?
Edit: IMO closing duplicates makes sense, IFF users are asked 'does the linked duplicate answer you question' and confirm. Deleting only makes sense in case of exact duplicates, otherwise they might be useful variants worth linking.
- Izkata 8y agoClosing duplicates has multiple uses: * Directs the asker to a place where their question has already been answered. * Trains the user to search for an answer instead of blindly asking. * Gets new answerers to put their answers all in one place so it's easier for others to find later. * Not deleting it acts as a signpost for people searching on more variations of the same question. Closing off-topic questions should be obvious: Prevent scope creep and limit the "broken windows" effect.
- wool_gather 8y agoThe general policy is exactly as you've described: duplicates are pointers; they are not deleted. That said, some queries reach a point where they become FAQs ("Why am I getting a NullPointerException?" being the canonical example) and at some point, there's diminishing returns from yet another search target for it.