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They're not being entirely consistent on this. http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/11/dr-strangedupe-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-duplication/ http

They're not being entirely consistent on this. http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/11/dr-strangedupe-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-duplication/ http://blog.stackoverflow.com/2010/11/dr-strangedupe-or-how-... Jeff in November: "Having one “perfect” form of a question that contains every possible answer to every slight variation of that question is a myth at best and actively harmful at worst" Joel, this month: "Don't answer questions that have already been answered elsewhere"

jessriedel 16y ago
I think it's clear that there's a sweet spot that's not at either extreme. There's naturally going to be discussion about where exactly it lies. Thanks for that link. In case anyone else is interested, here are his "official guidelines": 1. Having one “perfect” form of a question that contains every possible answer to every slight variation of that question is a myth at best and actively harmful at worst. 2. Having dozens and dozens of variations of the same question is clearly bad. 3. What we want is on the order of 4 or 5 similar-but-not-quite-the-same duplicates to cover all possible search terms and common permutations of the question. It is also OK for these duplicates to have their own answers so people who find them don’t have to click yet again to get to a good answer.
- timrobinson 16y ago
  I'm happy to keep duplicate questions in the system, even if it means I repeat myself when I answer them. But question askers need to show that they've done a little research first: if I can type a few words from the OP's question into Google and get a reasonable response, then the question's a candidate for closing. (One phenomenon I've seen is "I don't believe it unless I see it on Stack Overflow". Somehow a Stack Overflow answer is better than the same information posted elsewhere...)
BrandonM 16y ago
Also, in this very blogpost: That’s why we actually don’t mind having several versions of every question, where there are variations in wording or circumstances. The more chance that someone types a question into Google and finds their exact question already answered, the better a job we’ve done. This seems to run contrary to most of the rest of his blog post. At this point, I was a bit confused.
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jessriedel 16y ago

I think it's clear that there's a sweet spot that's not at either extreme. There's naturally going to be discussion about where exactly it lies. Thanks for that link. In case anyone else is interested, here are his "official guidelines": 1. Having one “perfect” form of a question that contains every possible answer to every slight variation of that question is a myth at best and actively harmful at worst. 2. Having dozens and dozens of variations of the same question is clearly bad. 3. What we want is on the order of 4 or 5 similar-but-not-quite-the-same duplicates to cover all possible search terms and common permutations of the question. It is also OK for these duplicates to have their own answers so people who find them don’t have to click yet again to get to a good answer.

timrobinson 16y ago
I'm happy to keep duplicate questions in the system, even if it means I repeat myself when I answer them. But question askers need to show that they've done a little research first: if I can type a few words from the OP's question into Google and get a reasonable response, then the question's a candidate for closing. (One phenomenon I've seen is "I don't believe it unless I see it on Stack Overflow". Somehow a Stack Overflow answer is better than the same information posted elsewhere...)

BrandonM 16y ago

Also, in this very blogpost: That’s why we actually don’t mind having several versions of every question, where there are variations in wording or circumstances. The more chance that someone types a question into Google and finds their exact question already answered, the better a job we’ve done. This seems to run contrary to most of the rest of his blog post. At this point, I was a bit confused.

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