10
$\begingroup$

This post is inspired by answers to this question and a similar list on TEX.SE.

The idea is to make a bunch of templates for commonly-used comments, like comments explaining that a question is out of scope and the question will be closed. Collecting such templates in one place makes it easier for those who don't wish to type out a personalized comment every time they vote to close a question.

Please post templates as answers. This question is CW, so feel free to edit other people's answers to improve the templates.

$\endgroup$
5
  • $\begingroup$ Referring such questions to either stackoverflow or math.SE is often a good idea. $\endgroup$
    – Raphael
    Oct 22, 2011 at 18:51
  • $\begingroup$ Moved the template to an answer and removed the bit about "by moderators." Feel free to edit the template and improve it! (And post more templates) $\endgroup$
    – Robin Kothari
    Oct 23, 2011 at 3:21
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ You may find the Pro-forma comments browser extension useful if you post these templates often. $\endgroup$
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    Oct 23, 2011 at 22:58
  • $\begingroup$ @Gilles it would be awesome if there was a way to have that script automatically fetch comments from this thread. $\endgroup$
    – Artem Kaznatcheev Mod
    Feb 8, 2012 at 14:47
  • $\begingroup$ @ArtemKaznatcheev Please post feature requests on the Stack Apps page. I didn't write this code and wouldn't know how to implement your request. $\endgroup$
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    Feb 8, 2012 at 15:25

8 Answers 8

Reset to default
8
$\begingroup$

User crossposts a question on multiple sites.

It appears that you have crossposted this question *simultaneously*. While we don't mind a question being reposted, our [site policy](https://cstheory.meta.stackexchange.com/a/231/) only permits a repost after sufficient time has passed and you have not obtained the desired answer elsewhere. I am closing the question since simultaneous crossposting duplicates effort and fractures discussion. Please wait a few days and then if your question is still not answered request a reopening by flagging the question for moderator attention (after summarizing relevant discussions from other sites).

Which will appear as:

It appears that you have crossposted this question simultaneously. While we don't mind a question being reposted, our site policy only permits a repost after sufficient time has passed and you have not obtained the desired answer elsewhere. I am closing the question since simultaneous crossposting duplicates effort and fractures discussion. Please wait a few days and then if your question is still not answered request a reopening by flagging the question for moderator attention (after summarizing relevant discussions from other sites).

Version 2:

It appears that you have crossposted this question *simultaneously*. While we don't mind a question being reposted, our [site policy](https://cstheory.meta.stackexchange.com/a/231/) prohibits simultaneous crossposting as it duplicates effort and fractures discussion. Crossposting is only permitted after sufficient time has passed and you have not obtained your desired answer elsewhere. When crossposting please summarize the relevant discussions from other sites in your question and link to the copies in both directions.

Renders as:

It appears that you have crossposted this question simultaneously. While we don't mind a question being reposted, our site policy prohibits simultaneous crossposting as it duplicates effort and fractures discussion. Crossposting is only permitted after sufficient time has passed and you have not obtained your desired answer elsewhere. When crossposting please summarize the relevant discussions from other sites in your question and link to the copies in both directions.

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ This has already been voted on, so I won't edit, but I think it would be stronger if we gave a reason for the problem without requiring someone click through to the link. E.g., "Simultaneous crossposting can fracture discussion and cause volunteers to duplicate work." $\endgroup$
    – Aaron Sterling
    Oct 25, 2011 at 14:12
  • $\begingroup$ I can incorporate that into the text. $\endgroup$
    – Suresh Venkat
    Oct 25, 2011 at 15:31
8
$\begingroup$

New user posts a question which doesn't appear to be in the scope (research-level TCS)

Welcome to CSTheory, a Q&A site for *research-level* questions in *theoretical computer science* (TCS). Your question does not appear to be a research-level question in TCS. Please see the [FAQ] for more information on what is meant by this and suggestions for sites that might welcome your question. Finally, if your question is closed for being out of scope, and you believe you can edit the question to make it a research-level question, please feel free to do so. Closing is not permanent and questions can be reopened, check the [FAQ] for more information.

This will appear as

Welcome to CSTheory, a Q&A site for research-level questions in theoretical computer science (TCS). Your question does not appear to be a research-level question in TCS. Please see the FAQ for more information on what is meant by this and suggestions for sites that might welcome your question. Finally, if your question is closed for being out of scope, and you believe you can edit the question to make it a research-level question, please feel free to do so. Closing is not permanent and questions can be reopened, check the FAQ for more information.

Version 2:

Welcome to cstheory, a Q&A site for *research-level* questions in *theoretical computer science* (TCS). Your question does not appear to be a research-level question in TCS. Please see the [FAQ] for more information on what is meant by this and suggestions for sites that might welcome your question. Finally, if your question is closed for being out of scope, and you believe you can edit the question to make it a research-level question, please feel free to do so. Closing is not permanent and questions can be reopened, check the [FAQ] for more information.

Version 3: when a question is clearly off-topic but suitable for CS.SE and a moderator is migrating it to CS.SE

Welcome to cstheory, a Q&A site for *research-level* questions in *theoretical computer science* (TCS). Your question does not appear to be a research-level question in TCS. Please see the [FAQ] for more information on what is meant by this. We have migrated your question to [cs.se] which has a broader scope.

Version 4: when a question is clearly off-topic but might be suitable for CS.SE

Welcome to cstheory, a Q&A site for *research-level* questions in *theoretical computer science* (TCS). Your question does not appear to be a research-level question in TCS. Please see the [FAQ] for more information on what is meant by this. Your question might be suitable for [cs.se] which has a broader scope.

Version 5: when it is not clear if the question is on-topic and might be more suitable for CS.SE

Welcome to cstheory, a Q&A site for *research-level* questions in *theoretical computer science* (TCS). I am not sure if your question is a research-level question in TCS. Please see the [FAQ] for more information on what is meant by this. Your question might be more suitable for [cs.se] which has a broader scope than cstheory.

Version 6:

Welcome to CSTheory, a Q&A site for *research-level* questions in *theoretical computer science* (TCS). Please check our [FAQ], particularly the section about the scope and the tips about how to write better questions.

Version 4(new): when a question is clearly off-topic but might be suitable for CS.SE

Welcome to cstheory, a Q&A site for *research-level* questions in *theoretical computer science* (TCS). Your question does not appear to be a research-level question in TCS. Please check the [help/on-topic] for more information on what is meant by this. Your question might be suitable for [cs.se] which has a broader scope.

$\endgroup$
8
  • $\begingroup$ I think that few people want to read long boilerplate comments like this. In my opinion, if you prepare canned responses, they should be much shorter, and should link to a relevant meta page for those who want to read more explanation. $\endgroup$
    – Tsuyoshi Ito
    Oct 23, 2011 at 15:23
  • $\begingroup$ I like this idea. We had a few when the site first started, didnt we? $\endgroup$
    – Aaron Sterling
    Oct 23, 2011 at 19:24
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ @TsuyoshiIto: If you like, you can make another template for short closing comments. It's not necessary to have exactly 1 template for each type of comment. That way people can choose between comment templates! $\endgroup$
    – Robin Kothari
    Oct 23, 2011 at 19:42
  • $\begingroup$ Thinking about it, there is no point preparing short canned responses either, because canned responses are useful because they are long and hard to post every time. Therefore, honestly speaking, I fail to see the point of preparing canned responses at all. $\endgroup$
    – Tsuyoshi Ito
    Oct 23, 2011 at 21:16
  • $\begingroup$ I think short templates can be helpful, too. Putting together a welcoming, polite, and brief response is not necessarily trivial for a non-native speaker. Of course nobody is forced to use them, but having some canned responses available for easy copy-pasting (and minor customisation) might be occasionally useful. $\endgroup$
    – Jukka Suomela
    Oct 23, 2011 at 21:58
  • $\begingroup$ @JukkaSuomela: I see, some carefully written responses are probably worth saving in a can even when they are short. $\endgroup$
    – Tsuyoshi Ito
    Oct 23, 2011 at 23:02
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I think this comment should be split into two different ones. One for not research level, and one for not TCS. Currently @Kaveh is leaving these on many non-research level questions, and I think it might not be obvious to the OP (especially after we close as off-topic) if it was the lack of research-level or the lack of scope as theoretical that caused the close. $\endgroup$
    – Artem Kaznatcheev Mod
    Oct 28, 2012 at 0:13
  • $\begingroup$ whether other questions are or are not research level has no effect on whether this one is or is not. If some other off-topic question is not closed that does not mean this question should not be closed even if it is off-topic. High reputation users can vote to close questions they think are off-topic and their judgments can differ from yours. $\endgroup$
    – Kaveh
    Nov 5, 2012 at 17:30
3
$\begingroup$

User posts without using Latex formulas

Welcome to cstheory.SE! A tip: [LaTeX](http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/LaTeX) is supported on this site and you should consider using it so your question can be clearer. For example you can start by putting a $ sign around your formulas.

which reads as

Welcome to cstheory.SE! A tip: LaTeX is supported on this site and you should consider using it so your question can be clearer. For example you can start by putting a $ sign around your formulas.

$\endgroup$
2
$\begingroup$

User posts answer as comment

You should post your comment as an answer. You'll get credit for it, and if appropriate it can be marked as an accepted answer. This will also prevent the question from being automatically reposted periodically by the Community bot.

which reads as

You should post your comment as an answer. You'll get credit for it, and if appropriate it can be marked as an accepted answer. This will also prevent the question from being automatically reposted periodically by the Community bot.

$\endgroup$
1
$\begingroup$

Question lacks motivation/background and it is not clear if it is research-level

Could you please explain the motivation/background for the question? It would clarify that the question is in cstheory's scope and help others tailor their answers to address your question.

Rendered as:

Could you please explain the motivation/background for the question? It would clarify that the question is in cstheory's scope and help others tailor their answers to address your question.

Please add some context/background/motivation for the question if you think the question is a research-level question and in [cstheory.se]'s scope. You can find tips about writing a better question in our [FAQ]. For general level questions please consider posting on [cs.se].

Rendered as:

Please add some context/background/motivation for the question if you think the question is a research-level question and in [cstheory.se]'s scope. You can find tips about writing a better question in our [FAQ]. For general level questions please consider posting on [cs.se].

If you decide to so I would strongly advise reading the related Wikipedia article before posting a similar question there. Also focus your question on why the article is not sufficiently answering your question.

If you decide to so I would strongly advise reading the related Wikipedia article before posting a similar question there. Also focus your question on why the article is not sufficiently answering your question.

$\endgroup$
0
1
$\begingroup$

The OP doesn't seem to have the required basic background knowledge

It doesn't seem that you have the required basic background knowledge in this topic. Please note that the target community of cstheory is professional researchers in theoretical computer science and as such we expect people asking questions here to know at least the basics of the area of their question. If you are not familiar with the basics of this area then please consider posting on [cs.se] which has a broader scope.

$\endgroup$
0
0
$\begingroup$

User posts a question that is off-topic but may be on-topic on another site.

Computer Science

While off-topic here, this question may be perfect on [cs.se]. Try posting your question there!

Becomes:

While off-topic here, this question may be perfect on [cs.se]. Try posting your question there!

Academia

While off-topic here, this question may be perfect on [academia.se]. Try posting your question there!

Stackoverflow

While off-topic here, this question may be perfect on [so]. Try posting your question there!

Mathematics

While off-topic here, this question may be suitable on [math.se]. Try posting your question there!

NB 1: There are many more sites. Please feel free to add appropriate ones.

$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ I prefer to have a weaker language. Plus I don't think the first part is needed, the reason for closing is usually stated separately. Finally I would prefer last part to be "Please consider posting your question there", the current one looks like an order to me. $\endgroup$
    – Kaveh
    Apr 29, 2012 at 14:35
  • $\begingroup$ @Kaveh: Ah, the sensitive-folks thing. Feel free to edit as you wish, I don't feel strongly about the phrasing. $\endgroup$
    – Raphael
    Apr 29, 2012 at 14:53
0
$\begingroup$

User answers a question not on topic on this site

Welcome to CSTheory, a Q&A site for research-level questions in theoretical computer science (TCS). We try not to answer non-research-level question so they do not flourish. It would be better next time to wait for this question to be migrated on [cs.se] before answering it.

which reads as

Welcome to CSTheory, a Q&A site for research-level questions in theoretical computer science (TCS). We try not to answer non-research-level question so they do not flourish. It would be better next time to wait for this question to be migrated on [cs.se] before answering it.

Note that I was not able to find the exact comment where this was discussed on Meta, but it could be nice to incorporate this (remove this line once someone incorporated it).

$\endgroup$

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .