Skip to main content
4 of 6
Fixup of bad MSO links to MSE links migration

List Questions - What to do with new ones

A "list question" recently came up. This is not asking for a list of options which satisfy as set of requirements, that's a "shopping question". They were originally allowed on SF, and still are on SO.

We have been locking old questions with the "Historical Significance" message, so we can still use them as a reference, but new questions can't use them as justification. However, this new question could be of value just the same.

The problem lies not in having multiple options for Answering such question, but in the question of how much detail belongs in the Answer. We could edit in the most minute details and easily hit the 32k character limit given enough time and effort. This would quickly degrade into a useless checklist; akin to using a telephone book for an address book by crossing off the people you don't know.

So, what does the community think? Should we allow these questions and expect an intelligent level of contribution from our professional patrons? Or should we just kill it now and leave future professionals to the same devices we had (trial, error, and learning from our mistakes)?

Chris S Mod
  • 78.3k
  • 36
  • 72