OK, so maybe this will end up being completely wrong and downvoted away, but here goes. Feel free to poke holes in it! :) ServerFault exists to be a good Q&A site for sysadmins, but it also is a great lurkers/searchers site. There are tons of folks that simply google something and end up here. The whole point of an IT "community" is to be a community. When we vote to close things we do so based on various reasons but then additional folks in the close queue have to agree with those reasons. **Personally, I miss the "too localized" close reason...So taking on what Reaces said in his answer, here's my proposed replacement for this particular close reason:** > The question implies a lack of basic research or is such that the > ServerFault community feels it isn't going to be of value to the IT > community at large. You can find more information as to why [here]. **With the [here] hyperlink have a Meta post saying something like:** ---------- > OK, you're here because your question got closed due to a lack of > basic research or is such that the ServerFault community feels it > isn't going to be of value to the IT community at large. > > So what does that mean? > > - Your question (as it was written when voted on) was obvious enough to our community that we felt it had been covered by the IT community > here or at large numerous times and a simple search here or on Google > would have given you the answer(s) or led you in the right direction. > - Your question was just plain silly. It's written where the experts here would read it and ask "Wait...what?" not because we need > clarification but because the question makes no sense period. > Example: "At what speed would my work's internet connection allow me > to not receive spam?" > - Your question is too localized. While it's fine to ask questions about obscure situations, products, or issues that only a handful of > folks might encounter...it's generally considered off-topic to ask us > how to fix something only you are experiencing or to fix your in-house > applications. The IT community at large is unlikely to benefit from > these questions. > - Your question deals with a product/service that offers free/included technical support and you haven't shown that you've > contacted them for resolution. > > "So what can I do? I still need my question answered!" you ask. This > is difficult to answer as a blanket statement, but our advice would be > to start with a good search [here](http://serverfault.com/search), on > [StackExchange](http://stackexchange.com/search), and of course your > favorite search engine(s). If that fails, check with the > OEM/VAR/sysadmin/consultant/etc. that would be the direct contact for > help with the product or situation you are facing. > > **Feel free to present your case! Follow the 5 R's!** > > **R**eword your question accordingly after going through the steps above to show the experts here that what you are facing is **R**eal, > **R**esearched, and **R**elevant. Then vote to **R**e-Open the question. > > If you still feel that the question is warranted or your question is > being treated unfairly, you can ask about it on > [Meta](http://meta.serverfault.com). ----------