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With the advent of the Triage queue, is it time to look at this previous suggestion again?

Provide "Not enough effort" as a new close reason

Since I've started reviewing the Triage queue, I'm suggesting a lot more closes than I have previously (because previously, I only looked at questions I stood a chance of answering, but a code writing request is readily apparent whatever the language), and 90% of the time I'm suggesting that we close a question it's because it's an outright code writing request.

Currently I'm flagging these as "too broad" (because as a code-writing request, there could be multiple answers), but surely if they actually need closing for being a code writing request, there should be a flag for that?

Previous answers to similar requests had suggested that the offending questions get downvoted and move on, but Triage doesn't give you an option to downvote in the review queue itslef (you can open the question to do this).

However, given that under SO's guidelines nobody will (or at least, nobody should) answer a code writing request, isn't closing with an accurate reason more suitable than having vestigial unanswered questions?

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    related? meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/283177/…
    – bummi
    Commented Jan 12, 2015 at 12:10
  • The close reason will be too broadly applied. There is a huge difference between "Write my app for me with these specs" and "I need a short snippet of code that does x". But it will be used in both cases. I need only point you to the old "minimal understanding" close reason to see what happens when a well intentioned close reason gets over used and too broadly applied.
    – psubsee2003
    Commented Jan 12, 2015 at 12:16
  • I'd say it'd be correctly applied in both cases, if that was the entire content of the question.
    – Sinister Beard
    Commented Jan 12, 2015 at 12:24
  • @BFDatabaseAdmin For the former, yes. For the latter, depends on the context. Assuming inputs and expected outputs are provided, then no. But if you look at the discussion in the question bummi linked above, you will see the community is split on whether or not they should be considered too broad.
    – psubsee2003
    Commented Jan 12, 2015 at 12:28
  • @psubsee2003 But isn't that why each close request is reviewed, and can be rejected? There's always going to be a difference of opinion. I think the "minimal understanding" fell down because it was used where people had put in effort but were operating under a fundamental misunderstanding of how the language works - SO is actually perfect for these sorts of questions, as frustrated Googlers would find their answer. Code writing requests (and here I'm talking about "here's what I want, how do I do it?" are always identifiable, aren't they?
    – Sinister Beard
    Commented Jan 12, 2015 at 12:39

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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I must be on an unintentional crusade against some of these types of questions, but this idea, while well intentioned, will likely end up getting over-used (and abused) like the "minimal understanding" close reason from 2013.

It could definitely be used to close a very annoying subset of questions that come into the site on an hourly basis (namely the "please write an app for me that has the following specs" questions).

But beyond that, there is a divide in the community about where to draw the line between "do my work for me" and "I have been trying to find a piece of code that does x given my input y, how do I do it?". The issue is basically when does a question looking for a specific piece of code become on-topic and reasonably scoped?

Taking a look at the vote splits on my answer linked above (+32/-10 as of this writing) and the comments, plus the other answers, and you'll see the community appears to be split on this issue. Effectively the issue is when does a question become too lazy and transform from a question into a request/demand.

In my opinion, we can't even begin to introduce such a close reason until the community can come to somewhat of a consensus on the question vs request issue and where that line lives. I don't even think we need to find the line, but just get somewhere closer than we are now. Otherwise you just end up confusing people (especially close voters, reviewers, and question askers) due to inconsistent application of the close reason.

In the meantime, you should feel free to flag questions using the "Too Broad" and "Unclear what you are asking" as appropriate.

  • "Too Broad" should be used for questions in which the scope of the question is too broad for the site. Namely questions asking for apps, or questions that are so vague that to completely address the question, novels would need to be written.
  • "Unclear what you are asking" should be for questions in which the issue or question is unclear. And yes, there is some overlap with the "Too-Broad" criteria, so you can use either in some cases,
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  • Despite discussion in the comments, in this longer form I agree. Thanks.
    – Sinister Beard
    Commented Jan 12, 2015 at 13:58
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See also this question: How to handle totally no effort questions

And the duplicate: Should we add a "Do my work for me" close reason?

And another related one: Is "too broad" a valid reason to close a question that doesn't show any research effort?

Looking at the answers and comments at all those question, this option won't be added. You should instead just downvote and take the "Too broad". OR you could take the Off-topic because and then

Questions seeking debugging help ("why isn't this code working?") must include the desired behavior, a specific problem or error and the shortest code necessary to reproduce it in the question itself. Questions without a clear problem statement are not useful to other readers. See: How to create a Minimal, Complete, and Verifiable example.

Or you could use the last one

This question was caused by a problem that can no longer be reproduced or a simple typographical error. While similar questions may be on-topic here, this one was resolved in a manner unlikely to help future readers. This can often be avoided by identifying and closely inspecting the shortest program necessary to reproduce the problem before posting."

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