26
votes
What's so problematic about a recommendation question having potentially hundreds of answers, anyway?
Why do these questions get closed?
We close these questions because they're list questions, which we declared as off topic in 2010. List questions tend to break our Q&A format: there's no single ...
- 36.9k
19
votes
Accepted
Good questions that will become bad
I'm going to speak to the general policy question. I don't think the example cited is a very good question yet (it needs more than one recommendation criteria) but that's a discussion which should ...
- 52.7k
17
votes
Accepted
Is a question asking about a specific list on topic or not?
Bounded list questions are currently on-topic
But that doesn't necessarily make them 'good' questions. But 'good' is also a very subjective thing.
For some, these may be akin to "read the book to ...
- 122k
17
votes
What's so problematic about a recommendation question having potentially hundreds of answers, anyway?
This is what forums are good at
RPG Stack Exchange hasn't evolved mechanisms to accommodate people who really don't have any more detailed requirements because there are already a hundred and one ...
- 239k
15
votes
Accepted
Where to find races and classes in 5e
I think this might be a good use of a single-answer Community Wiki, as the list would be relatively stable and wouldn't change simply by a drive-by reader's opinion, and would only need to be updated ...
- 239k
14
votes
What's so problematic about a recommendation question having potentially hundreds of answers, anyway?
To elaborate on doppelgreener's answer, I'd like to focus on the fact that StackExchange's goal is to be a repository of experts and expertise.
When a recommendation question contains detailed ...
- 10.3k
14
votes
I want to post some questions that will require (finite, community wiki) list answers. Kosher?
This is probably OK. A constrained list of a very particular type of information which is not likely to change often isn't going to cause the kind of practical problems as asking for an unbounded list....
- 239k
12
votes
Accepted
What are list questions?
List questions are as Shog9 describes in the Meta Stack Exchange question you linked, What is the definition of a list question?: they're the types of questions from our Don't Ask which lead to ...
- 36.9k
11
votes
Accepted
Concerns over the D&D Translations question
Yes, that's a (small) problem (and potentially a slightly larger precedent-setting one too). List questions can be a problem for a few reasons, most often due to being unbounded, but also if the ...
- 239k
11
votes
Accepted
How can I better formulate this question about Easter Eggs in 5e adventures to make it stackable?
I think one issue is definition, what is an "Easter egg"?
One dictionary describes an Easter egg (in this sense) as a hidden feature in a commercially released product (such as software or a ...
- 26.2k
10
votes
How can I better formulate this question about Easter Eggs in 5e adventures to make it stackable?
The question invites speculation.
I think my biggest concern about the question is less that it solicits a list answer or multiple unrelated answers, and more about the type of answer that it asks for....
- 107k
9
votes
Are questions of the form "what are all the X with property Y" on-topic?
We have a 'too broad' close reason. We should use it more often (and more on things that are broad, not just things that are hard). These questions are usually pretty terrible in a down-vote-worthy ...
- 65.8k
8
votes
"Find Me a Resource"
List-type questions can be okay. You said in your answer:
We don't allow list questions because the list has to be maintained in order to be correct.
This isn't the problem with them, though; many ...
- 36.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Should answers for questions about (re)sources for games be made CWs?
No, resource questions—that aren't inherently too broad—should be normal, non-CW questions and their answers should almost always be normal, non-CW answers.
We're actually okay with lists—so long as ...
- 239k
8
votes
Accepted
Is this question about invisibility a list question?
No, it's not a list question, because it does not ask for a list.
The question asks what is the earliest level where invisibility is possible. It asks for a minimum quantity, which can be measured ...
- 31.1k
7
votes
Accepted
Is a question asking what WoTC-published, D&D 5e classes are available a viable Stack question?
I don't have much of an argument to make other than
the reasoning in the linked meta, and
the good reception the two linked canonical-list questions have gotten.
But here it is, for people to vote ...
nitsua60Mod
- 98.6k
6
votes
(Not) closing question for Spells with Concentration vs Spells with Thunder/Lightning Damage
The other question is a tool recommendation that was asked before tool recommendations became off-topic. I have voted to close accordingly.
Note that in both cases, the question could have been ...
- 141k
4
votes
Good questions that will become bad
While I agree fully with BESW's answer as a general policy, I think there's room to be proactive about these sorts of things as well. Rather than let a question we know will be bad in the future sit ...
- 8,221
3
votes
Accepted
(Not) closing question for Spells with Concentration vs Spells with Thunder/Lightning Damage
Also keep in mind that "these other questions aren't closed" doesn't mean they're good questions. They might be from e.g. 2010 before we were clear on stuff. They may just have snuck by. Mods don't ...
- 172k
2
votes
"Find Me a Resource"
Asking for a list is not OK.
Link-only answers are not OK.
Asking for a link to a list should be doubly triply not OK.
We don't allow list questions because the list has to be maintained in order to ...
- 53.9k
1
vote
(Not) closing question for Spells with Concentration vs Spells with Thunder/Lightning Damage
It was originally closed because it was asking RPG.se to create a list, but it was the kind of list that would continue growing over the years. A list question that needs regular maintenance for its ...
- 239k
1
vote
Accepted
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible