could you please reopen my question? The URL of my question is below.
All of my questions are about one sentence. I don't think that my questions are too broad.
Thank you very much for your help.
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1It would help for you to explain either why you think the question was improperly closed, or how you have addressed the reason(s) it was closed.– LawrenceCommented Sep 23, 2016 at 5:07
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As the "put on hold as too broad" message says, "There are either too many possible answers, or good answers would be too long for this format. Please add details to narrow the answer set or to isolate an issue that can be answered in a few paragraphs. If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question." Comments by user3169 and P. E. Dant are also good advice.– Damkerng T.Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 5:07
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I think that if you limited your question to one aspect of the sentence, and explained why you are confused, we might be able to reopen it. As was already mentioned in the comments, posts should contain one question. For example, you might just ask about "such" in that sentence, or pick one of the "does this mean" questions and explain why a dictionary didn't help.– ColleenVCommented Sep 23, 2016 at 12:39
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I have reopened the question after TRomano edited it down to a single topic.– ColleenVCommented Sep 23, 2016 at 14:30
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@ColleenV Just letting my voice be heard, I'm not being problematic... well, a little bit. The question as it now stands is a duplicate of this one: Meaning of 'such' in “Such was her astonishment” There are now two votes cast in favour of closing it. So what help is a question w/o an answer for the database I don't know (see chat discussion) . Qs 7 and 8 could have been left alone, and would have kept the OP's question open. .– Mari-Lou ACommented Sep 23, 2016 at 15:46
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@Mari-Lou The question was edited to address the initial concern and I saw no reason that it shouldn't be re-opened if a community member was interested enough in it to try to salvage it. After I re-opened it, someone else in the community found a potential duplicate. The community can decide if it really is a duplicate or not. I would encourage Li to post new questions about the sentence if they are still confused, so long as they keep in mind the guidance community members have given them about keeping to one topic per post.– ColleenVCommented Sep 23, 2016 at 16:34
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@Mari-LouA Also, as long as it's phrased in a way that is constructive and respectful of other folks in the community, you shouldn't be hesitant to point out when you think something could be better. I've been told that's being a "disrupter" and exhibiting "challenger behavior" and it's supposedly a good thing :)– ColleenVCommented Sep 23, 2016 at 16:38
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1 Answer
I am surprised that you have not learned how to improve the appearance of your questions by now.
Each and every time you post a question, a user has to delete between 30% and 50% content, because it is repetitive, and consequently, redundant.
If users see a mass of text, the post seems unwieldy, confusing, and it looks like you haven't done any research.
You also ask too many questions, on one post you asked ten questions about a single sentence, which is a hell of a lot! This time it is eight questions, an improvement, but the sentence in your post is as long as a paragraph.
I also wonder how useful your posts, and their answers, are to future visitors. They are useful to you, but how many visitors will actually need to know what the word "breast" means? Rather than saying your questions are too broad, I would say they are repetitive, 'localized' (too specific), and they are nearly always asking about meaning.
Reduce the amount of text, the number of questions, and improve the formatting. For instance, compare the first version with the last version (see the link above). Doesn't the final version look easier to read? Even reducing the number of times you repeat the same sentence in your question would be effective, and next time users will receive your questions more positively.
UPDATE
The question was edited, and the number of questions reduced to one, presumably to make the post "on topic".
Then soon after, in a matter of hours, it was closed again as a duplicate. If you're aiming at reopening a question then make sure it doesn't become a duplicate. In similar cases, OPs should select which question or questions they consider to be most relevant, and edit their questions accordingly. If they do nothing, the question remains closed. If they make some sort of attempt, then members can intervene and lend a helping hand if need be.
answered Sep 23, 2016 at 5:29
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To be fair, I expanded the quoted source material when I edited the question. I don't think asking about a long sentence is a problem, especially because those tend to be the most confusing sorts.– ColleenVCommented Sep 23, 2016 at 11:25
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2Leaving a question closed if a user doesn't edit it might be appropriate on EL&U, but not here. There's nothing wrong with a good faith edit to try to salvage a question from a newer user. It often works better than comments to demonstrate how questions should be posed. I personally would have taken the "such" question as well because it was the first question in the post, and it was not obviously off-topic. Frankly it might be good to have the duplicate questions linked to cover searches for "such was" and "such were".– ColleenVCommented Sep 23, 2016 at 22:44
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5The OP is not a newbie, the criticism that his questions contain too many questions is one he is familiar with. It's been levied at him on EL&U and now on ELL. In order to salvage his question, I suggested reducing the number of questions down to four, in the comments (now migrated). I did not choose which one to save because I cannot read users' minds. I think this OP, on this occasion, could have, and should have decided for him or herself. Commented Sep 24, 2016 at 6:24
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2I like this answer. Concise, without standing on ceremony. I think the problem here is that the OP is treating ELL like an answering machine. Insert a question into the slot, and you get an answer out. That behavior, although not probably their fault and not deliberate, is counterproductive.– M.A.R.Commented Sep 24, 2016 at 6:30