What is meta? ×

I would like to know why my question, Is there a standalone interpreter for windows? was closed as "not constructive."

share|improve this question

migrated from stackoverflow.com Jul 29 '11 at 8:22

This question came from our site for professional and enthusiast programmers.

People, you all know that I'm not interested in reputation, so don't waste your daily voting quota by downvoting my question. –  Saravanan Jul 29 '11 at 7:40
A couple of points: If you register, you'll be able to use meta; Secondly, the description of the close reason is there, to paraphrase "there's no single correct answer" to your other question –  Rowland Shaw Jul 29 '11 at 7:41
@Rowland Shaw: This is a boolean alike question. Yes or No. If there is standalone php interpreter, then please tell me. Agree or not? –  Saravanan Jul 29 '11 at 7:42
But an answer "yes, there is" isn't particularly useful to you. If you consider the slightly more in depth options of "Yes, use X" or "Yes, use Y" then you're in no single answer territory. –  Rowland Shaw Jul 29 '11 at 7:46
@Rowland Shaw: Hmmm, maybe you got some valid point, but can you help me migrate this post to meta? –  Saravanan Jul 29 '11 at 7:50
Already did; although I believe it'll be an orphan if you're not a registered user –  Rowland Shaw Jul 29 '11 at 7:54
@Rowland Shaw: Your argument is plain wrong. Here both "Yes, use X" and "Yes, use Y" are answer, each of them correct (assuming "X" and "Y" both do the job). In this sense his question is like any other, e.g. this one. –  maaartinus May 17 '12 at 17:27

2 Answers 2

Because it isn't, let's consult the FAQ:

  • a specific programming problem ➢ Nope
  • a software algorithm ➢ No
  • software tools commonly used by programmers ➢ Nah, kind of...
  • matters that are unique to the programming profession ➢ No

That's 0.5 out of 4.

Now let's check your question, especially what it reads like in the eyes of the average SO-User:

I need x please find it for me.

You see the problem there?

share|improve this answer

Eh, I dunno. I think it is a valid question. PHP devs tend to be a bit, eh... testy, let's say. I can see them getting riled up at the gall of someone who didn't want to install the toolset. I mean, what's the big deal? Just install it and be done! Why would you need a standalone compiler?

If you had flagged and asked for a reopen, I'd have done it. So I am considering this a request to reopen.

share|improve this answer
I think this boils down the question if questions in the style of Where can I get version y of product x? and Does version y of product x exist? are valid or not. –  Time Traveling Bobby Jul 29 '11 at 10:35
@Bobby: I can definitely see that. But I can also see OP's point too. Its definitely borderline, but I don't think it qualifies as a "shopping" type question. I believe it can be definitively answered (if one exists), and that it relates to software tools. So, as I said, in cases like this when the user asks for moderator intervention, I usually act. But, if it gets closed again, I won't go against the community twice. –  Won't Jul 29 '11 at 11:04
@Won't: The OP is my friend and he wanted to reopen the question. To prove this, the OP has emailed me his open id generated by SO. The OP open id is c54f7df2-4537-4872-94d9-df24f2c9e157 –  user774411 Jul 29 '11 at 11:32
@DeeJay: That.... is very odd. –  Won't Jul 29 '11 at 11:53
@Won't: I recommend SO to OP because SO is very helpful to programmer... –  user774411 Jul 29 '11 at 11:56
@DeeJay: K, but he can come here if he wants. He doesn't need to hand his OpenId to people for them to post in his place. –  Won't Jul 29 '11 at 11:58
@Won't: The op is unregistered user... –  user774411 Jul 29 '11 at 12:00
@DeeJay: The answer to that is so obvious my head assplode. –  Won't Jul 29 '11 at 12:01
@Won't: I like that word, I haven't heard that before. :D –  Time Traveling Bobby Jul 29 '11 at 12:03

You must log in to answer this question.