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I think that close options on Stack Overflow aren't complete. Ok, in off-topic options there's still an "other" option, but it's too bad that other users don't see the reason, but just see a comment posted below.

I think that there should be more options like: "this question can be answered with a simple research", maybe written in a more elegant and gentle way but that explain the concept.

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marked as duplicate by Pëkka, Hugo Dozois, Tobias Kienzler, Jim, animuson Jul 18 '13 at 15:07


All questions can be solved using the internet and time. Who decides what level of too simple is too simple. If its just a definition then I think its already off topic. If its on topic and not a duplicate but simple its if anything a very good thing its on stack overflow because the simple questions help the most people –  Richard Tingle Jul 18 '13 at 13:07
What's wrong with "Off Topic: Must demonstrate a minimal understanding of the problem"? –  David Robinson Jul 18 '13 at 13:10
Related discussion here: Why reward an answer to a low quality question? –  chue x Jul 18 '13 at 13:10
@RichardTingle I think that discretion is still valuable through Stack Overflow users. I also disagree that all questions can be solved using a research, maybe a great part of them can be used doing a research. But not with a simple research, which is the case I want to treat in this question: a question for things that have already hundreds of guides and tutorial on the web. –  Ramy Al Zuhouri Jul 18 '13 at 13:15
@RamyAlZuhouri All questions can be answered with a search on the internet. Should we close all of Stack Overflow's questions with this new option ? –  ʞunɥdɐpɐɥd Jul 18 '13 at 13:26
@ʞunɥdɐpɐɥd I already answered to this in the comment above. –  Ramy Al Zuhouri Jul 18 '13 at 13:28
@RamyAlZuhouri Closing options should not be depending on the interpretation of a user on certain rules. It should be clear when you see a question whether it should be closed or not. Is it a duplicate ? No! Is it a real question ? Yes! Is it off topic ? No. Is it overly broad ? No! Can it be solved by a simple search on the internet ? (Does it have 100 tutorials) .. eh.. wait.. I count 2 or 3.. hum.. I searched for..10 minutes... is that simple.. no.. wait.. long search.. damn... –  ʞunɥdɐpɐɥd Jul 18 '13 at 13:36
@ʞunɥdɐpɐɥd But all what you are describing is biased on interpretation. Even if a question is duplicate or not may be biased on interpretation, since the problem may be considered different for some details form a similar question found on SO. If closing options should not depend on interpretation there were no closing options at all, unless something like "question too long, more than 10000 characters", which is the only deterministic thing that we can say. –  Ramy Al Zuhouri Jul 18 '13 at 13:42

1 Answer 1

What you're talking about here is often refered to as Proof of efforts.
Now, honestly, do you really need something more than this :

enter image description here

If the user does not understand, does not show proof of efforts (searches, tries, fails) or simply fails to explain the problem properly, he obviously didn't searched at all before posting here.

If you feel this option is not good enough (doubtful but still..) you have the other where you can freely express how you feel about the lack of search of the OP.

As stated in the comments, adding an option "Can be solved by a simple research" would be bad. Who would choose what is a simple search and was isn't. Also if you give it time, any questions could be answered with the internet.

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Why not a separate option? I think it's a different case. Not making a research does not mean that you don't have a minimal understanding of the problem. –  Ramy Al Zuhouri Jul 18 '13 at 13:27
No but not understanding, not showing searches or tries means you didn't search. Now, if the user understands, show the code, asks the question properly, shows what he tried and where he failed and the expected results then I'm sorry but no matter how obvious the answer is to you, it's a totally valid question. (Must be sure it's not a duplicate first though) –  ʞunɥdɐpɐɥd Jul 18 '13 at 13:30
@RamyAlZuhouri: By the way, we usually say "doing research", not "making a research" or "with a research." You can also say "making a search" –  David Robinson Jul 18 '13 at 18:13

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