5

I asked a question today which I felt would probably be off-topic (too close to asking for recommendations). It was put on hold, fair enough.

Why has not it been simply closed? I mention in that question that it may be off-topic so it is not "salvageable" though re-edition.

I would be happy to delete it if needed.

  • It'd be good if you can add the link of your question here. – A J♦ Jul 17 '18 at 14:18
  • @AJ: sure, I updated my question with the link. I did not see it being relevant, though, as I am not disputing anything, rather interested in the mechanics of on-hold vs closed. – WoJ Jul 17 '18 at 14:23
  • Since it has a positive score, you should experience no issues by just deleting it as you indicated you would. – Paulie_D Jul 17 '18 at 16:18
10

It's the same thing, functionally. Questions are put on hold for the first couple of days, then the name changes to closed.

The reason for this is to show that closure is not a permanent state. Users are encouraged to improve the question so that it is no longer off-topic, or otherwise close-worthy.

And for the unsalvageable questions? The only difference is the name, by all means treat it as if it were closed.

  • 1
    There is a little more to it. High-rep users can vote to delete a closed question but cannot vote to delete an on-hold question. The couple of days of on-hold removes the risk of trigger-happy deletions before the OP has a chance to improve the question. – Chenmunka Jul 25 '18 at 8:41

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