I agree with Wrzlprmft's analysis, particularly for very "off-topic" questions (too broad, about content of research, etc.). But as another user with ~16% of answers on closed questions, let me offer another viewpoint.

Consider a question like "I'm worried I ruined my life and could really use help, let me post my super long, specific-to-me question" (example). Such questions should obviously be closed as they violate our community norms; on the other hand, it is very unwelcoming to just downvote and close after someone took the time to ask for help. There is really an opportunity to help someone here, even if we know the question will likely be closed and we won't get much reputation in exchange for a good answer.

I know it's a bit heterodox, but in such cases, I have no problem with answering a question knowing it likely will (and should) be closed.

I agree with Wrzlprmft's analysis, particularly for very "off-topic" questions (too broad, about content of research, etc.). But as another user with ~16% of answers on closed questions, let me offer another viewpoint.

Consider a question like "I'm worried I ruined my life and could really use help, let me post my super long, specific-to-me question" (example). Such questions should obviously be closed as they violate our community norms; on the other hand, it is very unwelcoming to just downvote and close after someone took the time to ask for help. There is really an opportunity to help someone here, even if we know the question will likely be closed and we won't get much reputation in exchange for a good answer.

I know it's a bit heterodox, but in such cases, I have no problem with answering a question knowing it likely will (and should) be closed. As such, I would not be inclined to interrupt users who are in the middle of answering such questions.