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I see a trend among some members to shoot down questions they presumably not have an straight-out answer for. I don't think this makes much sense. Nobody has answers to all thinkable questions, besides we don't all think (and express our thoughts) alike. Shooting down questions that you might not have an answer for prevents others who might actually have an answer (especially if the users "shooting-down" are high-rep users).

I am a supporter of productive critique instead of destructive attitude and can imagine the above mentioned attitude hurting this site in the future.

Am I the only person who feels this way?

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  • 5
    It's hard to say, technically speaking, there isn't a huge increase of question closing. Do you have any specific example in mind?
    – user102
    Commented Feb 5, 2013 at 14:04
  • 4
    Would you mind adding some examples to your question? What you describe doesn't sound familiar to me.
    – eykanal
    Commented Feb 5, 2013 at 14:04

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
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Questions that are closed usually have run afoul of the FAQ's for the board. It's not a sign that there isn't a good question to be asked—it's an acknowledgment that there are problems with the question as it is currently being asked. Not having anything to contribute is not a reason to close a question.

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I think that you might be misinterpreting: the criterion for closure is not “they do not have an answer”, but rather “cannot receive good, objective, fact-based answers”:

not constructive
As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance

not a real question
It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

There are many questions that get no immediate answer, and it's fine. Some of mine have been in that category, taking a month or more to get an answer. That's fine, unless several users (5) think that it simply will not get such an answer: not because they don't know, or because they don't think someone knows, but because the question is inherently impossible to answer in the “Stack Exchange” Q&A style.

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