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What is wrong with this question?

I've asked about picture, a fillmed and shown on-screen example.

No one provided a correct answer (an actual image pasted into answer or name of the episode, where it can be seen) and question was closed as too broad.

Most of the comments suggests, that question is too broad, because asked event (replicating non-food item out of replicatior) occurs in nearly every episode. And yet no one managed to provide at least one pictured example.

What am I missing? How question can be too broad, when no one provided at least one on-screen example and thus -- no one has actually answered the question.

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  • Dear Downvoter: If someone asks, what he or she did wrong and the only reaspone you have is a downvote, without any comment, then you sound as quite very unprofessional. I hope, you understand this? Downvoting without any comment is a bad attitude across entire SE. Downvoting, when someone did something wrong and politely asks, what, to not make the same mistakes in future, is really bad attitude. Have a nice day.
    – trejder
    Jan 24, 2015 at 16:41
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    Worth noting that on Meta, downvotes mean something different. They often mean disagreement with the post’s argument (probably in this case, the idea that the question wasn’t too broad).
    – alexwlchan
    Jan 24, 2015 at 17:15
  • @alexwlchan Thank you. I'm aware of the fact, that downvotes works a little bit different on meta. However, it is worth noting, that I have never stated here in this question, my closed question wasn't to broad. I only say, that someone took it as too broad and I'm asking, how it can be to broad. All right, this discusion seems slipping toward pointless! :>
    – trejder
    Jan 24, 2015 at 17:47
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    You may not have stated it explicitly, but "How question can be too broad" certainly seems to be leaning in that direction.
    – alexwlchan
    Jan 24, 2015 at 17:50
  • @trejder - I downvoted because of the line "no one has actually answered the question". They have answered, just not to your personal satisfaction.
    – Valorum
    Jan 24, 2015 at 18:29
  • @Richard I'm actually tired explaining this over and over again. If a question asks about on-screen example, then giving off-screen example is simply misunderstanding. It is not about my personal fancy, but about an off-topic answer, answering about something different, than OP asks. If someone would ask "If Da Vinci ever painted that city" would a correct answer be "No, but he wrote a book about it"? I asked, if there is any episode, where we can see it, and everyone, except you, answered "No, but there are many episodes, where we can hear about it". Pointless, don't you think?
    – trejder
    Jan 24, 2015 at 18:32
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    @trejder - keen's answer explicitly referenced the episode TNG : Masks. The fact that you want him to do the legwork in finding you a screenshot is your issue and demanding that this "isn't an answer" is the reason you're experiencing downvotes.
    – Valorum
    Jan 24, 2015 at 18:37
  • @Richard What are you talking about? First of all, Keen did not gave any answer, only a bunch of comments. Second of all, you're the only person, who ever mentioned "Masks" episode (I can't find any other). And third of all, let me remind you, that most downvotes comes from the fact, that most people see this question as too broad. While it isn't. It asks about on-screen example (that we can see, not only hear about) and there's only one valid answer -- yours. Some people misunderstood the question, and thrown a lot of off-screen examples. Claiming, that question is too broad, because...
    – trejder
    Jan 24, 2015 at 18:51
  • @Richard ...such, off-screen example can be heard in most episodes. And most people misunderstood my intention, taking my request for an image as fancy, while it was actually the key to the question (I know myself many off-screen examples and I was not asking about them. I know no on-screen example). And... fourth of all, are we really willing to continue this discussion? There are enough downvotes on main question and here and meta. And there is enough time wasted by both you and me (and others) no this case. Have a nice day. Thumbs up.
    – trejder
    Jan 24, 2015 at 18:53
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    People here have been trying to help you find the information you requested. You've been getting testy because they give you the facts but not the actual screenshot you're looking for. Not everyone has access to the episodes, nor does everyone have the know-how to create screencaps. If the answer isn't up to your standards, that's fine. Don't vote, downvote, ignore it, do whatever you prefer - but don't get all testy at people who are trying to help.
    – phantom42
    Jan 24, 2015 at 19:14
  • One should also remember that some users keep editing answers. It's not at all uncommon that a user (myself included) will write up a text-only answer and come back and add images or just generally improve the answer as I can.
    – phantom42
    Jan 24, 2015 at 19:24
  • Thank you for your arguments. I think, this discussion has passed the border, when no one is going to become convinced by other side, so it is both pointless and time wasting. Cheers.
    – trejder
    Jan 25, 2015 at 9:25

2 Answers 2

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I didn’t vote on this question – it was closed before I saw it – but I can make some suggestions for why people might have voted to close:

  • It sounds like there would be a lot of examples.

    It seems like there are plenty of canon examples of replication of non-food-related objects. Of course, not all of those will have associated pictures (for example, if somebody talks about a replicated object but it’s never seen on screen), but it seems like it would be a pretty long list.

    That alone probably caused some of the “too broad” close votes.

  • It’s not clear why you want images.

    Finding good screenshots takes a fair amount of time, compared to writing a sentence about it, and maybe linking to the episode’s Wikipedia entry. In certain cases, finding an image is absolutely necessary to a good answer – for example, a story ID question where the asker vividly remembers the cover, or looking at pictures of Batman’s computers – but here, I don’t think it’s very obvious.

    (To some users, requiring images as part of an answer might seem like you’re placing an unnecessary imposition on them, but that’s just speculation.)

    The existing answers provide plenty of examples of this behaviour, but not any images. The spirit of the question has been answered, even if the letter hasn’t.

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  • Thank you answer and attempt to explain. As I tried to clarify in many comments, request to provide an image (or information, in which particular episode event of replicating non-food item occured) isn't -- as most incorrectly assumed -- just my fancy. I was specifically asking, if there are any filmed, on-screen example of this event. It is completely obvious to me, that there are many, many off-screen examples, as most life in Star Trek universe is based on replicating anything you need. I don't know, how such obvious question run into such misunderstanding. See my above comment for details.
    – trejder
    Jan 24, 2015 at 16:48
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I think the problem is that you weren't sufficiently clear in your initial question that you were exclusively looking for someone to post up images. You then used an edit to make a not-very-gracious complaint about the existing answers, then posted several comments that weren't exactly brimming over with friendliness.

You have to remember that the close/reopen process isn't intended to be a personal criticism, it's about helping users to get the most out of their questions and helping answerers to understand what you want.

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  • As you can see in initial version of my question, part "Can anyone provide any example picture along with information, from where it comes?" is there from the very first edit. I can't imagine, how more "sufficiently clear" I could be in this case?
    – trejder
    Jan 24, 2015 at 16:44
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    @trejder - Given that you're asking for something genuinely unusual (screenshots), it behooves you to ensure that it's explictly highlighted. It wasn't in the question title, nor was it bolded or segregated within the body of the question.
    – Valorum
    Jan 24, 2015 at 18:32
  • Thank you for your arguments. I think, this discussion has passed the border, when no one is going to become convinced by other side, so it is both pointless and time wasting. Cheers.
    – trejder
    Jan 25, 2015 at 9:26

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