Now that we have SEDE, I created a query with high viewcount questions ( linked to JavaScript ). My assumption is that traffic to these questions is Google generated.
Should a question like this : Faster and cleaner way to parse Parameters from URL in javascript/jQuery?
really be closed since this could be the first exposure to CR for a visitor? I understand the question does not follow the rules, but mayhaps we can grant an exception ? I just dont want CR to look like Wikipedia or SO.
I think these questions (off-topic, old, highly viewed) ought to be tracked and closed. They date back from an age of darkness, when the site's scope wasn't as clear-cut as it is today.
If they're valuable content with some upvoted answers, then perhaps we should put a historical lock on them. I have flagged the question you've mentioned as such.
As a beta site, we cannot afford to "be less strict" on anything that can affect the site's scope.
I know that some questions that are migrated a long time ago, don't retain the migrated mark for all eternity, I have noticed this on other sites as well.
taking that into consideration, those votes and answers may have come from StackOverflow.
another point to address is that this person posted someone else's code here.
They could be Violating Licensing just by posting it here.
this could be a legal issue, therefore we cannot afford to be less strict on this high view question.
if this question didn't have someone else's code, it could be locked with a note that says this isn't what we normally do here but it brings people to our wonderful site and tells them what we do.
From the perspective of someone who only occasionally pops into Code Review but is very active on CodeGolf: I think that in general a stack should be more strict, not less, with high-profile questions, because those questions have a disproportionate influence on what people perceive as the scope and purpose of the site.
