Custom Close Reason Post-Mortem

Question

Why does this Python maze-solver NOT get stuck? [closed]

This question was closed using the custom close reason.

The comment posted with the custom close reason was:

This question appears to be off-topic because it is about explaining what the code is doing, rather than reviewing it.

Should this question instead have used the existing close reason:

Questions must involve real code that you own or maintain. Questions seeking an explanation of someone else's code are off-topic. Pseudocode, hypothetical code, or stub code should be replaced by a concrete example.

or perhaps:

Questions containing broken code or asking for advice about code not yet written are off-topic, as the code is not ready for review. Such questions may be suitable for Stack Overflow or Programmers. After the question has been edited to contain working code, we will consider reopening it.

(The user seems to suggest the code might not work as intended and is looking for an explanation as to why not.)

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Disclaimer: I am not suggesting the question be re-opened and re-closed just to get the close reason right. This is part of a broader look at our use of custom close reasons.

Answer 1

• Should this question instead have used the existing close reason:

  Questions must involve real code that you own or maintain. Questions seeking an explanation of someone else's code are off-topic. Pseudocode, hypothetical code, or stub code should be replaced by a concrete example.

No

• or perhaps:

  Questions containing broken code or asking for advice about code not yet written are off-topic, as the code is not ready for review. Such questions may be suitable for Stack Overflow or Programmers. After the question has been edited to contain working code, we will consider reopening it.

Perhaps, but what's wrong with:

This question appears to be off-topic because it is about explaining what the code is doing, rather than reviewing it.

Which is exactly why the question is off topic, and is also the comment on the off-topic close reason.

Your question suggests the current reason is wrong, but it is not. The question does not ask for the code to be improved, but to understand why the code does what it does.