Is the question “JS/PHP editor software” acceptable?

Question

The question Cross platform JS/PHP editor software with FTP support and code hinting has been closed twice, reopened, and is well into process toward being closed again.

Looking around the site, I see there other very similar questions where the only difference is the language they are targeting. If thats the case, is this question overfly broad because one of the criteria happens to be a popular feature? Seems like a silly line to draw IMO.

It would seem to me that there is a demand for it to be open (since it keeps getting reopened nearly as soon as it gets closed). If the questions is indeed too broad, perhaps there is not a clear understanding among the community about what makes a question overly broad.

In closing:

This community is still very young, and we need to have clear, consistent critera about what makes a question good or bad. I also think we need to take the "baggage" from our experience in the network so far and leave it at the door. This community is going to be vastly different than most other sites on this network and we need to keep that in mind as we move forward.

Answer 1

This is a case where the question itself might simply have crossed that line of "too broad." I don't know if it should be closed, but this is the type of thing that needs to be carefully self-moderated and tempered, and should at the very least be a very small component of this site.

On other sites, we use the phrase "not a real question" because the problem statement doesn't really reflect an actual problem the author is having. It's just a shout out for everyone to start listing the products they use, where the voting is something akin to a popularity contest. Here's how you can tell:

It already has eleven answers
Within minutes, folks were piling in with what they use… but no answer particularly meets the (unstated) needs of the author better than any other. There's a vague sense that voting might correspond to popularity, but this is not supposed to be a "people's choice" poll of who's using what.

There's a lot of heavy voting
Everyone is chiming in because there's no particular answer that is any more correct (or even relevant) than any other. It's just who knows what. A Google search does the same thing.

The "requirements" of the author are commonly available, so the answer justification is nonexistent or non sequitur
There's a lot of answers stating simply I use… I use… I use… but very little detail to explain why it meets the needs of the author. Where features are being touted, it's not even clear if the author is interested in those issues at all.

I often use the term "casting a broad net." It's used when the author doesn't really have a specific question in mind, but hoping to learn… something… by picking through the rubble of the most-common replies later. It is, essentially, a conversation starter. We are trying to avoid too much of that here.

Overall, this question is just eliciting a lot of guess work and building a popularity poll. I don't know if this should be closed, but this is certainly not what this site is for. I just wrote up post addressing a similar issue:

How to deal with similar questions

Answer 2

I closed it the first time, and I'd close it again. It's far too broad.

More specifically, what this question lacks is a problem to solve. Contrast with FTP file editor and uploader that's also a code editor?

The “JS/PHP” question has only a feature list, with 10 suggestions so far. It's well on its way to becoming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_text_editors. In contrast, the “FTP file editor” question provides a workflow (I'm not sure whether to call it a use case or a user story). There isn't just a list of requirements to meet: software that meets the requirement but that is ill-suited to the workflow (overkill, suboptimal, …) would not be a good recommendation.

With only a feature list and no use case, “JS/PHP” boils down to a list of software that passes all the checks.

In a way, this question is good to have had early in the beta — it makes me realize the importance of a user story in a question, not just a list of bullet points. This is step 2 in Tim Post's guideline for a good question: “describe your task”. Come to think of it, this is a crucial difference between a list question and a recommendation question. Recommendations are what we're here for.

Answer 3

The number of JS & PHP code editors "out there" is huge. There is a lot to choose from.

This question asks for a code editor for 2 specific languages and with:

Syntax highlighting - Code hinting (like IntelliSense) - Support FTP - Be cross platform

Because SE sites reach out around the world, I see advantages in sharing user experience in this subject. I did not post this on Stackoverflow, because I respect and agree with it's scope. Here being Software Recommendations SE site, I thought this was the place.

I understand some of you affirm it lacks scope, its too broad. I think its not the question that is too broad, it is that there are a lot of programs ( & answers) to choose from. This causes many answers, each with many options. If the answers lack quality, don't up-vote them, if they can be improved we can all leave comments on the answer asking for improvement. The same applies to the question. Still, the up-votes outnumber the downvotes in both question and answer.

I think the question is appreciated for those who didn't have contact with (for some) basic programs like Vim or Notepad++. And some other (like myself) simply appreciate the input of the community in this subject.