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Based on: When is a different question a duplicate and when it isn't?
and: Should different questions that yield similar/duplicate answers be closed?
adding to the general confusion duplicates are is this: Duplicate Questions: A Trial (has this been successful? i'm assuming negative)

What is the official stance on different questions with different thought processes behind them reaching the same answer based on a common root issue like: W, A, S, D, keys and shift aren't working together
and: How do I remove the limit on PC keyboard button presses?.

In the first question, which is assumed a duplicate, the person is asking if the rollover issue they are encountering is due to a faulty keyboard and if they should seek technical help. In the second case the question is clearly asking for the possibility of a software bypassing the issue (which i assume the user knows is a techical limitation but isn't aware it is a physical and immutable one).

Different questions, discussing the same background issue, thus similar answers, except the first one will have to address the fact this is NOT a broken keyboard, it is just how it was built while in the end the second one is answered by stating that this is a physical limitation that cannot be overcome trough software.

I believe users searching for one or the other would have issues finding theyr own case in the other question assuming they are not tech sawwy enough to understand the root problem being the same.
For example i do not think someone believing a piece of software could solve this for them would see theyr situation fit in a question that expressely asks if the keyboard is broken. Conversely i do not believe someone that assumes their keyboard only behaves like this because it is possibly broken is going to change idea reading that there is no strictly software solutions to their issue.

What is the general rule of thumb to be applied?

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  • Same root cause? Same "solution" (answer)? Then same question and therefore dupes.
    – MBraedley
    Dec 7, 2018 at 14:31
  • @MBraedley Yes, I figured that would be the gist of it. Would that not be counter productive for a FAQ to overly specify questions discouraging this kind of questions? That seems to be the common counter argument on some of the links I provided that contain diverging views on the matter. As I mentioned, I doubt in this case someone that isn't tech sawwy would be able to come to the conclusion that these 2 questions share the same root cause. I also mentioned the answers aren't the same, altho the explaination of why would you answer the question that way indeed is the same.
    – Wolfaloo
    Dec 7, 2018 at 14:42
  • Thanks for the moderation on the question and thanks for sharing your reasoning by the way
    – Wolfaloo
    Dec 7, 2018 at 14:48
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    Don't assume that duplicates are a bad thing, because they aren't. They actually improve the discoverability of solutions. I'm sure there's a meta.SE post somewhere that explains this better than I ever could.
    – MBraedley
    Dec 7, 2018 at 14:51
  • I understand, thanks for the clarification ^^
    – Wolfaloo
    Dec 7, 2018 at 15:29
  • So, what about this? I don't have a link to the question that was marked as a duplicate, but it should be easy to understand why I disputed the marking. gaming.stackexchange.com/a/325990/172464 -Edit- I found a link to the other question, so here you go. gaming.stackexchange.com/q/306857/172464 Dec 16, 2018 at 5:49

1 Answer 1

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In your specific example, if you simplify the questions, you get:

  • "I can't press more than 2 keys at once"
  • "How can I press more than 2 keys at once"

Those, based on community moderation, would absolutely be considered duplicates. As a counterpoint, in the linked meta question, you have the following:

  • "What happens when I try to catch a pokemon when my box is full"
  • "What happens when I try to hatch an egg when my box is full"

Those, based on community moderation, have been considered different enough to warrant each keeping their question open.

Bear in mind that just because a question is marked as a duplicate doesn't mean it is immediately worthless. Duplicate questions, while should be avoided where possible, make the original questions easier to find, thus avoiding additional duplicate questions in the future.

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  • But that's just your interpretation of the first question. It does not appear that the person was saying anything about using more than two keys together, it looks like he was simply saying that he couldn't use even two together. You don't sprint with 3 keys, do you? For most games, it's just shift and w, and he is saying that he can't sprint because he can't do ANY combinations. At which point, his question has nothing to do with a key press limit. Dec 16, 2018 at 5:54
  • Also, there really ought to be a way for the asker to dispute a duplicate question marking, and have the community vote on it based on his/her argument, like a court case. Dec 16, 2018 at 5:56

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