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This question was automatically deleted, because it was put on hold and... I am not exactly sure why it was deleted, but my question is mainly why it was put on hold in the first place.

closed as unclear what you're asking by [some people] Jun 3 at 12:36

The question itself was

How do you get custom heads in minecraft Nintendo switch

And the body was

I have tried for an hour and can not get it to work

It had the tag [minecraft-console]

This is not really a high quality question, but what about it was unclear?

As I understand it the asker wants to know how to get a custom player head in the switch version of minecraft. It is possible to get custom player heads in the java version, so to me it seems pretty clear, that the question is about how to do the same thing in the nintendo switch version.

How else could this question be understood? What is unclear about it?

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  • 5
    I'm tempted to ask it again with better quality, just to show it can be a valid question. Such questions should always, always, always be edited, not close-voted. By closing, we lose both a question and a new user, when everything could have gone fine.
    – user143228
    Jun 19, 2019 at 10:31
  • 2
    @RudolfJelin A closed question is not an unsalvageable question. You'll noticed that when a question is first closed, it is actually put "on hold" precisely so it can be edited. Once edited, the question is automatically added to the Reopen Votes Queue, where it can be reopened if it is no longer unclear, or too broad, or otherwise off-topic. Closing a question is never done to spite a user, it's an attempt to help them by saying "We can't help you until you help us understand first".
    – Wrigglenite
    Jun 19, 2019 at 21:55
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    @RudolfJelin Notice the wording of the close reason: "Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking.". Closing a question is the first step to a better question, if only the OP can make it better.
    – Wrigglenite
    Jun 19, 2019 at 21:55
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    @Wrigglenite Sorry, I might have gone a bit over with my arguments, but I hope you get my point. Many questions get deleted, when they could have been salvaged, but nobody does so. Not only the OP can do so, often it's "just" (very) poor wording, that isn't understandable until a few re-reads. I just feel that editing is the way to go, not mass-VTCing.
    – user143228
    Jun 20, 2019 at 5:37
  • @RudolfJelin The question was closed due to a lack of information that only the OP can provide. No one else can make the question worth reopening other than the OP, so I'm not sure what you mean by editing in this case. When questions can be edited and improved, we certainly do so.
    – Wrigglenite
    Jun 20, 2019 at 7:16
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    @Wrigglenite What information does the question lack that makes it either unclear, or too broad? You said you would like the asker to state what they have tried, and I do agree with that, but I don´t think that information would make the question any clearer, or less broad.
    – user232393
    Jun 20, 2019 at 7:21
  • @Mr.Bear I think that question is being thoroughly discussed in the comments to my answer, but the short answer is that if we make any assumptions about the question, such as what they're trying to do or in what way it doesn't work, there is no way of knowing whether an answer will actually help the OP or not. With that uncertainty present, we're not answering questions, we're guessing possible solutions to a problem we're assuming to exist. If we guess wrong, we're not helping the OP, and most likely actually irritating them with an answer that doesn't apply to their case.
    – Wrigglenite
    Jun 20, 2019 at 7:34
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    @Wrigglenite I am sorry, I feel like I´m kinda the annoying one here, but you will have to make some base assumptions on every question, like that the asker actually wants to solve their problem and that they want to achieve what their question suggests. In minecraft often also that they use the current version and/or that they understand the tag system well enough to pick the correct tag. I don´t see any ambiguity in this case though. What they try to do appears to be clear, but I´m repeating myself. If you disagree, then please tell me what else the asker could possibly be trying to achieve.
    – user232393
    Jun 20, 2019 at 7:45
  • @Mr.Bear Let's imagine the post had not contained the words "I have tried for an hour and can not get it to work", and that the OP had made no attempt at solving the problem on their own. With no assumptions in place, an answer might either provide a solution, or say that what the OP wants is impossible. By saying that they have been trying something, the OP is already ruling out some solutions, but we have no idea what they might be. If someone posts an answer that contains the exact solution that the OP has tried, that won't be of any use to them. We can't do better than that in this case.
    – Wrigglenite
    Jun 20, 2019 at 7:51
  • @Wrigglenite So the unclarity comes from the fact that the asker stated that they have already tried some things? As I said before, not providing the information what they have tried, lowers the quality of the question, it doesn´t make it easier to solve it either. I also understand that it makes it more likely to give an answer that won´t help. In this case there actually is no helpful answer, all we can do is to tell the asker that there is no reasonable solution. That doesn´t change due to the fact that they tried some things though.
    – user232393
    Jun 20, 2019 at 8:02
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    @Mr.Bear Ah, I see where you're coming from now. You're using your knowledge of the answer to judge whether the question should be closed or not, which is generally not how questions are voted upon. In short, a question should stand on its own, not because of the existence of an answer. Ideally, anyone who has an interest in the game should be able to tell whether a question should be closed or not, regardless of whether they know the answer to the question.
    – Wrigglenite
    Jun 20, 2019 at 8:19
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    @Mr.Bear Thinking about it some more, I see no reason this question should be closed if the part about having tried something is removed, even with no knowledge of an answer. It would present a problem ("I want a custom head on Nintendo Switch") and ask for a solution, with no assumptions from the OP or anyone else. I have undeleted, edited, and reopened the question. Feel free to edit the question if I've missed anything.
    – Wrigglenite
    Jun 20, 2019 at 8:28
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    @Wrigglenite Thank you, can you add that to your answer so that it makes sense to mark this question as resolved? Or maybe make a new answer, depending on what you feel is appropriat in this case. I´m a bit unsure what I should do now.
    – user232393
    Jun 20, 2019 at 8:36
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    TL;DR: downvote maybe, but keep open (related). I am so happy this all got resolved.
    – user143228
    Jun 20, 2019 at 11:20

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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The wrong close reason was used, it should've been "Too broad" instead. There is not enough information in the question to narrow down the problem enough to suggest a solution, so it's too broad to be answered.

In this case, the question doesn't mention what they've tried, doesn't mention what happens when they try, and it doesn't mention why they believe it should be possible in the first place.

After realizing that the part of the question mentioning that the OP has been trying "for an hour and can not get it to work" made no difference to the larger question, being that of how to get a custom head at all, I have undeleted, edited, and reopened the question. If any individual solution ends up being unhelpful to the OP, at least we'll have a starting point from which to help them, while still having answers for anyone else who might be trying to solve the same issue.

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  • And Unclear works just fine for those same reasons. No need to get hung up on which to use; this is one of those scenarios where either is good.
    – Frank
    Jun 17, 2019 at 21:23
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    I still feel like this question was clear enough to suggest a solution, though the question was of low quality. I´m also not sure if "too broad" is correct. I respect the decision of the community, but to me it feels like it should´t have been put on hold.
    – user232393
    Jun 17, 2019 at 21:29
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    @Frank You see this question? It's clearly not the same. Spam of Unclear close votes has been a problem for new users for a long time here on Arqade.
    – Wrigglenite
    Jun 17, 2019 at 21:34
  • gaming.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/12000/… Again, there is overlap. This question is absolutely unclear. We literally have a first comment asking for clarification.
    – Frank
    Jun 17, 2019 at 22:11
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    @Frank Maybe I´m just stupid, but I honestly fail to understand the question in any other way than what my answer to it would suggest. You can make custom player heads in the java edition, how do you do the same thing in minecraft for nintendo switch? I really see no other way to interpret the question, it seems to me to be specific enough to be answered and I really can´t see any other way to interpret it. What information would you like to have before you feel that the question is clear enough to be answered, or not too broad? How else can this question be interpreted?
    – user232393
    Jun 17, 2019 at 23:05
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    @Mr.Bear I see no attempt at solving the problem themselves, other than a statement of effort, without anything to back it up. There's nothing there to help answers help them; we don't have anything they've tried, what tutorials they've followed, commands they've used, etc., etc. Basically, the same things Wrigglenight is mentioning for Too Broad. If someone's going to say they've tried, it's usually a good idea to show us that they did, especially for games like Minecraft, which contains an entire programming language and ups the complexity by orders of magnitude.
    – Frank
    Jun 17, 2019 at 23:19
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    @Frank As I said, the question is of poor quality, there is no information on what the asker has tried, I agree on that, but it feels very clear to me what the asker wants to achieve, the question itself also feels really simple to me, though the answer I provided doesn´t feel very satisfying, because it simply isn´t possible to create custom player heads in the switch version of minecraft. I personally feel like I know what I´m talking about when I´m talking about minecraft and I don´t understand how the question is unclear. A lack of effort doesn´t make the question unclear either.
    – user232393
    Jun 17, 2019 at 23:47
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    Why is it even too broad? A cursory search shows some three-minute youtube videos that purport to explain how to get custom heads. Surely a simple list of instructions can answer that. I don't know if they apply to the switch version (or if the switch version even supports heads - in which case a valid answer is "you can't"). If the OP has a specific problem that the general instructions don't cover, they can ask a follow-up question.
    – Troyen
    Jun 19, 2019 at 1:22
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    @Troyen a question like "it doesn't work" without errors or descriptions is too broad, because we can't assume what doesn't work or why. There may be a reason why the OP didn't get it to work and we should at least know what they've tried so far.
    – dly
    Jun 19, 2019 at 6:26
  • @dly In the java edition it is possible to give yourself a custom player head with this command: /give @s minecraft:player_head{SkullOwner:{Name:"dly"}} 1. Now imagine that the asker had included that command in the question, and that they tried it in the switch edition and that it gave them a regular player head, or that nothing happened (I´m not sure which one of those would happen in the switch edition). How would that make the question less broad? It would increase the quality of the question, but it wouldn´t help with solving the problem.
    – user232393
    Jun 19, 2019 at 21:50
  • @Mr.Bear seeing the right command, perhaps with wrong syntax or suited for the wrong platform helps a lot. A question about minecraft commands should at the very least include either commands that have been tried or error messages. Otherwise we don't know what the actual question is. Did they use the right command on the wrong platform? Or are there syntax errors? Or doesn't it work at all? We need at least something to begin with, so we don't start another guessing game.
    – dly
    Jun 19, 2019 at 21:58
  • @dly It doesn´t work at all, NBT-tags do not work in the switch version of minecraft, so it isn´t possible to give yourself a custom player head in that version. The asker said that it is the switch version, which in this case is enough information.
    – user232393
    Jun 19, 2019 at 22:02
  • @Mr.Bear and with custom resources? Only because NBT is no option this doesn't mean that there is no other way. "I have tried for an hour" - tried what? Commands, resource packs, cheating, praying,..? I get your point, because it's simple to say "Commands don't work", but what if they wanted a different solution (like custom resources)? That we don't know -> too broad.
    – dly
    Jun 19, 2019 at 22:09
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    @dly I`m fairly sure that you can´t do much more than using a custom resource pack in the switch version, and even that is difficult and likely not something that the asker can do (I couldn´t, I just know it´s possible in theory). If the asker really wanted a solution that goes far beyond that, like hacking the code of the game to implement NBT-tags (or at least custom player heads), then yes, there is definitely not enough information in the question. Though I think it´s a reasonable assumption that the asker didn´t look for a solution like that.
    – user232393
    Jun 19, 2019 at 22:16
  • @dly Should we really put a question on hold for being too broad, just because the asker could have wanted something that they didn´t mention rather than what people would naturally assume after reading the question? Or maybe I´m wrong and most people would assume something other than I did? In that case it would be nice if someone told me what people would naturally assume after reading the question. Or did I misunderstand what you said? In that case I´m sorry
    – user232393
    Jun 19, 2019 at 22:34

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