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I have noticed a lot of seemingly valid questions are being closed as being too time localized, such as this one or this one.

I agree that in its current form "right now" it can be problematic. However, I also think that if the question were stated as "As of July 12 2010" it should be answerable. But this also begs the question, what happens when on July 12 2011 the next generation of flight simulation games comes out?

What do you think?

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  • begthequestion.info Jul 13, 2010 at 1:26
  • Actually, to beg means either to implore or to dodge. Begging the question, as per the logical fallacy, calls upon the latter meaning. The word beg, in modern English is derived from beggar, which is in turn derived from the Old English word, bedecian, meaning one who solicits alms from the wealthy as a mode of living. While the literal meaning of the phrase is proscribed, the modern age is awash with contextual change. Language is mutable, and this mutability is not constrained to tribal tongues (consider the generational change in American Standard English in the past century). Jul 13, 2010 at 8:28
  • Unfortunately, 600 characters is not long enough for a real argument, and I am pulling this all out of my @ss. :D Jul 13, 2010 at 8:29
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    Limiting it to "July 12, 2010" is still too localized - it's still confined within a specific point in time. In fact, for a "right now" question asked on July 12, it's completely identical.
    – Grace Note StaffMod
    Jul 13, 2010 at 10:43
  • @Mechko, you are going to have so much fun if this proposal ever goes live: area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/1269/…
    – Jaydles
    Jul 13, 2010 at 20:31
  • @jaydles: there are benefits to remaining amongst amateurs. :D Jul 13, 2010 at 21:34

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Oh.. there's a moment... coming. There's a moment coming, it's... it's not here yet. It's on the way... It's still in the future. Here... here it is! (a beat) Oh.. it's gone, man. There's no present, man. Everything is the near future and the recent past.

-- George Carlin (1937 - 2008)

If we allow these questions, we're begging for what are essentially duplicates later on, when the next generation comes out. These questions by definition get outdated, and trying to revive them later is frankly ineffective.

With the ever-advancing state-of-the-art, these questions (to me) should be treated the way Super User tries to treat shopping questions (as that is what they are): Shut 'em down. They'll eventually be just noise.

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    They're not just shut down on SU. They're shut down with a vengeance. Jul 13, 2010 at 3:18

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