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I have been told many times "close is not a permanent state, it's just where questions go to be either editted/reopened or else deleted". However the dictionary says: "to bring to an end", "to conclude".

Well, why use the word "close" to mean something it doesn't in our language?

Wouldn't a more gentle term such as "pause" and "unpause" be better for the QA experience?

This question has been closed pending edits.

This question has been paused pending edits. <-- I like that one.

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  • 1
    It also fits more with the "theme" of Arqade. Aug 7, 2012 at 17:17
  • Dupes are closed forever, not paused
    – juan
    Aug 7, 2012 at 17:29
  • Related question on Meta Stack Overflow: I propose changing the term “closed” out for… something else which was declined. It has a lot of bikeshedding about a replacement word as well as arguments about why it might not be such a good idea.
    – user3389
    Aug 7, 2012 at 17:42
  • Thanks @MarkTrapp - that discussion is for SO, and programmers can reasonably be expected to pendantically bandy about definitions for "close". Game players shouldn't be put through that trauma.
    – Amy B
    Aug 7, 2012 at 18:08
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    If we create a different term here, it will create a lot more confusion with people moving between sites. Plus, all of the MSO discussion will be about a state (closed) that does not exist here, and there will be none about the state (paused) that exists only here. Aug 7, 2012 at 19:02
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    When you close a door, can you not open it back up? Besides, it has been said time and time again that the site engine will not accommodate site-specific changes beyond color and image themes.
    – Resorath
    Aug 7, 2012 at 21:53
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    CAKE is a friendly word...
    – user27134
    Aug 9, 2012 at 14:24
  • I agree with @murgatroid99, however I had to say that if it were changed here, I think "Game Over" would be the most appropriate.
    – Tim S.
    Sep 17, 2015 at 0:50

1 Answer 1

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Even though the conversation on MSO was started by programmers in the context of Stack Overflow, the arguments (both pro and con) are still relevant to other sites.

We are not going to be changing the wording on individual sites. If nothing else, there's consistency of experience across the network to consider.

That said, we have recently updated the descriptions of various close reasons to emphasize that closed questions can and should be improved through editing whenever possible.

You can use the existing tools - commenting, editing, upvoting, voting to reopen - to teach new users who happened to have their question closed how Stack Exchange works and how to recover from or prevent a closure. If you feel a new user is being intimidated by their question being closed, lend them a hand and make the necessary edits for them. :)

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