I know that this topic has already been addressed many times, but I am convinced that a good example is better than many dissertations. I simply can't find a good reason for closing the question. It should be needed something like Missing research effort or something like that.

My opinion is that this problem is caused by the wrong idea of being too polite, whilst in some cases the truth is not so nice to be told...

Here is the link: which datatype is used for values that contain alphabets, numbers and punctuation?

In case the OP will decide to delete it, let me add the content here:

Which MySQL datatypes will be used to store values like:

  • A23

and values like:

  • M/Sub11

migrated from meta.stackexchange.com Apr 21 at 13:55


It is funny the question was destroyed shortly after you posted it here. –  usr May 4 at 14:13

2 Answers 2

If you can't find a good-enough reason to close, have you considered that the question maybe shouldn't be closed?

The question isn't really off-topic, it's pretty clear what's being asked, the range of possible answers is quite limited and not really subject to opinion. Yes it's a poor question, but lack of research effort isn't in itself a valid close reason. Remember the tooltip on the downvote button:

This question does not show any research effort; [...]

If you find a duplicate, that's a fine close reason. Downvote if you feel like it.

If the entire content is exactly what was quoted in this question, that question looks kinda unclear to me. A list of examples is not a spec. –  Jan Dvorak Apr 20 at 10:13
The title completes it. –  Mat Apr 20 at 10:20
Good point; a little more polishing can still be done, though, if the question is worth polishing. –  Jan Dvorak Apr 20 at 10:44

Consider that there is also the possibility of writing your own custom close message. Something like:

This question is off topic because it lacks sufficient information to properly gauge the level of knowledge for proper answers. Please consider [edit]ing this question with the additional information you already know and understand about mysql string data types.

While I said 'off topic' there, it might be wordsmithed to something better. The key is that the question, in its present form isn't going to be helpful to the next person finding it. Stack Overflow is a poor substitute for a crowd sourced google.

The other thing is that with a question that is so... basic, there may be dups for it as it was likely asked before. Such as String equivalent in mysql datatypes


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