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This may seem very silly to ask, but I've been annoyed on this website by the following closing reason:

•This question does not appear to be about the workplace within the scope defined in the help center.

Going to the help center, I expect to find at least a basic definition of what the/a workplace is within the scope of this SE site. There is however no such thing to be found, making this reason for closure both unclear and the link misleading.

I see two options: Either reword the closure reason to provide more information, or actually provide a relevant definition in the help center.

Which do you favor, and what specifically should the new wording of either be?

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    The wording of that close message isn't under our control, just FYI. That's what happens when people vote to close as off-topic but don't agree on a more-specific off-topic reason, or filled in a comment instead of choosing one. We could probably do better with the help center, though; in particular, people occasionally ask if this site is just for office jobs and the answer to that is no.
    – Monica Cellio
    Nov 17, 2016 at 16:13
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    Is there a particular question you have in mind that calls into question the definition of "workplace"?
    – Joe Strazzere
    Nov 17, 2016 at 17:37
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    As frustrating as it may be, this will be a hard topic to address without some relevant examples.
    – Lumberjack
    Nov 18, 2016 at 20:57

1 Answer 1

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I believe this page explains it pretty clearly.

  • Finding employment (resumes/cv/cover letters, recruiters, hiring-managers, interviews, negotiations, etc.)
  • Maintaining employment (promotions, pay increases, harassment, bullying, poor working conditions, communication problems, etc.)
  • Leadership in the workplace (motivating people, encouraging people, making decisions, holding hard conversations, intervening in unproductive situations, asking for and giving help, etc.)
  • Terminating employment (notice period, breaking the news, handing over work, reference letters, relieving letters, etc.)

In short, the workplace is about interactions involving your place of employment or finding your place of employment.

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  • The closure reason seems to indicate, however, that the issue given is not about a workplace. And while that page describes actionable things regarding the workplace, it doesn't describe what a workplace is for purposes of this site. For example: if you run a daycare and have troubles keeping the kids in line, is that a workplace issue? What if you are dealing with parents or other carers? Similar situations such as hospitals, schools, etc could be given that are tougher to define in this way. I've also seen multiple questions closed with this reason regarding self-employed situations.
    – Weckar E.
    Nov 17, 2016 at 14:34
  • @WeckarE. It's hard to comment on specific questions without being able to read them. Most of our questions deal with aspects that are common across many types of jobs. At a daycare, how to interact with parents (customers) and other carers (coworkers) would likely be on topic. How to deal with children would not be on-topic, because that is specific to being a daycare provider.
    – David K
    Nov 17, 2016 at 14:41
  • Across multiple questions (that I now wish I had bookmarked) I've found that questions not relating to an office environment are often closed for this reason. I cannot say whether that is erroneous or not, but I still find the actual notice unclear.
    – Weckar E.
    Nov 17, 2016 at 15:01
  • I disagree, I think it's more wide : everything that can impact your career or a company. It start from the hiring to the leaving.
    – Walfrat
    Nov 17, 2016 at 15:23

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