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In the help about "on-topic" it reads: Understanding mathematical concepts and theorems. However, this question: Why is a curve that intersects itself not a manifold? was closed as "off-topic", without further clarification. This is a form of hostility toward people who are honestly trying to understand a mathematical idea. The lack of clarity in the criteria applied here (and in other parts of SE) discourages those who care about quality to ask new questions in this site, and likely elsewhere (think about that). Why is it valid to post a question regarding Division by zero and "off-topic" to ask about self-intersecting curves? Regarding the invitation to "improve" the question, shouldn't the closevoters be the ones who need to improve instead?

I've been asked whether this question is a duplicate. It is not, for the simple reason that I'm not asking how to reopen a specific question. The comments below, the down- and close-votes I'm receiving and the lack of a proper answer (so far), indicate a strongly defensive attitude toward the rules of the SE game and how they are twisted to support polite aggression. Sadly, my conclusion in the title above remains.

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    $\begingroup$ Please don't compare the spirit of the site in 2011 to that of 2018. That's not how it works. $\endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila Mod
    Commented Feb 6, 2022 at 15:37
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    $\begingroup$ I'm quite sure this falls under a class of questions that would be closed for the standard lack-of-context reason today or in $2018$, the only possible deterrent perhaps the level of the question, if at all. The message says : "This question is missing context or other details", and it is missing context or details e.g. whatever a lemniscate is or how a self-intersection is defined, for example. I would like a demonstration of the "quality" in this question, the close reason cannot be refuted without that. There are inconsistencies in closure, but I see this as fairly clear-cut. $\endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Ravichandran Iyer
    Commented Feb 6, 2022 at 16:27
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    $\begingroup$ @SarveshRavichandranIyer Thanks for the comment. I don't think that the closevoters didn't make sense of the question because they couldn't understand what a self-intersecting curve is, even though the lemniscata was offered as an example. The question is both legitimate and interesting. In fact you can find discussions about the issue in several books. $\endgroup$
    – Leandro Caniglia
    Commented Feb 6, 2022 at 16:58
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    $\begingroup$ @LeandroCaniglia Thank you for your prompt reply. I am of the view that the question has been closed because some posters felt it lacked the details that may have made it interesting. I see the legitimacy and interesting nature of the question to be restricted to those that have read the necessary books may have the ability to appreciate the question. However, those that haven't the necessary exposure will find the question unmotivating and hence vote to close. I think this is quite a common and reasonably-justified stance on meta. $\endgroup$
    – Sarvesh Ravichandran Iyer
    Commented Feb 6, 2022 at 17:18
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    $\begingroup$ You asked precisely: "Why is a curve that intersects itself not a manifold? For example, why is the lemniscate not a manifold?". You shared nothing about your background, nor why the question is of interest to you, nor any evidence of any attempt on your part to research before asking. And was closed for lacking anything but a problem statement. It was closed properly. $\endgroup$
    – amWhy
    Commented Feb 6, 2022 at 17:19
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    $\begingroup$ @amWhy It wasn't me who asked or answered the question. $\endgroup$
    – Leandro Caniglia
    Commented Feb 6, 2022 at 17:26
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    $\begingroup$ This question is one of the most asked question in the tag differential-geometry and we have good answers on MSE already (say here, here). $\endgroup$
    – Arctic Char
    Commented Feb 6, 2022 at 17:40
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    $\begingroup$ @ArcticChar So, you and the 10 upvoters of your comment concur with me: the question shouldn't have been closed but classified as Duplicate. $\endgroup$
    – Leandro Caniglia
    Commented Feb 7, 2022 at 10:26
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    $\begingroup$ Technically yes, the post can also be closed as a duplicate, but it does not make a huge difference: the post together with the answer don't contribute anything new to the site. $\endgroup$
    – Arctic Char
    Commented Feb 7, 2022 at 13:59
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    $\begingroup$ @ArcticChar No! They both convey a very different message. Close means wrong question; Duplicate good, others have had the same concern as you. It is precisely the inability to sense these differences what hurts the site and persuades people to be shy while encouraging avid down/close voters to exercise their ascetic censorship. $\endgroup$
    – Leandro Caniglia
    Commented Feb 7, 2022 at 16:14
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    $\begingroup$ The post is now closed with the correct reason: that it is lacking context. The close reason is visible to the poster. The post is also a duplicate, so closing it as a duplicate is also the correct reason. $\endgroup$
    – Arctic Char
    Commented Feb 7, 2022 at 17:08

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