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This question Find $x^\circ$ in triangle below if if $AM = MC = BC$ came up in a Low Quality Post review today in a review queue and after reading the question, working it through I decided that the question itself was wrong - the angle was not a right angle and so it was not possible to show that that is the case.

However, when recommending to close a question that has been flagged as Low Quality a reason is needed and I didn't think any of the standard options applied:

  • Context was given.
  • An attempt had been shown.
  • The question was clear (enough I thought)
  • It was not seeking personal advice.

What would others do in this situation? What is the best flag to use?

In the end I just pressed Skip but later thought it best to ask here on Meta in case others have had a similar experience and can offer some wisdom.

Edit I see this post has gathered a few re-open votes since it was closed. Please don't worry - I am OK with it being closed and I am fine with just pressing Skip on reviews that I am not sure about.

My motivation in asking was to assist anyone who may have found the same issue. The multiple down-votes this question has attracted suggest that such is not a good question to ask, so again, I am fine to let it be closed and move on.

As to the specific question about approximation vs exact value in the question itself, when it comes to some angles (a right angle being one such case) I believe the difference between exactly a right angle and approximately a right angle is a very significant one.

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    $\begingroup$ In truth, the only fault I find in this question is that the author intended approximate methods to be used but failed to specify that. Oddly, they seemed to feel that the history of their posted questions should have clarified that point, as if users here made a habit of studying a poster's history. Aside from that omission, I think the question is fine. Of course, that is a serious omission. $\endgroup$
    – lulu
    Commented Aug 16 at 11:24

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If a question asks “How can I prove X” and you recognize that X is obviously wrong (and the question is in good shape otherwise) then I suggest to vote to close the question with the “Needs details or clarity” reason. In addition one should leave an explaining comment (“X seems to be wrong because ...”).

Ideally, the author of the question will then fix the question or provide more information why X is supposed to be true.

In this particular case, the author could add the information that this is a multiple choice question from a book where only certain alternative answers are given (which they did, but only with a screenshot), and that trigonometric calculations may be approximate (which they mentioned only in the comments).

If the question is clarified then one can retract the closing vote, or vote to reopen.

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  • $\begingroup$ @RedFive Looking at the low quality review queue, there is such an option where it says: “Other - add a comment”. Right? $\endgroup$
    – Тyma Gaidash
    Commented Aug 18 at 14:27
  • $\begingroup$ No, not in this instance. If that were available I would have selected it. $\endgroup$
    – Red Five
    Commented Aug 18 at 21:06
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    $\begingroup$ @RedFive The option to write your own close reason is always available. Close -> Community Specific Reason -> it's the last option at the bottom of the dialog. $\endgroup$
    – Xander Henderson Mod
    Commented Aug 20 at 13:30
  • $\begingroup$ Thanks @XanderHenderson. I must have missed it. As I said in the comment update I am totally OK with how this all played out and probably should be using the "skip" function a bit more but your support is appreciated. $\endgroup$
    – Red Five
    Commented Aug 20 at 21:26

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