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This is a spin-off of a meta discussion at How closely should we stick to Stack Exchange norms?. It came up in that discussion that some other SE sites use a "soft-question" tag for questions that deviate from SE norms. In particular, I think this (or a similar tag) may be used on questions that ask for opinions or (possibly) might have multiple correct answers. Should we have such a tag, and, if so, what should it be. Possibilities I've seen so far include the following.

  • No tag: we should nuke such questions.
  • No tag: we can just leave those questions as posted, with no particular designation.
  • Tag with "soft-question".
  • Tag with "subjective".
  • Tag with "experience-based" (the question seeks experiential responses).
  • Tag with "discussion" (a tag that already exists; I'm not sure if it is intended for use only on "meta" or is appropriate for the main site).
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  • $\begingroup$ I assume you are talking specifically about a tag for "opinion-based" questions (as opposed to questions that go against other SE norms, like big lists)? $\endgroup$
    – LarrySnyder610
    Commented Nov 22, 2020 at 18:40
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    $\begingroup$ And if so, should "opinion-based" be in your list too, do you think? $\endgroup$
    – LarrySnyder610
    Commented Nov 22, 2020 at 18:40
  • $\begingroup$ @LarrySnyder610 I'm not thinking of big lists, homework questions or other forum sins. I definitely have opinion-based questions in mind, but what about a question asking whether Benders decomposition is faster when you use callbacks / interrupt the search versus when you solve the master to optimality each time? It could be asking for an opinion, but it could also be asking for people's experience. Do we differentiate those cases, or do we consider "experience-based" to be "opinion-based"? $\endgroup$
    – prubin Mod
    Commented Nov 23, 2020 at 19:15
  • $\begingroup$ ... Yes, I think "opinion-based" should at least be a candidate tag. $\endgroup$
    – prubin Mod
    Commented Nov 23, 2020 at 19:16
  • $\begingroup$ Good point. In that case maybe “experienced-based” and “opinion-based” are too narrow? Unless we want two separate tags, but I think that would be confusing. $\endgroup$
    – LarrySnyder610
    Commented Nov 25, 2020 at 12:15
  • $\begingroup$ Partial list of sites that have completed a Wiki Excerpt (in order of quality): physics.stackexchange.com/tags/soft-question/info and Physics Meta ai.stackexchange.com/tags/soft-question/info dsp.stackexchange.com/tags/soft-question/info quant.stackexchange.com/tags/soft-question/info economics.stackexchange.com/tags/soft-question/info math.stackexchange.com/tags/soft-question/info (Math, while having a poor excerpt has over 10K questions so tagged). $\endgroup$
    – Rob
    Commented Dec 1, 2020 at 0:07

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I vote for “subjective”, with “discussion” my second choice.

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If we use tags, we are not limited to one, although I think too many would invite confusion. My preferences are to allow such questions within reason (so not option 1) and to tag the appropriate ones (which might discourage other people from nuking them). To me, "soft-question" sounds potentially pejorative, so I would prefer one of the other choices.

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