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Please have a look at this:

How to use “I think, therefore I am” in a more fluent manner?

Writers has clearly declared grammar questions off-topic here, preferring to migrate them to English Language & Usage. On the other hand, critique questions are on topic.

However, the question I'm asking about is somewhere in-between. If it were considered a critique question, it would need more text to critique. If it were considered a grammar question, it would be closed and migrated to English.

I've suggested the author add more of the work in question and we could tag it "critique", but the author is calling it a "style" question, so that's not applicable. A question like this could really be at home on either site. However, the question does concern itself with grammar a bit more than we normally see - and, if you want technical grammar advice, English does that a lot better than we do.

Personally, I'm inclined to leave it open, but what do you all think? Should be leave it here? Close it and migrate it?

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    Maybe I shouldn't ask this as high rep user, but what was the difference between critique and style questions?
    – John Smithers
    Apr 8, 2012 at 17:53
  • @JohnSmithers - Good question; I'm not completely sure. I think that saying something is a "style" question means it's not only a matter of opinion (there are no "rules" like there are with grammar) but it's a matter of usage in a single sentence or short paragraph. Does that make sense?
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Apr 8, 2012 at 18:43
  • So if you ask how to improve this usage in a single sentence or short paragraph, it's a critique question?
    – John Smithers
    Apr 8, 2012 at 19:51
  • No, that doesn't make sense. This question is something that's not a grammar question (grammar is a tool we use, nothing more) and something that's not a critique, although it shares some elements in common with one. The user has a clear idea of what they want stylistically, but it's not a big-picture issue like it would be with a critique. "Style" makes sense as a label, but that's a word that can encompass so many things.
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Apr 8, 2012 at 20:20
  • I think what I'm getting at is that we should differentiate what we can offer questions like this with what EL&U can offer. They deal with grammar extremely well, but they're hardly blind to stylistic issues.
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Apr 8, 2012 at 20:20
  • (BTW, these are excellent points you're bringing up; thanks!)
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Apr 8, 2012 at 20:20
  • This question is in the same ballpark: How to write polite deadline email?. Is this on-topic here?
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Apr 9, 2012 at 18:13
  • sigh I really hope we do not get a "How to write a polite thanksgiving email?" series. Even I can write polite emails and I am the definition of impoliteness. That said, if we take a look at its "sister" question, then we better keep it on-topic. It's the most visited question on Writers: writers.stackexchange.com/search?q=views%3A50000
    – John Smithers
    Apr 9, 2012 at 19:10
  • Writing is writing. English gets a ton of these. One can always exclude the email or business-writing tags.
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Apr 9, 2012 at 19:14
  • I think "style" is "I want to accomplish something specific and I need help fine-tuning," while "critique" is "I want this not to suck and I need general help."
    – Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum
    Apr 10, 2012 at 1:53
  • @LaurenIpsom - Okay, that makes sense. We just need to make sure these aren't proofreading requests.
    – Goodbye Stack Exchange
    Apr 10, 2012 at 14:21

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