My question got closed unfairly

Question

the following question: DBGT: Does Goku die of old age when he turns SSJ4 in the future? got closed for (in my opinion) very wrong reasons. It got closed for being "primarily opinion based". In the comments practically the only reason I got was "GT is not canon", which is obviously a load of bull. An anime is an anime, and within its own canon, it is most definitely canon.

Another comment I got was this:

I think people downvoted your post because you are asking a question which answers can only be based on assumptions. Insist that opinion be backed up with facts and references.

Well, I did. I literally had a header saying "the facts:" with a bullet list underneath it, stating the facts. (now updated to facts and references for clarity)

My question is most definitely based on things that are canon within the show and of which there are many references. My question is entirely based on things that actually happened in the show and there are no assumptions within it. Therefore I would like my question to be reopened. I don't see where the vote was coming from in any way except for bias against GT.

Thank you :)

Edit just to make something clear to whomever agrees with why my question got closed: Does Goku become the dragon itself at the end of Dragon Ball GT? - a question with 5 upvotes even! It's been favourited, and hey, it explains even less than my question does! This question should be closed for being opinion-based!

Why do the Black Star Dragon Balls exist? - hey look, another one! 8 upvotes! Again, a question with way less facts and references than mine, yet this one gets respected.

Why can't Pan go Super Saiyan? - oh look, another one!

How did Goten and Trunks become Super Saiyan so easily? - look, yet another!

Are half-blooded Saiyans stronger than pure-blooded Saiyans? - hey guys, what a surprise, another one!

-- I'll just stop here. Obviously I've made my point by finding all these questions that should have been closed even more than mine, in the recommended/related sidebar as top questions, within 1 minute. Anime.stackexchange is absolutely littered with these types of questions (Because otherwise there would be no need to ask them)

Answer 1

Your question: What happens if this Goku, all grown up (again), turns SSJ4?

The only way to answer this is with an opinion. That's why it was closed. That's what the close reason means. Yes, you posted some facts in your question, but AFAICT, there isn't anything in those facts that support any type of conclusion.

To quote the close reason description: "Many good questions generate some degree of opinion based on expert experience, but answers to this question will tend to be almost entirely based on opinions, rather than facts, references, or specific expertise." (emphasis added)

Sure, you can have one answer that says: "We don't know", but any other answer would be an opinion, unless the people who created the anime post something somewhere we can reference, or a DB GT2 gets created, or maybe it will be something in DB Super, but until that happens, you'll get crap answers, hence the close reason.

Your comment of most questions on anime.se are asked because they were never explained in the anime is based on flawed logic. You're disregarding people who didn't really watch the anime that closely, or lacked the cultural knowledge, or simply did not understand what was going on. Then there are works that are adaptations of some other media, and the adaptations are simply abridged versions of the original media.

There are plenty of reasons why people would ask questions about a work even if it was explained in the anime. By your argument, people should never ask any questions about science or math or history, because its all written in the text books.

The questions you've listed are either outright answerable based on watching/reading dragonball or there is enough context to come to a conclusion, with the exception of one having a highly authoritative answer.

Does Goku become the dragon itself at the end of Dragon Ball GT? -> He did not become a dragon. That's a fact, because if he did become a dragon, there would be something in the anime that shows he's a dragon.

Why do the Black Star Dragon Balls exist? -> The question asks very specific things, and also had misunderstands which were able to be corrected. It is possible to answer the question because we can correct the initial misunderstandings. My memory of GT is a bit fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure it was explained in the anime, too

Why can't Pan go Super Saiyan? -> this is an even better question, since the answer is based off of what the author had said.

Last two questions are related. It has been demonstrated time and again that hybrids are more powerful than pure saiyans. There is a strong indication that genetics play a roll, but its not explained exactly why. This predisposition for strength is reinforced with tools (sensu beans, hyperbolic time chamber) and knowledge, goku already became a super saiyan and its something that can be taught.

As I posted originally, if Toriyama decides to shed light on the issue, sure, by all means reopen it, but as it is, I don't see any reason why there would be any reasonable answer to this question based off of what's been showed on the anime.

And finally, this has nothing to do with anything, and is just my personal opinion, but your comments and the wording you've used come off as pretty hostile. Even if people agree with your logic, people will be less inclined to express agreement based on your tone. As the saying goes: you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar, and I see a lot of vinegar and very little honey. Since you have a decent amount of rep on SO, I think you're aware that most of the responses you've gotten have been pretty polite.

Answer 2

First of all, I agree that there are a few inconsistencies here and there in regards to whether or not an opinion based question. However, I believe your question is still off topic.

The primary reason for being opinion-based is because the answer is based on speculation and is hypothetical. "What if" something happened, can only be answered with guesses - some can be backed up by fact, but ultimately it is something that has not been addressed by the show. More extreme examples are "What if Naruto fought Luffy?" - you could provide information about how much they can both lift, or their skills, but ultimately it is based on the answerer's opinion.

See this "Gorrilla Vs Shark" post for an explanation as to why these posts are discouraged

Let me explain the reason why those other questions you note remain open:

• Does Goku become the dragon itself at the end of Dragon Ball GT?

  This is looking for clarification on the ending of the show. Answers can be opinions alright, but an equally valid answer is that it is up to interpretation.

• Why do the Black Star Dragon Balls exist?

  This is asking for the story behind a plot piece. It can be answered definitively, even if the answer is 'it was never revealed in the manga nor anime'.

• Why can't Pan go Super Saiyan?

  Similarly, this is asking to explain a story element. "It was never revealed why" is valid.

• How did Goten and Trunks become Super Saiyan so easily?

  More story explanation

• Are half-blooded Saiyans stronger than pure-blooded Saiyans?

  Again, this can be answered with story citations.

Here are some examples that are more similar to your question:

What if you wrote "eaten by a gigantic sea-snake" in the Death Note?

What if a pokeball was lost and couldn't be opened?

For this, we have had an old meta post: Are question that are slightly hypothetical, but with potentially great answers dissallowed?

And the policy is generally:

if the show has a coherent framework of rules from which we can make deductions. That said, shows like this are few and far between

There are no hard rules in the Dragonball. Akira even forgets some of the rules he put in at the beginning - where did all the tails go!?

So, this is our reasoning behind the community's closure - and I realise it seems inconsistent, but the other option is complete off-topic closure and regardless this question would be off-topic.

Please feel free to ask me any other questions :)