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On Android Enthusiasts SE, there are half dozen questions relating to whether a mobile device while charging should be used for gaming, downloading etc. Answering a recent question on this, I cited a technical resource from "Battery University", to say that downloading when charging is not advisable. Subsequently, carried out tests which support a larger perspective that even switching on the device is not recommended (link points to Electrical SE where I posted results to get more inputs-it has extracts from the technical resource as background)

These tests and conclusion stated , would be the the "what I researched or did " part of the question and the question itself would be on lines of "based on this tests and the technical resource , it is not advisable to charge with device on, are there reasons or grounds to the contrary" (haven't got down to the exact words , but that is the essence)

My concern is that the central point being "battery tests", some may view this as "Android Independent" and mark for closure.

Whereas, I feel

a) It has relevance to all Android users, which every device owner has to do (charging) and quite a few if not most switch the device on or use it while charging.

b) The tests do not require any hardware or specialised knowledge and are done using an app from Play Store.

c) this proposed question is not limited to which activity can be done or not as earlier questions addressed, but cover all activities including just switching the cell on.

I have put in a lot of effort in this and wouldn't like to see the question marked as Android Independent or Off Topic. I haven't found a similar question on meta, dealing with this kind of border line case, so request advice how to go about it

Thanks

EDIT

I have received a mail from Battery University , in response to a request from me, and similarly from SE Electrical both pointing to my tests being incorrect or interpretations incorrect. To that extent, there is no need need to post now

However, I am not closing the question on my own, since the concern raised merits decision on such cases being reviewed

migrated from meta.stackexchange.com Dec 6 '15 at 12:50

This question came from our discussion, support, and feature requests site for meta-discussion of the Stack Exchange family of Q&A websites.

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    Though it might fall into a "grey area" (applying to any battery-driven device), I personally see a clear connection to all Android users and usage – so I wouldn't vote to close it. – Izzy♦ Dec 6 '15 at 13:23
  • I didn't take any action on the question linked (no up/down vote, no flag/close vote, no answer), but question related to hardware behaviour (e.g. battery) is really a grey area, and sometimes it's considered as Android-independent, because iOS/Windows phone/BlackBerry might have same behaviour. – Andrew T.♦ Dec 7 '15 at 6:09
  • Thanks @Andrew T. understand grey area part, but that doesn't help me decide to post or not, which is what I pro actively asked – beeshyams Dec 7 '15 at 6:19
  • @Andrew T. Not to argue, but Battery University offers knowledge on batteries independent of platform, and is quoted 10 times on our site. Going by your logic, one can well flag any of those for being "Android Independent?". All I intend(ed?) to post was one reference was Battery University, validated by tests and know if I am right or not, , on similar lines suitably amended. – beeshyams Dec 7 '15 at 8:11
  • I don't know how closure voting works and I am not going to learn the hard way, so unless I get a clear OK from here will not post and risk wasting my time and effort – beeshyams Dec 7 '15 at 8:14
  • I noticed that Battery University (BU) was used as an answer instead of question, so there's no problem with that. However, reading the underlying questions, IMHO most of them are Android independent (everything related to charging battery for the first time, because it applies to other devices). However, some of them are not: PowerFactor and batterystatus.bin. If you're going to ask, personally I think Engineering or Electrical Engineering is better, since it's their expertise. – Andrew T.♦ Dec 7 '15 at 8:21
  • @Andrew T. Did that, you can see the response in viewers and answers despite the bounty, which is irrelevant because I view it as a concern for all Android users and feel strongly that this deserves user community exposure. – beeshyams Dec 7 '15 at 8:33
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    My concern is, are there more electronics experts on here compared to Engineering.SE or ElectricalEngineering.SE? Can your question be answered by us, Android experts, without relying public info on internet (compared to learnt knowledge on university)? However, if you really think that your question is related to Android in any way, feel free to post it. However, I'm not sure it will get promising answers than the one on Engineering.SE. <- not the reason to close, if it's really on-topic. – Andrew T.♦ Dec 7 '15 at 8:46
  • Purpose of asking there was for validation from SME perspective, here it's to understand from Android perspective. I am not likely to post unless I get a firm OK from here...it's not like I am dying to post. I don't know the closure process like I said and if you can help with that, it's good. Been a veteran with quarter century sticking to regulations, but that didn't and doesn't now prevent me from calling a spade a spade...in this case, this kind of restriction maybe well intentioned but is ridiculous (no offence meant) for a platform aimed at helping end user community – beeshyams Dec 7 '15 at 9:00
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    A mod once said: "Maybe there's room for us to widen our scope a bit. Maybe there isn't. Either way, it's not something that will happen overnight. We'll have to hash it out here on Meta and see where the chips fall, because it's a dialogue that would have to include everyone involved on the site." (source). No offense meant, citing your personal experience with regulations in real life wouldn't get you anywhere here. Others may see it as simply an off-topic comment and may consider ignoring the discussion altogether...continued.. – Firelord♦ Dec 7 '15 at 10:24
  • I recommend: post an answer here and clearly point out that a canonical Q/A would be best for the site. Before doing that, find out other posts (not specifically about battery) on main site which are also Android-independent but are not closed. Analyze their number of views and votes, and see if they being Android-independent are really useful to this site. Try to use them as a defense for your argument in the answer. This doesn't guarantee success, but receiving votes on such answer would help you understand whether community agrees with your particular idea or not...continued.. – Firelord♦ Dec 7 '15 at 10:24
  • An alternative, as Andrew T. suggested is to use your findings on other SE sites having experts in the topic, create a incredibly useful post there with the help of experts and share the link of post with us in chat or meta so that we would know where to redirect our new and wandering users who might be looking to understand the topic. – Firelord♦ Dec 7 '15 at 10:24
  • @Firelord. Thanks. I hear you and may work if I take the trouble. To my mind, user driven exceptions require far more drive, compared to exceptions being made by people who can, not withstanding quote earlier on. More so, when it is a proactive concern and requesting help – beeshyams Dec 7 '15 at 10:57
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It sounds like you want to post your results as a "question". That's ... not right. To put it simply, questions should be about Android software-specific concerns, or concerns uniquely related to devices that are running Android. We do occasionally have general hardware questions, but those are the exception rather than the rule -- coming, as you say, from being broadly useful. They must also be based in expertise that you could expect some Android power users to acquire -- not electrical engineers and so on -- as this site is by and for Android Enthusiasts.

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