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When I vote that a question should be closed, there are (as of April 2017) 5 options. The 2nd reads "Question is Android-independent) while the 4th reads "Blatantly Off-topic".
I can still recall a previous experience where someone asked a question about two iPhones. Soon the question got closed with the reason "Android-independent".
In the AI text it says "... for example 'Does Carrier X have prepaid plans?' ...", and from which I think what should be considered as AI should look like "I encountered this question while using Android, but it's not actually an Android problem". I can give examples that IMO belongs to AI, such as

  • Good SD Card for Android phone
  • Is a screen protector really neccesary (There actually is an instance and I'm curious why it hasn't been marked as off-topic yet)
  • Screen broken, how can I replace a new one

And as well, BOTs should look like

  • Transfer iTunes purchase
  • Transfer photos between phones (The one mentioned above)

But why is that question solely about iPhones marked as "Android-independent" instead of "Blatantly Off-topic"?

Addition: Mobile site Option 4 This screenshot is taken from an Android mobile (on A.SE Main Site). There's also another screenshot that Death Mask Salesman took from the official Stack Exchange app visiting the Main site.
If a moderator allows, I can flag one of my own questions with this option so that further investigation is possible. Please leave a comment if you want me to do so.

Secondary question: What exactly is "Blatantly Off-topic"? Why can't moderators see this option?
Edit: Andrew T. gave an answer from Main Meta site for this.

  • 2
    i don't see a close reason that reads "blatantly off-topic". That may be unique to the flagging experience, and it would mean that we can't actually apply that as a close reason when the flag is processed (either by a mod or users with close privileges). Maybe you could give us a screenshot of what you're seeing? – eldarerathis Apr 24 '17 at 14:35
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    I don't see a close (or flag) reason for "blatantly off-topic" either. I've checked on mobile too. Could this be an A/B test that we're not aware of? @iBug can you link to the question you saw this on? – bmdixon Apr 24 '17 at 15:23
  • @bmdixon Maybe it's related to reputation? I can't give a specific link because all questions have this option for closure. – iBug Apr 24 '17 at 23:30
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    I don't see this in the flags either, but that could have two reasons: As soon as one reached the rep to VTC, the corresponding flagging menu automatically redirects to the close menu (most likely reason – maybe someone with low enough rep can check that out). Other possibility: You're using some strange SE script and have injected the additional option. I cannot even remember having seen "blatantly off-topic" in my "early days", but of course that might have been just added lately. – Izzy♦ Apr 25 '17 at 7:26
  • @Izzy I wouldn't have asked this question if I had used any script. I'm (surely) visiting the original A.SE site. Using Google Chrome 57.0.2987.132 from Google Play. I'm using a stock ROM (rooted and installed Xposed but I don't think it matters). Please help look further into this strange issue. – iBug Apr 25 '17 at 11:14
  • I can see the "Blatantly off-topic" as well. I'm operating from the official StackExchange app. By the way, this option is available even for questions on this very Meta site. – Grimoire Apr 25 '17 at 13:43
  • Here are two screenshots: one for the flagging options for Android SE and one for the flagging options for this very question. – Grimoire Apr 25 '17 at 13:50
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    @iBug Wasn't meant as accusation! It's just one tends to forget such things (speaking of myself, of course). As pointed out, the other variant is the more likely, as confirmed by our Salesman. So flags don't completely correspond to close reasons, obviously. – Izzy♦ Apr 25 '17 at 15:33
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    Yeah, this looks like it may be what I was suspecting: the flag list has a generic "blatantly off-topic" reason added to it that is not available in the close reasons. I wouldn't be surprised if the latter goes directly into the moderator flag queue instead of going into the close vote queue for community review. If that is in fact the case, then there's not much we can do to deduplicate these without SE staff changing the flag dialog. We certainly don't want to lose the "Android independent" close reason and we can't actually use the BOT reason when voting for closure. – eldarerathis Apr 25 '17 at 17:04
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    This is only occurs to users without close-vote privilege as @Izzy said. Please also refer to main meta: What happens to questions closed as blatantly off-topic? – Andrew T.♦ Apr 26 '17 at 16:06
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    I've always played it as how relatable it is. If it's talking about how to set up windows on a Chromebook, I'd call it independent. If it was asking 'does Mike Wazoski Blink or wink?' then it's BOT. – Dan Brown Apr 27 '17 at 17:33
  • @DanBrown In what universe is "Windows on Chromebook" related to Android? – iBug Apr 28 '17 at 11:03
  • @IBug yeahhhhhh, that was not a great example. It's still tech related (thus my original, but I did write that fairly late in the evening) – Dan Brown Apr 28 '17 at 11:41
  • @DanBrown Assume I'm asking a question about my car which is running Androud Auto, will you mark it as AI or BOT? – iBug Apr 28 '17 at 11:48
  • @IBug Android Auto? So it is Android, and fine. Alright, here's a better example. If you wanted to know which app was better, I would say AI as it's not directly to do with android, it's talking about apps on it. (I'd also point the asker towards Software Recs, where the question should be accepted) – Dan Brown Apr 28 '17 at 15:51

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