A request to reopen a question

Question

My understanding is that this is the "more liberal" moderation policy for this community: Moderation policies for Questions

According to this "more liberal" moderation policy, I do not understand why my question was closed and deleted?

"What are the most common ways to enable keyboards to type Pali characters in 2021? [closed]"

It was suggested that the question was too technical and that it should be asked in another community.

And yet, in 2021, everything we do is technical and, more importantly, this particular question concerns the technology used to enter questions and answers into this forum using characters from the Pali language.

Many members of this community have, at one time or another, struggled with this particular question when trying to figure out how to post questions using the Pali language on various devices.

I submit that it is a reasonable question to ask and that many people would benefit from knowledge sharing.

I submit that this is the correct SE forum in which to ask it because this is the forum with the largest collection of people who are most interested in this particular language.

I agree with the author of the "more liberal" moderation policy and would like to remind fellow practitioners what the Buddha said about such things:

"While you are doing a bodily action, you should reflect on it: 'This bodily action I am doing — is it leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both? Is it an unskillful bodily action, with painful consequences, painful results?' If, on reflection, you know that it is leading to self-affliction, to the affliction of others, or to both... you should give it up. But if on reflection you know that it is not... you may continue with it.”

Ambalatthika-rahulovada Sutta: Instructions to Rahula at Mango Stone

Allowing this question to be asked to and answered only contributes to merit.

I fail to see how closing it is meritorious.

I would also like to request that those who are eager "rule enforcers" and would like a "less liberal" moderation policy in order to their satiate their sense-desire to inflict their will upon others by practicing their rule enforcement craft to consider the words of the Buddha:

“Only the self controlled should restrain others.
Truly it is hard to restrain oneself.”

Dhammapada, Chapter 12: Oneself

Please re-open the question and/or provide an alternate means by which members of the community can acquire this information from those who possess it.

Answer 1

At some point we decided that questions about Pali language -- e.g. grammar -- is off-topic ...

• Because for example questions about Chinese language are off-topic.
• Because someone studying the language (e.g. its grammar) might have 1000 questions, that aren't very interesting to most people

... but that questions about the meaning of Pali Buddhist texts are of course on-topic.

Perhaps your question was closed for this kind of reason: i.e. that it's more about language -- grammar, syntax, script -- than meaning.

---

That said, there's a concept of "forbidden but tolerated" which goes like this for example:

• It's forbidden to park your bicycle in the courtyard (because if everyone does that then it's a problem)
• If only one person does it then that's harmless, so that's tolerated and the rule isn't enforced
• But if everyone does it and it becomes a problem, then we begin to enforce the rule

I'd suggest that as long as it's just this one question, that seems harmless -- and so I'd be willing to undelete it, if another moderator will agree to.