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Question

I've just had my account blocked from asking question for 2 days due to a post which got down-voted (about making WP CLI work properly on Windows). I'm confused. I was told in a comment that WP CLI was off topic, but I don't understand why.

To my mind a forum about WordPress development would be an obvious place to discuss this tool. I imagine is is going to gain popularity as time goes on, and possibly become an/the industry standard way of doing things, in the same way that using Composer has become standard for general PHP development.

As well as being confused, it's also frustrating to be barred from asking questions. The "NO WP CLI" rule was not obvious and now I'm being penalized for not knowing it in advance.

I would appreciate if someone could look into unblocking me, and also would like to hear if there is any discussion and/or flexibility in allowing WP CLI related question to be published here.

Answer 1

While WP CLI is not explicitly on topic, we tend to allow questions about it because of it's unique role as related to WP project and infrastructure.

That said your question is quite specific to WP CLI. If its official installation instructions are unclear/faulty it is probably better aimed at WP CLI project itself.

It's quite peculiar for that little to trigger ask block. Unfortunately even on moderator level we are neither given specifics or control over those blocks. They are handled by system itself and we can't intervene. I will ask someone with higher powers to take a look (no promises).

Answer 2

You ran into the rolling rate limit. It's a bit of a roadblock designed to make sure you understand the purpose of the site before you ask any more questions. Taking a moment to ask here on meta is a very good step in that direction. In addition, the current state of your questions seems promising.

That said, the block can't be removed—it must be waited out. Even as an employee, I can't lift the restriction. The message that explains the details of the block points to an answer that describe the calculation:

It's based on your average question score, how long you tend to wait between asking questions, how well you participate in other ways on the site, and how often you tend to revisit and improve your posts, even the positively scored ones. We don't provide the actual formula and details, only because we want folks to focus on what the system is trying to tell them, rather than trying to find ways around it.

Rate limits vary from 1 to 7 days.

This block is intended to address the common problem of someone who does nothing on the site but ask a series of poorly-received questions in rapid succession. In the past, that would lead to users running into bigger problems, such as an extended suspension.

Again, it looks like your questions are better than they initially appeared to the system. This might have been a false alarm.

Answer 3

WP CLI Shell not working on Windows

Firstly, this isn't a discussion forum. Questions need to be answerable, and you need to be able to mark an answer and say "this is the answer to my question" in a concrete way. If you ask an open ended question or solicit a debate then your question will be closed, either for being too broad, unclear, or primarily opinion based.

Having said that, your question wasn't closed, just downvoted.

A lot of Stack Exchange is automated, and runs off of activity triggers. The precise details aren't revealed to prevent abuse, but the system appears to have triggered for you, I don't know how many downvotes are needed for this to happen, and I don't know how long it will last.

My recommendation?

• Write good, lengthy, quality answers that get upvoted
• Be patient and wait to be unblocked
• Review the FAQ and how best to ask a question

And remember, you can disagree with somebody online, but you don't have to argue back, state your disagreement then leave it at that else you risk derailing your own comments.