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My question How did smacking electron tube TVs help? should not be on hold because it appears to be off-topic (imho of course).

"Questions on the use of electronic devices are off-topic as this site is intended specifically for questions on electronics design."

I didn't ask anything about the usage of a electronic device. It's not relevant whether that smacking occurs by hand on a TV or something else. Every electronic design pattern with these characteristics can be (more or less) "fixed" with this kind of impact. It doesn't matter which end-consumer product this pattern is built into.

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    \$\begingroup\$ FWIW, I think the question was fine, and attracted some interesting and pertinent answers (which often makes me not vote to close). I voted to reopen. \$\endgroup\$
    – Scott Seidman
    Commented Aug 26, 2016 at 21:55
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    \$\begingroup\$ It has now been reopened! \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Mortensen
    Commented Aug 28, 2016 at 11:37

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That was a legitimate question that should not have been closed. It isn't about how to design something, but is definitely about the design of something. It's about the technology itself, which is generally considered on-topic here if it is technology related to or used by electrical engineering.

At first glance, it does look a little like a repair question, which would be off topic. But, it clearly isn't once the whole question is understood.

We have to be careful because going too far into the technology is more of a physics than EE question. Some physics is fine, when it pertains directly to EE. Such questions will always be judgement calls, so it's hard to make a general rule. However, this one question is OK.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ That question has now been reopened. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Mortensen
    Commented Aug 28, 2016 at 11:38
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I was one of the reviewers who voted to close. At the time of my vote the question was:

In old movies (or new movies playing in these times), I often see people smacking the top of electron tube TVs or screens. Somehow it seems to help to stabilize/sharpen the picture. But why?

I voted to close as "opinion-based" because answering a question which takes movies as evidence involves a lot of guessing most of the time. Some things you see in movies aren't even true ;) And since they don't have movies involving James Bond resettling CRT connectors and spraying them with isopropyl alcohol, it would be impossible for you to verify any of the theories presented in the answers.

I don't want to sound jealous or heartburning, I'm glad that your question is now reopened. But I still believe it was a poor question saved by a good edit and great answers. You got lucky - don't expect that to happen every time you post a question. Oh, and go easy on catchy titles.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Imho that's another case of being over-logical on SE questions. It's not about the movies or something. It's about the TV smacking. It's a well known fact that it was (or is) a common practice to smack screens. Where you got this knowledge from doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter whether the question is "I've seen a guy in a movie using his handbreak to drift. How does this physically work?" or "I've read that you can drift using your handbreak. How does it physically work?". The question asks for real physics not for the usage of cars, handbreaks or the practice of drifting. \$\endgroup\$
    – OddDev
    Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 15:03
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    \$\begingroup\$ It became a well-known fact after James added wikipedia links to your question. You are wrong to assume everything you see in entertainment movies is knowledge. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dmitry Grigoryev
    Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 15:17
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    \$\begingroup\$ You are just over-logical. Why does it matter whether this knowledge comes from Wikipedia or a movie? It's absolutely nothing to worry about for the question itself. You just can completely get rid of the "story" behind the question. I can even say "I was riding an elephant as I passed an older couple playing a trumpet in front of a tv. They seem to have problems with it and so smacked the screen. The picture went better. How does smacking a TV (...)?" Does this matter for the question? No! \$\endgroup\$
    – OddDev
    Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 15:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ Well, It does matter for me where the knowledge is coming from. StackOverflow even has a specific close reason for questions about issues which cannot be reproduced, and seen something on TV goes exactly into this category. I'm not trying to convince you here, just explain how I cast close votes. \$\endgroup\$
    – Dmitry Grigoryev
    Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 15:46
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    \$\begingroup\$ Okay, got it now. Thanks for the input and your efforts! :) \$\endgroup\$
    – OddDev
    Commented Aug 29, 2016 at 16:17
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Odd: I agree with Dmitry here. I would have voted to close the question too in its original form. I didn't only because I never saw the question that way. \$\endgroup\$
    – Olin Lathrop
    Commented Aug 30, 2016 at 11:30

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