Should we add a stack-specific close reason for off topic "inTRApersonal" questions?

Question

I find there are a lot of questions here that ask about inTRApersonal issues and are thus off-topic. As someone who votes to close off-topic questions, I think having a specific close reason for this would be really convenient. Something like:

It seems that your question is about inTRApersonal skills and is, thus, off-topic.

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Here is the two most recent example of questions closed for this reason (they are on the main newest question page right now):

https://interpersonal.stackexchange.com/q/18433/21067

Being angry at people for no good reason

Furthermore, a quick "CTRL+F" on "intra" in this page (>2k users only) shows that there are, at least, six questions that were closed for being "inTRApersonal" in the last month.

For the people who can't read this page (and for posterity), here are the custom close reasons we can find on the page:

• I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this seems like an intrapersonal question. If you have a question about a specific interaction with others, we can help you. However, as it stands, this looks like a question about self-improvement, which is off-topic here.

• I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this is intrapersonal skills, which we do not deal with here.

• I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because this is about intra-personal skills, not interpersonal skills.

• I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it seems like an intrapersonal question, not an interpersonal one. It also sounds like a "What should I do?" question which is off-topic.

• I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is about Intrapersonal matters.

• I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because as it's phrased it sounds like you're seeking an intrapersonal goal.

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Can we add a stack specific off-topic close reason for "inTRApersonal" questions?

Sidenote: Here is useful link about the difference between inTRApersonal and inTERpersonal (thanks avazula)

Answer 1

I agree with "intrapersonal" possibly being hard to understand, as per gparyani's answer, but feel that "personal issues" is ambiguous.

My proposed way of phrasing it:

Questions relating to one's own thoughts and feelings are off-topic for this site. If applicable, instead ask a specific question about interactions with others which might be affected by or causing these thoughts or feelings.

Answer 2

I like the current answers, but I think we should model the phrasing closer to the "What Should I Do?" close reason text:

Questions should ask for help achieving a specific goal. Your question is asking for personal advice on "what to do" without defining a goal; this is too subjective. Edit your question to explain what you hope to achieve and how you would like to interact with the others involved

As such, I'd say:

Questions should ask about issues involving interpersonal interactions. Your question appears to be focused on self-improvement or how you can change yourself; this is too subjective. Edit your question to explain a specific interaction with others that you need help with.

Answer 3

There are several things to consider here. I think it's worth explaining what we mean when we talk about intrapersonal skills, for not everyone is familiar with that term. I relied on that site to further explain the term.

Another thing is to provide further explanation and reading if OP wants to know why we don't accept intrapersonal skills questions here (in addition to, you know, the stack's name). There are a handful of meta posts talking about it, linking one of them is important to me.

"I'm voting to close this as off-topic because this is about intrapersonal skills rather than interpersonal skills. We can't help you with things that go on exclusively within you. This site is about actions and issues between several people. please see [this](https://interpersonal.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/3234/most-helpful-response-to-intrapersonal-problem-the-person-has-with-themselves) to learn more about the stack's policy on intrapersonal issues."

Answer 4

I agree, but the word "intrapersonal" is kind of a high-level word for English learners, and as such I wouldn't use that word.

Here's my proposed way of phrasing it (rough draft):

Questions asking about personal issues are off-topic unless they focus on interactions with another party. Instead, describe the specific interaction with others which might be affected by those issues.

Answer 5

gparyani made a good point when they said that the difference between "intrapersonal" and "interpersonal" might not be obvious for all non-native speakers. However, since the phrasing confuses me (as a French person), I have decided to suggest another phrasing.

In order to be as clear as possible, I think the phrasing should contain those points:

• Definition of an interpersonal issue
• The term "interpersonal"
• Definition of an intrapersonal issue
• The term "intrapersonal"

From here, I propose this:

Questions here are about interactions with other (interpersonal issues). Your question seems to be only about you which is an intrapersonal issue. Please edit if you want to make it on-topic.