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If a question on Astronomy Stack Exchange is off-topic and we vote to close, we get this window:enter image description here

Then, if we click on "A community-specific reason" we get this window:

enter image description here

This kind of implies that it might be an acceptable to close a question if it isn't best suited to Astronomy Stack Exchange. But uhoh has made this strong argument in the comments here:

@ConnorGarcia we should only close questions when they are off-topic where they are asked, not for "I think it's better asked elsewhere" by itself. Some questions are on-topic in multiple sites and some are off-topic everywhere. There isn't always a 1:1 correspondence between questions and their sites. The OP decides where to ask. We can make suggestions, and we vote to close if we are pretty sure the question is off-topic locally.

Is the wording in the "close vote" window misleading?

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The wording in the close vote windows is meant to imply: if the question is not suited for this site, then specify why. It is not meant to imply that a question is unacceptable here if the question is also on topic elsewhere. If you can think of a better way to phrase that to make that clear, then you may want to make a suggestion at Meta Stack Exchange for better visibility.

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    $\begingroup$ My understanding of SE's inner workings is limited. Is the particular wording under discussion here the same for all SE sites and so the suggestion would have to work for all sites? Or at least for all beta sites? Or is it something that can be implemented locally? $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Dec 18, 2020 at 1:16
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    $\begingroup$ @uhoh As far as I'm aware that section is not tailorable. Certainly not at the mod level. $\endgroup$
    – called2voyage Mod
    Dec 18, 2020 at 1:17
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    $\begingroup$ Since the OP has only been in Stack Exchange for two months, I'm thinking that they may not fully appreciate the monumental task of posting a question in meta asking for something to be changed that affects all sites. I do agree that "This question belongs on another site..." is suggestive and I think I've seen people cite the existence of that wording as defense of their own creative close reasons. This is a good idea, but if it's not presented properly and clearly in meta it might be quickly shot down. So "make a suggestion at meta" might understate the task. $\endgroup$
    – uhoh
    Dec 18, 2020 at 1:44
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    $\begingroup$ @uhoh The OP (myself) is a total newb. Just looking for some discussion/direction on why/how we should close posts and if the 'close window' verbiage is consistent. I am going to seek to understand before I seek to change. Though it seems to me the window would be tailorable at the Astronomy Stack Exchange level since they specifically call out Earth Science. $\endgroup$
    – Connor Garcia Mod
    Dec 18, 2020 at 2:35

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