<p>This is a gray area, but I think it would be best if we changed the text to "This question has been asked before".  Consider the case of someone who posts an identical question several times in a row (maybe once per day or so) or because their question didn't get an answer.  This seems to happen somewhat regularly.  </p>

<p>However, I suspect the moderators don't have the ability to change that text.  In light of that fact, we could just be somewhat more cautious about closing threads as duplicates of unanswered questions (although I would still do it in many cases).  </p>
