<p>We shouldn't be chary of using the mechanism we've got to deal with questions that we think can't be or oughtn't to be answered before they're improved:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>People tend to assume their questions are good ones &amp; to discount somewhat comments to the contrary as quibbling. Closing a question kills false hopes of getting a useful answer without improving it.</p></li>
<li><p>Giving specific guidance on how to improve a question in comments is often a great help, &amp; never does any harm. But voting to close a question doesn't at all preclude this.</p></li>
<li><p>Voting to close a question brings in other people, through the review queues, who can also help improve it. It sets the wheels in motion &amp; doesn't rely on a single user to keep coming back to a question.</p></li>
<li><p>If we're right that a question can't be or oughtn't to be answered before it's improved, then any answers it gets won't be good ones, or of the kind we want. Sometimes precipitate answers can lead to confusion, for the OP and for readers, especially if the question's edited later.</p></li>
<li><p>When closed questions get re-opened it's usually within a few hours of their being edited, &amp; rarely more than a day. (I think&mdash;it'd be interesting if there's any data available.) A faster response would be better, &amp; I expect we'll get faster as the site grows, but that's not bad.</p></li>
<li><p>Questions that remain unanswered, un-upvoted, &amp; closed are automatically deleted after nine days, de-cluttering the site. (If they're not closed they hang around for a year; &amp; with two or more comments, for ever).</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Now I'm not saying we always draw the line in the right place (I agree with some of the points you make on whether some kinds of question ought to be closed at all), but it <em>is</em> a matter of drawing a line, &amp; I can't see the advantage of shilly-shallying&mdash;at best, if someone edits quickly in response to a comment alone, an answer might appear a little sooner&mdash;rather than acting promptly.</p>
