I see a question was closed as `off-topic`, but I don't know why it is off-topic

Question

This question was closed as off-topic.

I'm new here, so I'll just assume that the correct decision was made. Several users voted in favor of it.

But, why? I reviewed the list of on-topic and off-topic topics, but I still don't get it.

Is it because the question is not about understanding how the binary works, but rather about how to alter it? I think that can't be correct, because sometimes altering a thing is a valid tactic for figuring out how it works. This is similar to how sending different input can help you see how a thing works.

Maybe all that is needed is a comment on the closed question. But perhaps, the list of on- and off-topic topics should be updated.

Answer 1

I am one of those who voted in favor of closing the question. While I do not think that the reason given for closing the question is the most appropriate, I still believe the question is off-topic for 2 main reasons:

• No specific information is given to clearly define the problem. It is very vague.
  • what kind of binary is being patched? ELF? MACHO? firmware? etc
  • what ISA does the code in the binary target? MIPS? x86? etc
  • what is the goal, and the approach to achieve it? Are some bytes being NOPed out to skip an instruction? Do they want to perform a detour? Do they want to perform static binary instrumentation? etc
• Related to this, the scope of the question is overly broad. The question, in its current form, reduces to "How does one patch binaries?".

If the question was edited to supply the missing information mentioned above, it is likely the question would be re-opened.

From https://reverseengineering.stackexchange.com/help/closed-questions:

• Needs details or clarity - sometimes we need more information in order to help solve your problem.

  Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question.

Edit your post to be more specific about what you're looking for, and be sure to address any concerns that other users brought up in the comments.

• Needs more focus - if your question has many valid answers (but no way to determine which - if any - are correct), then it probably needs to be more focused to be successful in our format.

  Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question.

This can often be fixed by breaking the question into multiple questions or focusing on a specific part of the problem.