Q:

Niche technologies and question acceptance and moderation on Stack Overflow

Niche technologies have a smaller pool of users, and a smaller yet pool of experts. That however shouldn't determine whether or not a question is on topic here. Sorry for the lengthy post, but let's look at a few examples here,

Tab Completion

Acceptable How do I make Vim do normal (Bash-like) tab completion for file names?
Acceptable How to make PowerShell tab completion work like Bash
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50239212/how-do-i-enable-tab-completion-in-templeos

I wanted to get what I was used to (Bash-like tab completion) out of TempleOS. Unlike with Vim, there isn't a better place to ask the question (vim.se), nor is it documented (:he wildcard).
Let's just go from the official descriptions of these,

source Vim: Vim - the ubiquitous text editor. Vim is a highly configurable text editor for efficiently creating and changing any kind of text.
source TempleOS User Skills Required * Knowledge of the C programming language.

TempleOS is certainly more of a tool for programmers than Vim and has a higher percentage of users that are programmers.

Missing source that was previously in core distribution

Acceptable Error "Unable to find a source package for r-base" on Debian Testing
Acceptable Unable to find a source package for pidgin (Linux Mint)
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50264004/does-templeos-5-03-have-after-egypt-and-other-utilities

Recently it seems TempleOS moved a lot of packages (which are actually source code) outside of the core distribution. Unable to find them I asked a question, and got a great answer.

Adding on "supplementation features"

Acceptable How do I turn a Windows feature on/off from the command line in Windows 10?
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50266458/how-do-you-use-supplimental-isos-with-templeos

Now that I know TempleOS has broken apart many things from the main/CORE distribution, I need to understand how to install them. The question is primary how do I get those things into the Virtual Box image and add them to TempleOS. You can't exactly share-with-your-desktop, and it doesn't have a network stack. What is the supported mechanism for bringing in external data into the operating system? Or, do I have to rebuild an ISO with all the supplemental data I have and install that?
Sit for a second back and grok this. People closed this one for it being general computing hardware and software, yet none of the people that have voted to close it have any experience with TempleOS.

Kernel / OS version

Acceptable Where do I find the version of a Linux kernel source tree?
Acceptable Which version of Python do I have installed?
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/q/50257134/124486

Not knowing anything about the version of the operating system I was running, I wanted to figure it out. Despite the fact that it's undocumented in TempleOS, and there was no manual to read the question was closed. For comparison, both of these things are well documented with Linux and Python.

Open Source Operating system

Acceptable Where is the source code for PyPI, the Python package index?
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50242900/where-can-i-find-the-source-code-for-templeos

I can understand not wanting to look for something because often times the pursuit can not be definitively answered. From the close reason,

"Questions asking us to recommend or find a book, tool, software library, tutorial or other off-site resource are off-topic for Stack Overflow as they tend to attract opinionated answers and spam. Instead, describe the problem and what has been done so far to solve it."

But that's not always the case. If something is targeting "user-programmers" and known to be open source, and you can't find the source or you can't find the repository -- and the user has looked for it, it seems perfectly acceptable to ask where that repository is. Like all things, it may change but it can be definitively answered at a point in time, and in my case, I contend it requires an expert to do so. Prove me wrong.
Not Just TempleOS
Ok, so at this point you may think the problem is just TempleOS, but it's not. I had the same problem with Forth, a language that has no ability to do networking when I asked for a networking library, or how I would do networking with FORTH. Use a language that predates IP; this is a real problem: though I can understand if you're a PHP user having no experience with this problem.
Let's review a comment from that thread,

I think there are some here on SO who cruise questions looking superficially for cases that don't match the "SO standard" and down-vote and/or vote to close without taking into account any special considerations. I suspect, in this case, they don't even know or use Forth. Here on SO I think there are maybe one or two users total who know enough Forth to answer anything but fairly trivial questions about it, unfortunately. – lurker Apr 2 at 11:10

What I would like to come out of this.
First, I would like my questions to be reopened, but that's not my expectation. I feel they're in good form, and moreover that they'll help out people that want to learn about TempleOS, or operating systems and older technologies (osdevers).
But, really we need to seriously consider how to restructure these close votes. Not to name drop -- this involves two diamond moderators and many others who do this habitually, some are even self-appointed unelected sheriffs of the wild-wild west that gloat about it in their profiles. It's easy to close things. It's hard to get them reopened. It's stressful for those asking questions to come in with this mentality. It requires a thick skin to come out to meta and bring these forward every time, and it makes the process needlessly exclusionary. Who wants to know how meta works, technically and culturally when they just want to ask tech questions? The current culture of the close brigade is one of non-rotating jurors who often come from a narrow walk and bring pretension and enjoy the power play of moderation.
Though I have solutions, I've left them all out so we're not voting on that here.
Summary of Activities
I learned a new operating system TempleOS catered to user-programmers. I created a tag for it. I asked 10 questions on a new technology and seeded the tag: 90% (9/10) questions were closed. The remaining question is one vote away. These were not typical questions either. I provided screen shots, text-translations, background information -- far exceeding the typical quality of question we get. Moreover, I have been contributing for almost 9 years on this site and am in the top 1% (of like four sites on the network) and have like 30,000 experience here. This is tremendously discouraging, and I hope we can change something.
Not a dupe

Why we're not customer support for [your favorite company]

TempleOS isn't a company. It's a free operating system in the public domain created for user-programmers. This is not applicable at all to this question.

A:

The thing you're having difficulty understanding is that Stack Overflow does allow some questions about tools and operating systems. However, these questions must be about either programming tools (IDEs, compilers, etc.), tools that non-programmers could use but are primarily/frequently used by programmers (Git, Vim, etc.), or something of the kind.
Just because it happens under an operating system that's open source does not make it a valid Stack Overflow question.
Given that, let's walk down this list example by example:

Tab Completion

Acceptable How do I make Vim do normal (Bash-like) tab completion for file names?
Acceptable How to make PowerShell tab completion work like Bash
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50239212/how-do-i-enable-tab-completion-in-templeos

I wanted to get what I was used to (Bash-like tab completion) out of
  TempleOS. Unlike with VIM, there isn't a better place to ask the
  question (vim.se), nor is it documented (:he wildcard)

Vim is a tool primarily used by programmers, so questions about its operation are allowed (though vim.se is the preferred place). PowerShell is arguably a tool used primarily by programmers. While non-programmers could use it, most people who do are programmers or IT personnel.
TempleOS's shell is just... TempleOS's shell. Any user of TempleOS could have such a question; it's not specific to programmers. Unless you're saying that only programmers are users of TempleOS.

Missing source that was previously in core distribution

Acceptable Error "Unable to find a source package for r-base" on Debian Testing
Acceptable Unable to find a source package for pidgin (Linux Mint)
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50264004/does-templeos-5-03-have-after-egypt-and-other-utilities

Recently it seems TempleOS moved a lot of packages (which are actually source code) outside of the core distribution. Unable to find them I asked a question, and got a great answer.

Instructions on how to install programming tools and environments are on-topic.
As I understand it, After Egypt is just a regular utility for the OS, not a programming tool or environment. As such, instructions on installing it or any other generic utilities are off-topic.

Adding on "supplementation features"

Acceptable How do I turn a Windows feature on/off from the command line in Windows 10?
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50266458/how-do-you-use-supplimental-isos-with-templeos

Now that I know TempleOS has broken a part many things from the
  main/CORE distribution, I need to understand how to install them. The
  question is primary how do I get those things into the Virtual Box
  Image and add them to TempleOS. You can't exactly
  share-with-your-desktop, and it doesn't have a Network Stack. What is
  the supported mechanism for bringing in external data into the
  operating system? Or, do I have to rebuild an ISO with all the
  supplemental data I have and install that?
Sit for a second back and grok this, people closed this one for it
  being general computing hardware and software yet none of the
  people that have voted to close it have any experience with
  TempleOS.

That's because it is general computing software. The task you're asking about is not specific to programmers working in TempleOS in any way. As such, it's off-topic for Stack Overflow.
The Windows 10 feature question... that one is highly debatable. That sounds like it ought to be on Super User.

Kernel / OS version

Acceptable Where do I find the version of a Linux kernel source tree?
Acceptable Which version of Python do I have installed?
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/q/50257134/124486

Not knowing anything about the version of the operating system I was
  running. I wanted to figure it out. Despite the fact that it's
  undocumented in TempleOS, and there was no manual to read the question
  was closed. For comparison, both of these things are well documented
  with Linux and Python.

One question is about getting the version of the Linux kernel from the source tree; that's something programmers do. The next asks about getting the version of Python from within Python; that's something programmers do.
You asked about getting TempleOS's version from the shell. That's something users of TempleOS do; it is in no way specific to programmers.

Open Source Operating system

Acceptable Where is the source code for PyPI, the Python package index?
Unacceptable https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50242900/where-can-i-find-the-source-code-for-templeos

I can understand not wanting to look for something because often times
  the pursuit can not be definitively answered. From the close
  reason,

"Questions asking us to recommend or find a book, tool, software library, tutorial or other off-site resource are off-topic for Stack
    Overflow as they tend to attract opinionated answers and spam.
    Instead, describe the problem and what has been done so far to solve
    it."

But that's not always the case. If something is targeting
  "user-programmers" and known to be open source, and you can't find the
  source or you can't find the repository -- and the user has looked for
  it, it seems perfectly acceptable to ask where that repository is.
  Like all things, it may change but it can be definitively answered at
  a point in time, and in my case, I contend it requires an expert to do
  so. Prove me wrong.

Both of those questions are asking for off-site resources. Both of those questions should be closed.

I had the same problem with Forth, a language that has no ability to do Networking when I asked for a networking library, or how I would do networking with Forth.

And we don't allow questions asking for off-site resources, as previously indicated. And if it were just "how I would do networking with Forth", that's simply too broad.

This is not a matter of "niche technologies"; it is a matter of poor questions.

It seems to me that you're trying to use TempleOS as the "programming boat meme". That is, you're effectively trying to claim that everything that happens on TempleOS, every kind of use of the operating system, is programming.
That is absurd. I don't care if all uses of TempleOS involve C. It's not "programming" to ask the OS what its version is; that's use of the OS. It doesn't matter how the OS coughs up that version number. Even if it actually goes and reads its own source code to get the version number, you're still performing a user operation, not a programming task.
TempleOS doesn't get to exempt itself from our rules because of its interface.

A:

As demonstrated the policies of this website are inherently inconsistent and unfair. There is nothing you can do about it.

Despite Unix And Linux StackExchange, Ubuntu StackExchange, Apple StackExchange all representing communities centered around Operating Systems, and not end-use or programming -- TempleOS can not find a home on its own Stack Exchange nor on a combined OS Dev Stack Exchange.
Despite having direct analogs with more mainstream products, the questions are considered "off-topic."
Despite being explicitly for programmers (requiring knowledge of C), and unlike VIM which is just a Text Editor that programmers happen to use, TempleOS is not "programmer-enough" for Stack Overflow.
Despite having elections, and claiming to be "run by you" there is no list of the rules, sentences are mutable and change at the whims of StackExchange, you'll get banned again after a ban expires because it "wasn't enough." And, moderator elections are a top-down procedure. My own nomination was yanked.
Despite having close "reasons" it's just the will of an entitled cabal. Look even this question is tagged for being a dupe of "Why we're not customer support for [your favorite company] 1 answer": it's a meta joke. I flagged to get that notice removed (because it's an abuse of the system) and that flag was denied.

The questions have no home on the network but not for a lack of subject-matter adhesion or quality, just because excluding people and content is what evil corps do. So what can we do,

We can hope the Stack Overflow alt-right rage quits and leaves Terry and everyone else alone. Come on symbolic Code of Conduct and fragile masculinity!
We can hope that enough people opt-out of the Arbitration Clause so we can one day sue the billionaire overloads in a class action law suit, expropriate their yachts, and retire in Bora Bora, etc.

