When are proposals closed or removed?

Question

To be clear, I'm just attempting to get a complete idea of the potential lifecycle of a proposal, which includes it being closed. I'm looking for a complete list of vote-to-close and auto-close reasons on Area 51. I've searched around, and been unable to find a this information. clearly if I was able to vote-to-close I'd be able to click the vote-to-close button, and see a list of reasons; clearly I don't have the rep to be able to do that, just pointing out that's one of the places I attempted to find the info; though I did find the info stating 2000+ rep is needed to vote-to-close.

Answer 1

This is the standard set of reasons a proposal may be closed:

• duplicate of proposal
  This proposal covers the same ground as another proposal; it would tend to drain audience from another Stack Exchange site.
• duplicate of site
  This proposal would tend to drain audience from an existing Stack Exchange site.
• poorly defined
  This proposal does not clearly state who might use the site, or what questions would be on-topic.
• content violation
  This proposal has high potential to violate the Stack Exchange Content Policy.
• not a viable proposal
  This proposal will not result in a useful, productive, or viable Q&A site.

Beyond that, we have the following processes in place to work with proposals that are just not going to make it as a Stack Exchange site.

The Final Proposal Review
Late-stage proposals go through a final Community Manager review to see if they are both viable and a good fit for the network. It is somewhat rare to close a proposal during this review, but if the proposal is somehow a poor fit for the Stack Exchange model, or a subject already covered by another site, it may be closed.

Abandoned Proposals
As part of the routine maintenance of Area 51, proposals that have ABSOLUTELY NO ACTIVITY for a period of 30 days are subject to deletion. That means absolutely NO activity; no new questions, no comments, no voting… absolutely nothing. This is an extremely conservative measurment. It takes only the tiniest bit of activity to keep the proposal going. But…

Closing a Proposal After 1+ Year in Definition or Commitment (link)
On occasion, we have to uproot and close a proposal which has been painfully slow at gaining support. Typically, there is nothing inherently wrong with the subject… but after 1+ year in Definition or Commitment, you have to determine if the proposal still has the support it once had. Proposals that take longer than 1 year in Definition or Commitment are subject to closure.

In the latter case, it is perfectly acceptable — and sometimes even recommended — to start these proposals again. I would also note that closing and restarting 1+ year old proposals has spurred some of our strongest launches on the network to date!