I think clearly off-topic: "What's the best tax software to use?" (While many things here are opinion-based to some degree, this is a "shopping" question that's not really going to have a useful "correct" long-lived answer.)

I think clearly on-topic: "What are the filing methods $State allows for my state taxes?" (It's answerable, can likely use the state's web site or official form instructions as references, and will have as long-lived an answer as anything related to taxes can.)

The question that brings this up: [Is there a “Free File Fillable Forms” equivalent for CA Form 540 for California Income tax?](https://money.stackexchange.com/q/78596/42405)

My thinking is that it's much closer to my second example than my first. It's asking about filing directly with the questioner's state, and what options the state offers. A moderator closed the question as "seeking product or service recommendations". I can certainly understand where he's coming from, as it could be close to my first example, and could go in that direction of answerers aren't careful, but I think it's still on the "on-topic" side of the line. I submitted a flag for moderator review to re-open, and the moderator replied "I think those are still off-topic. Maybe open a question on meta?"

And thus, I'm opening a question on meta to discuss this. At what point does asking about how to file ones taxes turn into a "service recommendation"?