Why are product recommendation questions globally off topic in DIY forum?

Question

I posted a question that has been marked as off-topic because it seeks a product recommendation. The note says that product recommendation questions become obsolete. I can agree with this policy if we're discussing a computer related item that DOES become obsolete quickly. However, in a DIY question discussing general purpose plumbing components, I have a hard time believing fast obsolescence is much of a problem.

Or am I missing something here?

Answer 1

We decided long ago that "shop for me" type questions would be off topic. Answers for these types of questions typically include only links to products, which aren't very useful when the link inevitably dies.

So it's not so much that particular plumbing fittings become obsolete, but more that links on the internet become obsolete quickly.