I didn't vote to close, but I would say others did because the wording of the question led them to believe you didn't really understand what a stop is.

Firstly, you've used what I would call scare quotes around the term stop. That implies you are uncertain about the term, whether it's used correctly etc. To me, quoting it e.g. - giving you extra 'stops' - implies you are uncertain about using that term. Or unfamiliar with what it means. Or wish to highlight the term in some way. If you are an experienced photographer, who is well aware of what a stop is, you probably would just use the term without quoting it.

Your question starts off saying that VR gives you extra shutter speed to play with. If you had asked how they work out how much extra shutter speed, then it would be more obvious you were questioning how they work out something so subjective (see Nir's answer). But by then asking about how they work out 'stops', it suggests another possibility: that you don't know how to convert shutter speed differences into stops. So some may have voted to close thinking that "What is one stop?" might help.

So while your question isn't a duplicate, if someone thought you just didn't understand the term "stop", then they might well suggest that other answer, figuring if you understood the term, you could answer your own question.

Maybe you could reword your question: "manufacturers state VR gives you 3 extra stops, which means for example you can shoot at 1/30 instead of 1/250. How do they work out what shutter speeds you can safely use, with and without VR? Isn't that subjective and hard to measure?" Or whatever the exact thrust of your question is.

I didn't vote to close, but I would say others did because the wording of the question led them to believe you didn't really understand what a stop is.

Firstly, you've used what I would call scare quotes around the term stop. That implies you are uncertain about the term, whether it's used correctly etc. To me, quoting it e.g. - giving you extra 'stops' - implies you are uncertain about using that term. Or unfamiliar with what it means. Or wish to highlight the term in some way. If you are an experienced photographer, who is well aware of what a stop is, you probably would just use the term without quoting it.

Your question starts off saying that VR gives you extra shutter speed to play with. If you had asked how they work out how much extra shutter speed, then it would be more obvious you were questioning how they work out something so subjective (see Nir's answer). But by then asking about how they work out 'stops', it suggests another possibility: that you don't know how to convert shutter speed differences into stops. So some may have voted to close thinking that "What is one stop?" might help.

So while your question isn't a duplicate, if someone thought you just didn't understand the term "stop", then they might well suggest that other answer, figuring if you understood the term, you could answer your own question.

Maybe you could reword your question: "manufacturers state VR gives you 3 extra stops, which means for example you can shoot at 1/30 instead of 1/250. How do they work out what shutter speeds you can safely use, with and without VR? Isn't that subjective and hard to measure?" Or whatever the exact thrust of your question is.