Timeline for "Server Fault is for system administrators... in a professional capacity"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
15 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| May 3, 2012 at 23:51 | comment | added | Steve Bennett | You're starting from the existing axioms, that include the requirement to demonstrate effort. I'm not. | |
| May 3, 2012 at 21:26 | comment | added | John Gardeniers | @Steve, the second example IS bad because it shows the poster hasn't put any effort in for him/herself. Such a question is almost certain to get closed. | |
| Apr 14, 2012 at 1:54 | comment | added | Steve Bennett | Indeed. What I'm arguing is that the second is not necessarily bad, as long as the question and answer describe a common scenario - and as long as there aren't already similar questions on here. | |
| Apr 13, 2012 at 23:12 | comment | added | MDMarra |
@SteveBennett There's a difference between asking a question that says "I read the man page for rsync and I've tried $x $y and $z, but I can't for the life of me figure out why it's not producing the desired results." and a question that says "I need to copy files. I heard rsync was good. Someone tell me what I need to do."
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| Apr 13, 2012 at 14:04 | comment | added | Steve Bennett | Interesting. In response, I find it annoying that man pages are so hard to read that it's usually quicker just to google the specific issue you're having. It can take a long time to read through all the subtle distinctions between similar command line switches to work out exactly what combination you need. Frequently, googling (and ending up on a site like this one) gives a much better answer: "here are the most common switches, you might also need this, and make sure you don't do X". | |
| Apr 13, 2012 at 10:44 | comment | added | MDMarra | My opinion is that if you can get the answer clearly by reading the man page, you didn't put enough effort in. I find it insulting for someone to ask a question that is already answered in the documentation. It is like saying "my time is more valuable than yours. I'm not reading the docs, but you can for me." That said, I think your example question is probably fine, though maybe better suited for unix.se. | |
| Apr 13, 2012 at 0:46 | comment | added | Chris S Mod | There's a fine line between an easy question and an easy answer. Your question I would say is on-topic, though by a narrow margin, and though the answers were "easy" for some people, most non-unix SysAdmins would never guess any of them. | |
| Apr 13, 2012 at 0:12 | comment | added | Steve Bennett | Incidentally, my most popular question here: serverfault.com/questions/367921/… Do you consider this "on topic"? It seems pretty "easy" to me, but clearly it interested people. | |
| Apr 13, 2012 at 0:09 | comment | added | Steve Bennett | Ok, here's my take: the way I solve "easy" problems is usually through Google. If I'm searching for it, it's likely someone else will want to search for it. If I can't find a good, simple answer, then why not ask here, so the next person will find that answer? It's not that I want someone to "do my work for me" - it's that I want to contribute to the body of knowledge that is Q&A, including "easy" questions. (And I self-answer a few of those easy questions, too...) | |
| Apr 12, 2012 at 15:11 | comment | added | MDMarra | An "easy question" is one that someone with reasonable experience in a professional role would be able to solve on their own using the tiniest bit of effort. Things like "How do I allow SSH through iptables" is an easy question, for example. It doesn't belong here. You'd hope that someone that manages Linux servers in a professional capacity would at least know where to find that answer if they didn't know it off the top of their head. We're not here to do people's basic research/troubleshooting. We're here to google things for people. We expect real effort to solve the issue from the OP. | |
| Apr 11, 2012 at 22:43 | comment | added | John Gardeniers | It's worth noting that a someone switching to a new OS, device, etc. may well ask questions which would appear to be "easy" to those with greater experience in that area. e.g. A Windows admin trying to get his head around a Linux system may well ask questions which appear very easy to answer for a Linux admin. This can be compounded by not really knowing what search terms to use while researching the issue. | |
| Apr 11, 2012 at 13:46 | comment | added | Rob Moir | Steve, the problem isn't with people asking "easy" questions as such, its with people asking questions that don't really fit the site's aim and purpose. We welcome on-topic questions as one of the aims of stack exchange sites is to become a reference library for their topic. In my opinion, the only problem this site has with "easy" is when its a synonym for "Do my work for me" or a blatantly off-topic question. | |
| Apr 11, 2012 at 12:40 | comment | added | Chris S Mod | Taking select words out of context does not an argument make. You are either doing System Admin work in a Professional Capacity, or your Professional Capacity is another job. Time has nothing to do with finding a solution; see despair.com/incompetence.html. "Easy" questions drive away actual knowledgeable professionals and garners an atmostphere of "help desk" (or hell desk as most of us think of it). No pro wants to work for 8 hours, then pour more time into helping people who didn't read our FAQ. There are plenty of forums around that will "help" you. We do not aim to be one. | |
| Apr 11, 2012 at 4:11 | comment | added | John Gardeniers | If you have a question please post it as such. | |
| Apr 11, 2012 at 3:51 | history | answered | Steve Bennett | CC BY-SA 3.0 |