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I asked this question on Server Fault, related to my iPhone not detecting my Wireless Network. Five people voted to close the question as it was off topic as questions on Server Fault are supposed to be about servers and network.

How is it not related to networks?

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    It was probably closed as there is a distinct lack of any detail that would help with solving the problem.
    – Oded StaffMod
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 18:00
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    1. ask such on Server Fault Meta in the future. 2. Your question is off-topic for company size administration. It is an end user problem which fits better for Super User.
    – juergen d
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 18:01
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    @HenriqueOrdine NO! Don't ask on Super User. See my comment here.
    – Seth
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 18:16

3 Answers 3

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I'm not sure about the others who voted to close, but for me it sounds like you're trying to get your iPhone to connect to your wireless router at home.

As per the first section of the FAQ, ServerFault is not the place for anything about home networking.

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  • Thank you, Ward. Is it suitable for SuperUser?
    – Henrique Ordine
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 18:29
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    I'm not sure... the way I read the SU FAQ, I think it would be since it's "Home computer networking." But as you can see, one of the other answers here says very strongly that it's not a good fit for SU. If you want to really impress everyone, post a question on meta.superuser.com and see what people there think. (Mention that you got conflicting advice here.)
    – Ward - Trying Codidact Mod
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 18:36
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If you look at the Server Fault FAQ it says:

What kind of questions can I ask here?

Server Fault is for Information Technology Professionals needing expert answers related to managing computer systems in a professional capacity.

If your question is about…

  • Server and Business Workstation operating systems, hardware, software and virtualization
  • Enterprise storage, backup, and disaster recovery
  • Network routing, switches, and firewalls
  • Operations, maintenance, and monitoring

Your questiont doesn't fit under any of these categories. It's also ambiguous and very vague.

The site that your question comes closet to being on-topic on would be Ask Different. From their FAQ:

Ask Different is for Apple enthusiasts and power users. If you have a question about ...

  • Apple hardware
  • Apple software
  • a limited subset of questions relating to iTunes Connect
  • other Apple products or services
  • third-party hardware and software for Apple products

If you plan on moving your question over to Ask Different make sure you explain your problem very well and take the time to use proper grammar and punctuation (it looks like you've already done that). I would also try to explain the phrase but my iPhone doesn't detect my network. a little better. Does your phone not see the Network at all? Do you have a hidden SSID?

Also, as a note, every site has has it's own meta and this question should have been posted on the Server Fault Meta

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  • My question IS about network routing!
    – Henrique Ordine
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 18:21
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    @HenriqueOrdine No it's not. It's about connecting your iPhone to your network and is not in a professional capacity.
    – Seth
    Commented Apr 14, 2013 at 18:22
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I that part of the problem here is that people, not jut the OP, don't know that they don't know. What I mean is that the OP considers connecting a phone to a network "networking." Most SF regulars would not. We care about networking questions involving firewall ACLs, NAT configuration, BGP, OSPF, switch stacking, VLANs, etc. These are all things that I'd wager askers like the OP have only heard of in passing, if at all.

That's not a knock on the OP, but it seems that there have been an uptick in questions asked by people that just dont know what networking means.

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  • You're right, MDMarra, I don't know much about computer networks, but I happened to know the answer to my question already and it was a configuration on the router. I used to think any question related to routers were welcome here, but now I've learnt my lesson.
    – Henrique Ordine
    Commented Apr 16, 2013 at 5:05
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    @HenriqueOrdine "I used to think any question related to routers were welcome here, but now I've learnt my lesson" -- not home routers. This is less about what is not welcome here & more to do with where your question will get a better answer. The fact is that most of us don't know much about the sort of home "router" you are talking about because it has as much in common with "business-class" routers most of us deal with as a kid's pedal-cart has in common with an 18 wheeler truck. Other sites in SE will have more people on them that can help you - as I see happened over on ask different.
    – Rob Moir
    Commented Apr 16, 2013 at 14:57
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    These questions (and one that I recently asked) are misplaced "here" because 1. The popularity if the Exchange network is booming. 2. If you're a noob, the difference between serverfault, superuser, unix.stackexchange, is splitting hairs. There is a huge difference between StackOverflow where just about any question can be asked without ridicule and serverfault which has got to be the least friendly of the stackexchange sites. The fact that there is such a discrepancy between how each site responds to "general technology" questions points to a glaring hole in the stack-exchange sites.
    – ChronoFish
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 1:38
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    @ChronoFish can you explain what part of our FAQ isn't clear? It's a technology site for technology professionals. Not a place for home users to ask professionals. Not a place for equipment in a home environment. It's pretty explicit.
    – MDMarra
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 2:26
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    Not saying that it isn't clear. I'm saying that once someone has written a question to the wrong site there are several ways of handling it, and the users/admins of serverfault do so in the least friendly way. If a professional network admin asks a question about installing Apache2 in Redhat SE, and a non-professional network admin asks a similar question about installing Apache2 on an Android USB computer, it's splitting hairs to call the non-professional out and tell him to "go somewhere else".
    – ChronoFish
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 2:58
  • Sorry that you feel that way, but the scope of server fault has been discussed time and again. If you'd like to propose a change to relax the rules, create a new thread here on meta. As it stands essentially saying "well, I think it should be different" isn't a good argument. Write up what you perceive to be the pros and cons of such a proposal and let the community vote on it and give feedback.
    – MDMarra
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 3:23
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    @ChronoFish when people post statements like yours I keep coming back to this: When we close a question here & suggest(or migrate it to) elsewhere we're not kicking people out of some garden of eden, we're trying to help them get better answers to their problems. Got a question about a home router,for example. It will get better answers on SuperUser than it will here, because home routers are different to business-class routers & there are more people with knowledge and expertise on home routers on Super User than there are on Server Fault. Getting good answers is what SE is all about.
    – Rob Moir
    Commented Apr 28, 2013 at 9:04

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