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So i flagged this question as off topic; belongs on Super User. The flag was declined and i have a hard time understanding why. It seems to be a textbook example of a question that does not belong on SF according to the guidelines in SF's FAQ.

It's a question that directly related to a fundemental command in linux and should be better suited for another site than a place for "system administrators and desktop support professionals, people who manage or maintain computers in a professional capacity"

EDIT: Thanks guys, i think i have a better understanding of how to flag questions now.

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  • IMO that one is borderline, and "possession is 9/10ths of the law"
    – Jeff Atwood
    Commented Aug 29, 2011 at 13:03
  • I'm not really familiar with that expression but i interpret it as, from what i've read, that if it isn't a clear case the moderation should stand as is?
    – artifex
    Commented Aug 29, 2011 at 14:08
  • @Artifex, that's a common saying in the US regarding the law. Essentially it means that whoever currently has possesssion of something in question tends to have the law on their side regardless of proper ownership. In this case, I think Jeff meant it to mean whatever site already had the question should keep it (even if it's a mildly better fit for another site).
    – Chris S
    Commented Aug 30, 2011 at 12:55

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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That one is borderline and in my opinion falls within the benefit of the doubt. Sysadmins do quite a bit of scripting, and date-tagging files is something that happens frequently. A question like that would also be right at home on both SU and Unix & Linux.

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  • +1 Agreed, whatever site it started on is where it should stay.
    – Chris S
    Commented Aug 30, 2011 at 12:53
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Because when I got to the flag it was both answered and accepted.

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  • I see, i did not know that was a consideration.
    – artifex
    Commented Aug 31, 2011 at 7:01
  • Ultimately it's just a flag, pretty much the smallest unit of currency on SE, if anyone is really that bothered about flag weight/rep/badges I'd suggest they take up a sport because the SE sites aren't a very 'just' world.
    – Chopper3 Mod
    Commented Aug 31, 2011 at 8:25
  • I'm not really bothered with the weighting and such. I'm more interested in understanding what is correct moderation. It's just who i am. I never really disputed that it was declined. Just curious as to why.
    – artifex
    Commented Aug 31, 2011 at 10:08
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Why would you imagine such a question being off topic? Why would the use of touch, or a question relating to it, not be applicable to system administration? Nothing in the question defines a context and because this is equally applicable to system administration and someone tinkering on a workstation there is no reason to migrate it.

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  • It's more if the question is suited for than off topic. Off-topic comes from the labeling scheme of the flag system.
    – artifex
    Commented Aug 31, 2011 at 10:08
  • @artifex, exactly why is the particular example under discussion unsuitable in your view? Not every admin is completely fluent in every conceivable command on every OS, so sometimes questions like that need to be asked.
    – John Gardeniers
    Commented Sep 1, 2011 at 1:14
  • I agree with your argument.
    – artifex
    Commented Sep 1, 2011 at 6:24

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