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Update 7th June 2010

These are all gone on Stack Overflow and Super User. ServerFault is a different story:

https://serverfault.com/questions/tagged/belongs-on-superuser - 189 questions

https://serverfault.com/questions/tagged/belongs-on-stackoverflow - 14 questions

https://serverfault.com/questions/tagged/belongs-on-meta - 0 questions

Update 9th June 2010

Stack Overflow links for reference:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/belongs-on-serverfault - 0 questions.

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/belongs-on-superuser - 0 questions.

Also https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/belongs-on-meta - 0 questions.

Super User links for reference:

https://superuser.com/questions/tagged/belongs-on-serverfault - 0 questions.

https://superuser.com/questions/tagged/belongs-on-stackoverflow - 0 questions

https://superuser.com/questions/tagged/belongs-on-meta - 0 questions.

Unfortunately the quick retagging exploit for closed questions no longer works.

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  • 5
    Would those tags be candidates for the planned tag black list? meta.stackexchange.com/questions/19018/…
    – Troggy
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 21:45
  • @Troggy - indeed they would.
    – ChrisF
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 21:47
  • 2
    Troggy, these tags are the reason why this list was suggested.
    – Ladybug Killer
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 21:49
  • Yes, ignore my question mark. Look, a badger!
    – Troggy
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 21:50
  • 4
    There are no "belongs-on-superuser" questions on stack overflow because everyone on stack overflow appears to punt anything that doesn't belong there to serverfault, even if it's obviously a superuser question...
    – Unknown Yahoo
    Commented Nov 19, 2009 at 10:08
  • Noooo! stackoverflow.com/questions/1765365/… got migrated to SU with the tag intact, so unless a moderator sees and has mercy we're stuck with a permanent belongs-on-superuser question.
    – mmyers
    Commented Nov 19, 2009 at 22:56
  • 4
    Um, I'm completely stunned to learn that belongs-on* is evil. I saw them, and when I got points to retag, I started to use them, and I've never seen anything to indicate that I was trangressing. More propaganda needed?
    – Rosinante
    Commented Nov 21, 2009 at 19:03
  • @bmargulies - it's one of the "unwritten" rules rather than being something in the faq for example. It's come up here on meta quite a few times. The problem is that these tags are just noise especially when they get left on questions that have been migrated.
    – ChrisF
    Commented Nov 21, 2009 at 20:42
  • @bmargulies: I had the same problem. I've seen this "belongs-to-*" and since I don't regularly reads all meta feature requests/modifications I didn't know it's being "deprecated". I would like to have an "Advanced FAQ" that can address all these hidden rules of SO. I thought I was just being good for the community and now people say it's evil.
    – GmonC
    Commented Dec 28, 2009 at 15:30
  • 1
    Yesterday and today someone went in and tagged some questions belongs-on-doctype. This tag is even more abominable in my opinion because questions cannot be migrated to doctype, nor is there a clear line between what's acceptable on SO and what belongs on doctype.
    – Joel Potter
    Commented Jan 31, 2010 at 3:18
  • I got 407 problems, but a tag ain't one.
    – Pollyanna
    Commented Apr 7, 2010 at 17:30
  • excellent, thanks for cleaning this up!
    – Jeff Atwood
    Commented Apr 8, 2010 at 3:21
  • When a question is moved from stack overflow to server fault, is it normal that the associated answers are marked as deleted? Or was that only because (at the time) I had only ever logged in to stack overflow, never to server fault?
    – DouglasDD
    Commented Jun 8, 2010 at 5:25
  • It is unfortunate that I cannot do anything to clean up serverfault given that the vast majority of these questions are closed.
    – Zoredache
    Commented Jun 8, 2010 at 6:56
  • @DouglasDD - yes it's normal that answers are deleted from the original question.
    – ChrisF
    Commented Jun 9, 2010 at 9:57

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
8

I was trying to clean up a bunch of the belongs-on tags, but eventually gave up (except for new questions I see which have them). It really grinds my gears, because many of them get closed & migrated (hence locked) before the tag gets removed.

People, please, if you're voting to close a question which has one of the abominable tags on it, please, please, please remove the tag first. :)

And once again, I would be totally in favor of a tag blacklist containing anything that even starts with "belongs-on" ... (That should be easier than specifically blacklisting individually, just blacklist anything that starts with the word "belong". Done!)

13
  • +1 for removing the tag when voting
    – ChrisF
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 21:59
  • 1
    I always remove the tag when someone adds it to a question. Doesn't stop that person from retagging it back. You'd think people would be capable of getting the hint.
    – Brandon
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 21:59
  • 2
    @Brandon: That kind of thing makes me wish there were a way, over TCP/IP, to smack 'em with a sock full o' nickels ... (Yes, I'm kidding, but sadly you're right, some people just don't get the hint.)
    – Dr. Gonzo
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:01
  • 1
    @Brandon - I've started adding a comment - well two actually. The first to the owner to head on over to the other site and set up an account and the second to tell everyone else not to add the "belongs-on" tag back.
    – ChrisF
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:02
  • 1
    +1 "... grinds my gears"
    – Troggy
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:05
  • @ChrisF, I've started telling people to stop retagging it, however I don't usually tell the OP to head over to the other site. I use to, but then I began to realize that if it was taking too long to gain 5 votes, the OP would just go ask the question on the other site rather than waiting for it to be migrated.
    – Brandon
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:09
  • 2
    I usually put an edit reason of "belongs-on-* is not a valid tag". On the other hand, adding that tag to an old question might be the only way a low-rep user can draw attention to it - except for flagging for moderator attention, of course.
    – mmyers
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:47
  • Ah, but flagging for mod attention is the correct way to do that.
    – Dr. Gonzo
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:50
  • these tags get automatically removed when migration occurs.. FYI. Anything beginning with "belongs-on-"
    – Jeff Atwood
    Commented Nov 19, 2009 at 1:18
  • 2
    @Jeff - but the tag is remaining on old posts which is cluttering up the site.
    – ChrisF
    Commented Nov 19, 2009 at 10:09
  • @Cigars: I look forward to your RFC proposal for an SfoNoIP protocol.
    – Unknown Yahoo
    Commented Nov 19, 2009 at 10:09
  • @womble: That so makes two of us! I wonder if I can at least send the printer_on_fire message remotely. Ahhh, but to dream ...
    – Dr. Gonzo
    Commented Nov 19, 2009 at 14:37
  • I'm going to write a language called belongs-on just to make that a valid tag.
    – Richard Gadsden
    Commented Jul 30, 2010 at 17:14
1

No, if they belong on serverfault then they should have the tag. This way someone like yourself can look them all up at once. It adds to the organizational capabilities of the site as tags should.

8
  • 2
    I really can't tell if you're being facetious or not.
    – Dr. Gonzo
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 21:58
  • 2
    Add a comment or if it's really desperate flag the post. I can't speak for anyone else but I can often tell if a question belongs on one of the other sites from it's title.
    – ChrisF
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 21:58
  • 6
    Hmm, hiding behind that wiki blanket again are we?
    – Troggy
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:06
  • 1
    I think I have an answer on facetiousness ... Well Lance, I'd say we should agree to disagree, but the powers that be have already come down against using [belongs-on*]: meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4128/…
    – Dr. Gonzo
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:12
  • 2
    The other thing you (as a < 3000 rep user) can do is add a comment with a link to the duplicate. This will get picked up and used.
    – ChrisF
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:32
  • @ChrisF, I use all the options: migrate, comment and tag.
    – Lance Roberts
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:44
  • 3
    But tag is not a valid option, according to the site's management. Thus, it should not be done. It creates noise and garbage. The only people who search for those tags are people like me, who occasionally want to go on a cleanup binge, and even I've given up on it because 90% of the questions with the tags are already migrated. Bottom line: don't do it. Migrate, comment, and flag if needed, but leave [belongs-on-*] out of it.
    – Dr. Gonzo
    Commented Nov 18, 2009 at 22:52
  • After the question is closed and moved, it no longer belongs on the site at all. It is doomed to oblivion after it falls of the front page, except to mods and pseudo-mods. There is no reason for it to be organized or tagged at all.
    – Rex M
    Commented Nov 19, 2009 at 4:01
1

This is now sorted.

I've now got enough rep to retag and did the last few today alongside Kara Marfia (purely coincidentally).

1
  • coincidentally, sure.
    – Gnoupi
    Commented Jul 29, 2010 at 20:56

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