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I am having a problem with Powershell, so I came here as a resource to find an answer.

I discovered an existing post that is very similar to my own problem here: WinRM will NOT work, error code 2150858770

There's nothing in the thread to indicate what the fix was, if anything.

When you click 'Ask a Question' the page makes a big deal about how we should search to see if a similar question already exists, and we should follow up there rather than create a duplicate. So I was under the impression that, if I had just posted a duplicate, I would have been scolded for posting a duplicate.

So I did what I thought was the right thing, and sought clarification on the post that had similarities to my own.

I tried to leave a comment. However, I lacked the reputation to leave a comment. So I left the following answer:

Did you ever get a soultion to this? I am having the same error message when I attempt Enter-PSSession -ComputerName localhost on a Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 64-bit host.

Apologies for posting this as an answer. I know this should be a comment, not an answer. But I've signed up to respond, and I need to have 50 reputation to comment.

My answer was deleted by Sven, with the following comment: This isn't a valid comment either. Server Fault is not a forum.

I did what I thought I had been instructed to do on the 'Ask Question' page, and I thought I was doing the right thing to avoid a scolding. But then I got scolded anyway. So now I'm completely confused.

What should I have done instead? Would a duplicate post have been okay in this circumstance?

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    The web site itself warned you to not post that non-answer, before you posted it. Where did you see advice to do otherwise? Aug 17, 2016 at 22:53
  • I feel like I'm receiving conflicting instructions, and I'm asking for clarification so I can know how to do the correct thing. I'm asking a simple and respectful and sincere question. It should be straightfoward enough to answer it. Instead, you're asking me a nasty rhetorical question. Why is there all this hostility? I'm genuinely confused as to why my first two interactions on this site have been so uncharitable. Aug 17, 2016 at 23:00
  • To clarify: The site and Sven have told me what not to do. But nowhere have I found out what I should do instead. I'm confused, and I genuinely want to know what I should do, so that I can do it. Is it a crime to ask for help? Aug 17, 2016 at 23:01
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    I'm aware that you seem to be getting conflicting advice. I'm trying to figure out where it's coming from. The web site should have warned you in a pop-up to not post a comment or a question as an answer. It's not a problem to ask for help, nor is any hostility intended. Aug 17, 2016 at 23:02
  • Thanks for the clarification - easy to misread text, I guess. The popup did come up, yes. But at the same time, on the 'Ask Question' page, it makes it very clear that we should attempt to search for and research our problem first, because someone else may have already had the same issue, and that it's important to show that we've put in some effort to research the issue ourselves before posting here. That's what I was trying to do when I followed up with that poster: Seek clarity on the existing query, which may have been resolved (but not updated), before posting a duplicate of my own. Aug 17, 2016 at 23:05
  • Aha, now I think I understand. I'll attempt to answer this question. Aug 17, 2016 at 23:06

1 Answer 1

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You came to Server Fault with a problem regarding WinRM. You went to ask a question, and received advice to search for similar questions to see if one of them would resolve your problem. You did this, and discovered an unanswered question that appeared similar to your problem. Then you posted a comment (as an answer) asking if the problem had ever been resolved.

This last is frowned on at SF and on the rest of the network. Answers are reserved exclusively for answering the question, and comments for everything else, such as clarification. At the same time, there is a reputation requirement for comments, and we have reasons to be strict on that.

So we move on to your primary question here about duplicates.

Over the years we have noticed that many people will often face exactly the same problem. Once a solution is identified for that problem, and written in an answer here, others can read the Q&A and possibly apply it to their own situations. Many questions are never posted at all because people were able to resolve their problems by reading an existing question and answers.

But sometimes people miss the Q&A (or don't search) and will post identical or nearly identical questions. In this case the community can mark such questions as duplicates of another existing question, the poster is notified of this and can agree with the duplicate solving their problem or edit their question to show how it's different.

However, the community cannot mark questions as duplicates of another question which doesn't have an upvoted or accepted answer, like the one you reference. (A moderator can do this, but we generally do not unless the questions are identical and posted by the same person.)

In this case, if that is the only question you were able to find regarding your issue, I would expect you to post a new question, with complete details, as though the other question didn't exist. You might wish to reference the other question and note that it is unanswered, though.

P.S. I did take a look at that question, and I note that it's odd that that error number is in decimal. Microsoft usually displays its error numbers in hexadecimal. If you convert that number, it comes out as 0x80338012. Perhaps you may find something relevant if you search for that.

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