Questions tagged [discussion]
The question you're asking is designed to solicit opinions or best-practices on a particular topic, with the goal of reaching community consensus.
1,507
questions
21
votes
1
answer
259
views
Please fix our design issues
There are a number of design issues that have been outstanding for (quite frankly) a ridiculous amount of time.
This morning (UTC) one of the known design issues contributed to a certain amount of ...
20
votes
4
answers
553
views
Are answers from a vendor allowed?
I noticed that one of the answers to this question about CloudFlare is from a user named damoncloudflare. Looking at other answers from that user, they are all about CloudFlare and it's clear from ...
20
votes
11
answers
617
views
Perception of purpose
When using ServerFault, I approach it from the perspective of a professional resource. I use it to to provide solutions and see solutions provided to professionals. Specifically from the FAQ:
...
20
votes
10
answers
892
views
Where did all the admins on Server Fault go?
Did anyone else than me notice the lack of answers, up/downvotes lately?
I've been away for a few months, but I notice a huge difference - especially at the number of responses on questions. Why did ...
20
votes
3
answers
279
views
2018 Community Moderator Election Results
Server Fault's sixth moderator election has come to a close, the votes have been tallied and the two new moderators are:
They'll be joining the existing crew shortly—please thank them for ...
20
votes
5
answers
208
views
Change or retract a vote to close
This may have been discussed on MSO but I don't go there any more, so I wouldn't see it and don't believe we should have to search elsewhere for answers relevant to this SF.
It happened again today ...
20
votes
1
answer
239
views
Removing Down Votes When Migrating
I just noticed this today but a question was battered with down votes, rightfully so, and was migrated to one of the other SE sites. However, the downvotes stuck with the question. It seems like ...
20
votes
1
answer
141
views
Tag synonym for "XMPP": "Jabber"
We have a xmpp and a jabber tag.
Current stats:
tagged with xmpp: 77 questions
tagged with jabber: 52 questions
tagged with both: 25 questions
As far as I can see, they are used for the same thing: ...
19
votes
13
answers
2k
views
How do high-reputation SF users solve their own problems?
I have viewed some profiles of SF users who have high reputations. One thing I have noticed that they have asked only a few questions. Some Profile links are given below:
Evan Anderson
Iain
MadHatter
...
19
votes
3
answers
465
views
Refusing to give teh codez, good or bad practice?
When trying to provide an answer, I sometimes found myself hesitant to provide the exact recipe that would be a solution for a particular problem.
I think it is better (it has always been better when ...
19
votes
8
answers
435
views
Why are learning materials questions off-topic?
I asked a question looking for pointers to overview materials about VPNs, as opposed to product-specific documentation. It was very promptly closed as 'off-topic' on the grounds that "Questions ...
19
votes
8
answers
518
views
Inactive mods on SF - Or are they?
An interesting discussion just spun up on the SF chat, which clearly showed that some of us have strong feelings about how this site should be moderated - and who's job it is.
We have certain mods ...
19
votes
3
answers
516
views
Dealing with blatant spam posts
A new user just registered and posted two spam posts, one of which was very long. Both posts started to get downvoted very quickly, and a number of close votes were made.
The questions were live for ...
19
votes
2
answers
256
views
Should we approve edits that remove chatty anecdotes from answers?
An edit was approved for one of my answers today that seems on the chin rubbing side of pedantry to me.
Question: How to delete .fuse_hidden* files?
Answer: https://serverfault.com/a/478619/152073
...
19
votes
4
answers
289
views
Proposed close reason: Ask your vendor/sysadmin
ChrisS said here that y'all were looking for text for an "ask your vendor" close reason. I'd like to propose:
Questioners must have required access to fix the problem.
Some questions are more ...
19
votes
3
answers
688
views
Our FAQ sucks (so let's fix it!)
OK folks, I have a serious case of FAQ envy. Because of This question I took a good long look at the DBA.SE FAQ for the first time since it came out of beta. Compared to what they've done the front ...
19
votes
2
answers
268
views
Can I see the "Moderator election candidate statistics" for myself without running for moderator?
I figured I'd ask here before making an Evan Carroll out of myself.
I really like the statistics found here:
http://elections.stackexchange.com/#serverfault
Short of nominating myself, is there a ...
19
votes
1
answer
426
views
Is it ok to ask questions on setting up a torrent server?
I would like to help spread some legal content via torrents, to maintain its availability and help people find it if it will be deleted elsewhere.
I need help understanding what kind of software do I ...
18
votes
51
answers
933
views
Christmas Hats 2013 Edition!
It's December!
For the past couple of years, many SF'ers have added Santa hats to their Gravatars For Christmas. Feel free to join in, here are the hats we've used in the past:
or
18
votes
6
answers
938
views
Answering part of a question
Some questions have distinctly answerable parts (this one, for example).
If I know the answer to one part but not the other, is it acceptable to answer in part? I'm assuming that no better answers ...
18
votes
7
answers
1k
views
What should we do with "coolest server names"
So this question... https://serverfault.com/questions/45734/the-coolest-server-names
It's horribly off topic. It's got a few votes to delete it right now because the community does not want it here (...
18
votes
3
answers
387
views
Are questions on Docker suitable for ServerFault?
I am building a command line script (Linux-based) for which I have a Dockerfile to define a Docker container within which I do testing etc.
I have a question about why the HOME directory is not ...
18
votes
4
answers
732
views
What to do with questions when the answer is in a man page?
The question that got me wondering about this is here:
Displaying nmap result gradually as results are found
The answer to the question is directly quoted from the nmap man page. I was tempted to ...
18
votes
4
answers
396
views
What's off-topic; anything in a home setting, or anything that was designed for home use?
For our FAQ reshaping, I think we need to decide something:
Do we hurl questions over to Super User based solely on using a consumer-oriented product, even when it's clear that that product is being ...
18
votes
7
answers
518
views
Should licensing questions be closed?
After seeing yet another licensing question I'm wondering whether I'm right in thinking they should be closed. While it can be difficult or slow getting answers for technical questions from the ...
18
votes
1
answer
209
views
I've found the answer to a question about 10 minutes after posting it. Do I just delete the question?
Specifically I asked this question:
Looking for the Docker way to get just the 1st Repository Tag in "docker inspect"
after looking for the solution for at least an hour.
But after writing ...
18
votes
2
answers
545
views
Octopus Deploy Will Soon Be Sponsoring Server Fault!
We're excited to announce that Octopus Deploy will be sponsoring Server Fault for the next year beginning very soon! These types of partnerships that help us bring more resources to our communities ...
18
votes
3
answers
139
views
Can we black hole the "errors" tag?
It's worthless, IMO. Can we get it black holed, or at least discuss the possibility?
18
votes
3
answers
415
views
Pretty low standard for "constructive" comments
It's been a bit quiet in meta.SF the past few days, so I thought it was time to stir the pot. :)
So, I came across this question just now. Reading through the comments (see comment thread screenshot ...
18
votes
2
answers
268
views
Is it time for a canonical question/answer on non-hostname-aware protocols?
After yet another question asking how to bring hostname-awareness for proxying purposes to a protocol that doesn't have any support for it, is it time for a canonical question on hostname-aware ...
18
votes
3
answers
260
views
Moderator use of comment edits?
I recently left a comment. That comment originally said something like "What part of our [faq] made you think that this question was appropriate for Server Fault?"
It wasn't hostile, but it also wasn'...
18
votes
1
answer
277
views
Tag "remote" is ridiculous
Similar to kasperd's recent observation that the 'reverse' tag is ambiguous, I'd like to solicit additional opinions about remote, which recently came to my attention because someone proposed a tag ...
18
votes
1
answer
1k
views
I accidentally rejected a suggested edit that should have been approved. What do I do now?
While going through suggested edits I saw one in which it appeared that someone had added random bits of code to someone's question. So I rejected it as a radical change.
Then I took a second look, ...
18
votes
7
answers
150
views
Congrats to the newly-elected mods!
voretaq7, Chris S, and Iain -
Congratulations, gentlemen. All of you are model SE citizens, and I couldn't think of a better bunch to get diamonds this year.
I think I speak for all SF users when I ...
18
votes
5
answers
367
views
How many moderators do we need?
The moderator election states that there are two positions open. With the recent loss of Chopper3, this means that this is a net gain of 1.
There's some discussion with regard to the specific count ...
18
votes
3
answers
582
views
Chat is not a place for live support, but what is live support?
The banner in the Comms Room says This is *NOT* a place for 'Live Support', ask on the main site. I think we all agree that we don't want this room to turn into "halp! halp! My production system ...
18
votes
2
answers
587
views
Is "You are all backwards" really a valid close reason?
I often see, in the close queue, questions like this one:
Understanding the Basics of Subdomains with VirtualHosts
In it, the asker (who was of course edited for formatting) is wondering why his ...
18
votes
4
answers
292
views
Can we merge tags for wireless networks
Can we merge the following:
wifi
wireless
wireless-network
wireless-networking
into wireless-network perhaps?
Question Balancing
wireless-networking: 50 questions.
wireless-network: 305 ...
18
votes
2
answers
250
views
10 years anniversary of Server Fault
Is there any plan for Server Fault's 10th year anniversary? The first question posted on Server Fault on April 30, 2009.
Few months before Stack Overflow celebrated their 10th year Anniversary by ...
18
votes
1
answer
438
views
Burninate "size"
I just noticed the size tag on a question and discovered there are 42 other questions with it. Surely this is a meta tag and needs to go bye bye. If you disagree I'd be interested in the reasons.
18
votes
1
answer
322
views
New design readability - all comments are ignored
So, the most upvoted answer on Site design update is now live is about the poor choice of colors, making the new design unreadable. I wonder why, even though there's a good buy-in and support for this ...
17
votes
9
answers
1k
views
Community Promotion Ads - 2012 [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Community Promotion Ads - 2013
Apparently there's never been one of these on Server Fault. Let's amend that, shall we? ♪
What are Community Promotion Ads?
Community ...
17
votes
6
answers
610
views
How does the community feel about deleting the April Fools' question?
The question, though you'll need deleted-viewing rep to see it: https://serverfault.com/questions/679847/is-there-an-alternative-to-windows-server-since-it-is-being-discontinued
For those that can't ...
17
votes
6
answers
547
views
Is this site becoming what it's aspiring to be?
Looking at "What topics can I ask about here?" and comparing to what's actually going on on the site I sometimes wonder if it's what it's supposed to be.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'd think ...
17
votes
5
answers
915
views
Are RaspberryPi's ever on topic for ServerFault?
I'm seeing more questions to do with RaspberryPi boards. This latest one set me off: Why can't I stream more than 1 file using nginx?
Is there a belief that RaspberryPis can be used in a professional ...
17
votes
9
answers
1k
views
Are we too nice to high rep mods?
In the wake of this question (check the comments). I know there have been questions raised on meta about being more friendly to low reps. But are we too friendly for high reps?
I was wondering what ...
17
votes
4
answers
478
views
Edit powers activate! Removing Hi/Thanks
The format of StackExchange sites in general discourages the sort of letter-format questions common elsewhere. You know what I'm talking about:
Hi,
I have ${problem}. It has ${details}. Any ...
17
votes
6
answers
909
views
Is "Telephony" (as defined by Area 51 proposal) on topic here?
I need your help and expertise. There is a proposal inching its way through Area 51 to create a separate site for experts in Telephony (PBX/PABX/IP PBX/VoIP/ToIP). Please have a look at this proposal:
...
17
votes
1
answer
433
views
Rewriting "minimal understanding"
This current close reason is confusing and potentially misleading.
Questions must demonstrate a minimal understanding of the problem being solved. Try including attempted solutions, why they didn't ...
17
votes
3
answers
265
views
Confused about joining the community (reputation)
I am confused about how to join this community. Here's what I've done so far:
1) I have a problem.
2) I came here for help
3) When I went to ask the question, the instructions told me to ...