So, I went over the FAQ BEFORE posting the question. Now, I happen to think I am not too stupid. Here's how I interpreted it:
Server Fault is for Information Technology Professionals needing expert answers
related to managing computer systems in a professional capacity.
YUP. Founded three companies. Manage a team. Write code. Setup and administer workstations and servers (Win/Linux/Mac). About twenty computers and eight servers.
I think that qualifies for "Information Technology Professionals", whatever that is.
If your question is about...
Let's see...
Server and Business Workstation operating systems, hardware, software
and virtualization
YUP
Enterprise storage, backup, and disaster recovery
NOPE
Network routing, switches, and firewalls
YUP
Operations, maintenance, and monitoring
YUP
So, this question (and many XAMPP/WAMP questions I see closed on SF) are, according to the FAQ, perfectly relevant. The FAQ does not state that SF is for enterprise-class technologies at all. And, while I understand that solutions like XAMPP have their failings and are NOT a good idea for production deployment, lots of "Information Technology Professionals" use this during development of non-trivial real-world professional projects.
I've seen a comment or two about XAMPP (and related) questions belonging in SuperUser.
Super User is for computer enthusiasts and power users. If you have a question about...
- computer hardware
- computer software
- personal and home computer networking
Clearly we are not "computer enthusiasts" or "power users". And, this is not about personal and home computing. What's a "power user" anyway? Some guy who connects their computer to their TV?
These questions are about server software. Yes, last time I checked XAMPP is server software.
It isn't my intent to insult anyone, but one has to wonder if enterprise-level admins are taking over ServerFault and injecting a degree of elitism here.
XAMPP contains all of the technologies found in most production servers out there. That's certainly the case for shared hosting and virtual private hosting servers millions of sites use.
I have seen comments referring to "one-click LAMP stack installers" which, in my eyes, reveal a certain elitism or at least disdain for the technologies.
I remind you that these technologies include the very foundation of nearly every non-static site on the Internet: Apache, PHP and MySQL. The fact that these are easy one-click installs isn't any more relevant here than one-click activation of AWS resources.
Now, to be fair here. If ServerFault is about enterprise-level ("serious stuff", "the real deal") server administration please do the follwing:
- Change the FAQ to reflect this
- In fact, you might want to explicitly mention "one click LAMP stacks" as off topic to be clear
- Delete all XAMPP/"one click LAMP stack" questions from SF in order to make it very clear that these do not belong here
I'd personally have no problems if this was the case. It currently isn't and the moderators who have chosen to smash all XAMPP/"one click LAMP stack" questions are doing this community and the professionals who come here for help and to help a huge disservice.
