This question was sparked in my mind as a result of the question: "[Are WIFI devices greater than 1000mW legal to use in the USA?][1]" Ignore that the question was poor in that it simultaneously asked for legal advice. Focus more on the portion of the question that was specifically asking for USA-specific advice.

##Are country-specific questions too localized?

It appears that [Mark Henderson agrees that it is][2].

> @XHR - "localised" is very very broad. If it's only applicable in one
> country, no matter how big the country is, or if the country is at the
> center of the universe, too bad. Additionally, we can't answer this
> because we're not lawyers.

[As does John Gardiners][3]:

> @XHR, the question wasn't about WIFI, it was about a legal issue. And
> yes, the USA is too localised as it makes up only one rather small
> part of the planet.


However, [rnxrx brings a counterargument][4]:

> So if someone asks for technical advice about a problem with a T1 is
> it still too localized because it's a standard essentially limited to
> North America? How about SONET vs SDH? UPS designs for different
> frequencies and voltages? The question asked isn't inherently solely a
> regulatory question (i.e. how do I comply with x electrical code) but
> rather speaks to a more fundamental question of how network design in
> wireless networks is accomplished by IT professionals.

As of this writing, it appears that a number of people agree with rnxrx because his comment has received three upvotes. When voting to close a topic, the "Too Localized" option gives this guidance:

> This question is unlikely to help any future visitors; it is only
> relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an
> extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to
> the worldwide audience of the internet. For help making this question
> more broadly applicable, see the FAQ.

It appears that the criterion for a question being "Too Localized" is simply that a question will not be likely to help *any* future visitors **or** it is restricted to a *small* geographic area, as well as time and situational narrowness. At first blush, existing guidelines indicate that country-specific questions are acceptable unless they trample on other guidelines.

It appears that we need to hash this out. I'll add two answers below that summarize the polar viewpoints that have been shown in this question. Vote accordingly. Also, include your own thoughts on how this should be handled.


  [1]: http://serverfault.com/questions/398995/are-wifi-devices-greater-than-1000mw-legal-to-use-in-the-usa
  [2]: http://serverfault.com/questions/398995/are-wifi-devices-greater-than-1000mw-legal-to-use-in-the-usa#comment-415476
  [3]: http://serverfault.com/questions/398995/are-wifi-devices-greater-than-1000mw-legal-to-use-in-the-usa#comment-415480
  [4]: http://serverfault.com/questions/398995/are-wifi-devices-greater-than-1000mw-legal-to-use-in-the-usa#comment-415477