Good point. I just fear that I'm a broken-record by repeating the same thing... Granted, I do try to link the bugfix or release note that applies to the problem. But The frequency with which this occurs on VMware and HP-related items is surprising to me.

I'm suggesting a note that asks if firmware, software, etc. have been updated as part of the troubleshooting process. There are two separate issues here. 1). People who run into odd issues due to outdated software and 2). People whose hardware exhibits bad behavior or where toxic firmware combinations are present.

There's no canonical answer here, as the reasons and problems vary. This is more of a troubleshooting step that people should take if they see unexpected behavior on their systems.

@sorin has a point. There IS a gray area... I do think SF needs to slightly reconsider the stance because product recommendations are sometimes unavoidable.

@PaulGear (it probably shouldn't have been closed). I'm not a fan of hard closing of product questions. Sometimes people need what they need!

@PaulGear The Apple backup solution question resulted from a glaring lack of guidance about this requirement and silence from Apple on how their software should be used in larger environments. My question was intended to solicit opinions and solutions devised by other people in my situation. It was not "what software should I buy?" is different than "How have you solved this problem?"

I do wonder if I'm addicted... I should chime in. But in the developer world, I mention StackOverflow and it's a highly-regarded resource. When I meet other systems administrators in real life, few seem to use ServerFault. It's a shame, as there's a lot of good knowledge that's not being shared.

What brought you to the site?

Yep. It's not a bad thing.

@thomas Basically, it's not discussion... it's Q&A. Answerable problems. There are checks to try to ensure that you're not asking a question that's already been answered, and a deep library of content.

@Thomas You're right. Although, I find that Spiceworks deals in a different segment of the industry. I've found a few good answers there, but know that there are certain things I can't ask. Here, we do need to realize that there are a variety of ways to define "professional". I work in some of the shittiest small environments, as well as some of the highest-end... I see a need to be welcoming no matter where people come from... as long as they follow the rules or spend a moment to understand the flow of this site!