Revisions to What makes a question too broadly scoped for askubuntu?

replaced http://askubuntu.com/ with https://askubuntu.com/

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edited Apr 13, 2017 at 12:25

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So you're right that construing questions like What is apt and what are its uses?What is apt and what are its uses? and What is apparmor?What is apparmor? as automatically too broad is a radical approach.

What is apt and what are its uses?What is apt and what are its uses? is misleadingly named. It's actually asking "What are the uses for all the apt- commands?" That's not all that broad. I don't think this is one of the most valuable questions on the site, but it's not too broad.

To respond to the idea that this question is lazy: We have plenty of questions that are lazy in the sense that they ask for information that is extensively provided elsewhere, such that no answer is likely to describe anything that was not previously presented elsewhere on the Internet or in documentation. Like How do I reset a lost administrative password?How do I reset a lost administrative password? and How can I repair grub? (How to get Ubuntu back after installing Windows?)How can I repair grub? (How to get Ubuntu back after installing Windows?).

While poorly named, What is apt and what are its uses?What is apt and what are its uses? is valuable because a good answer would teach novices about all the utilities that comprise APT, dispel the myth that APT consists only of apt-get, and explain how the utilities perform different functions, showing how they can be used separately or together.

As for What is apparmor?What is apparmor?: I believe most users of Ubuntu are poorly familiar with AppArmor. A question A question with an excellent answer an excellent answer that summarizes its purpose accessibly is a very good thing. Besides that we have many other questions asking what particular parts of Ubuntu are, we know this question has answers that aren't "a whole book" or anything close. So this is not too broad under the FAQ either. That this question and answer are highly upvoted should be considered evidence that they are, in fact, valuable to Ubuntu users and the Ask Ubuntu sub-community more specifically.

Some of the answers that are mostly verbatim quotations from other documentation don't speak well for themselves or the questions they're answering. So Jorge Castro is right that What is apt and what are its uses?What is apt and what are its uses? looks bad right now. But that question can be answered well, by giving shorter descriptions of each apt- command than are present in their manual pages (while still more accessible descriptions than whatis would give).

What is apt and what are its uses?What is apt and what are its uses? was posted just a week ago. If a long while passes and nobody posts a good answer (as I've defined it), then it might be reasonable to close it as too broad... though it would be better to simply leave it alone (it has an upvoted answer, after all, and it's not really off-topic). But I doubt that; I would strongly consider posting what I consider a good answer there, if it weren't for my concern that the question is just going to be closed (and then possibly deleted).

###The FAQ The FAQ says "You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face"!

We don't interpret "actual, practical problems" to refer only to specific, imminent bad events. We never have, SO doesn't, and as far as I know, no SE site does. What is the philosophy behind Unity's name What is the philosophy behind Unity's name is considered a fine question.

No one opposes comparable questions about Unity, like What's the right terminology for Unity's UI elements?What's the right terminology for Unity's UI elements? and What are Unity's keyboard and mouse shortcuts?What are Unity's keyboard and mouse shortcuts?. If we should really only ask for help with a specific task, those would be considered bad, too.

So you're right that construing questions like What is apt and what are its uses? and What is apparmor? as automatically too broad is a radical approach.

What is apt and what are its uses? is misleadingly named. It's actually asking "What are the uses for all the apt- commands?" That's not all that broad. I don't think this is one of the most valuable questions on the site, but it's not too broad.

To respond to the idea that this question is lazy: We have plenty of questions that are lazy in the sense that they ask for information that is extensively provided elsewhere, such that no answer is likely to describe anything that was not previously presented elsewhere on the Internet or in documentation. Like How do I reset a lost administrative password? and How can I repair grub? (How to get Ubuntu back after installing Windows?).

While poorly named, What is apt and what are its uses? is valuable because a good answer would teach novices about all the utilities that comprise APT, dispel the myth that APT consists only of apt-get, and explain how the utilities perform different functions, showing how they can be used separately or together.

As for What is apparmor?: I believe most users of Ubuntu are poorly familiar with AppArmor. A question with an excellent answer that summarizes its purpose accessibly is a very good thing. Besides that we have many other questions asking what particular parts of Ubuntu are, we know this question has answers that aren't "a whole book" or anything close. So this is not too broad under the FAQ either. That this question and answer are highly upvoted should be considered evidence that they are, in fact, valuable to Ubuntu users and the Ask Ubuntu sub-community more specifically.

Some of the answers that are mostly verbatim quotations from other documentation don't speak well for themselves or the questions they're answering. So Jorge Castro is right that What is apt and what are its uses? looks bad right now. But that question can be answered well, by giving shorter descriptions of each apt- command than are present in their manual pages (while still more accessible descriptions than whatis would give).

What is apt and what are its uses? was posted just a week ago. If a long while passes and nobody posts a good answer (as I've defined it), then it might be reasonable to close it as too broad... though it would be better to simply leave it alone (it has an upvoted answer, after all, and it's not really off-topic). But I doubt that; I would strongly consider posting what I consider a good answer there, if it weren't for my concern that the question is just going to be closed (and then possibly deleted).

###The FAQ says "You should only ask practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face"!

We don't interpret "actual, practical problems" to refer only to specific, imminent bad events. We never have, SO doesn't, and as far as I know, no SE site does. What is the philosophy behind Unity's name is considered a fine question.

No one opposes comparable questions about Unity, like What's the right terminology for Unity's UI elements? and What are Unity's keyboard and mouse shortcuts?. If we should really only ask for help with a specific task, those would be considered bad, too.