The Help Center states that for a question to be on-topic, it needs to fall under the following categories:
Using and administering official Ubuntu flavors including: Edubuntu (14.04), Ubuntu GNOME, Kubuntu, Ubuntu Kylin, Lubuntu, Mythbuntu (16.04), Ubuntu Studio, Xubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Touch, Ubuntu Budgie (17.04+) and Ubuntu "Snappy" Core.
Running third-party applications on Ubuntu.
Development on Ubuntu.
Services provided by Ubuntu and Canonical.
Any questions not mentioned below or here are great!
These rules are somewhat vague and confusing. For instance, Running third-party applications on Ubuntu. I personally take this to mean questions asking about how to get a program to run on Ubuntu are on-topic, but anything beyond that should be asked elsewhere.
As an example: I've noticed a lot of questions asking for help when a program won't run under WINE:
- https://askubuntu.com/questions/859157/how-can-i-run-mathcad-under-wine
- Running Adobe digital editions 1.7 in wine , on Lubuntu 16.04
- Problem installing League of legends on Ubuntu 16.10
- I am not able to find other people on my local network when playing Counter Strike 1.6
(Searching WINE in the AU search will yield many more.)
Now, to me, these questions are off-topic. They are not asking how to get WINE running (it already is). Instead, the questions are about how to get programs running under WINE, and troublehsooting errors in Windows applications. In my opinion, questions asking for help are basically asking how to get the program running on Windows.
Getting a program running under WINE isn't getting a program running under Ubuntu, it's asking how to use WINE. Since WINE isn't a Canonical service, it doesn't fall under the category that makes questions about using Canonical programs on-topic.
I think we need to come to a consensus on whether or not this type of WINE question is or isn't on-topic. It would be even better if we could find a clearer interpretation of this rule.
Specifically, should questions about troubleshooting programs running under WINE be on-topic? Generally, how should we interpret this rule for future use?
