Questions tagged [scope]

questions about the scope of this site.

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64 votes
3 answers
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When are questions about "ubuntu+1" appropriate?

"ubuntu+1" is the developmental release of Ubuntu, so it changes every day so it can cause people to have lots of problems and ask for help. So for example people asking 11.04 (aka natty) questions ...
Jorge Castro's user avatar
  • 71.7k
61 votes
6 answers
2k views

Are Linux Mint (and other unofficial derivatives of Ubuntu) questions on topic?

(Inspired by this question about Mint. ) You only have to look at Wikipedia to find a long long list of Ubuntu derivatives - should we allow, or even actively encourage, questions regarding these on ...
8128's user avatar
  • 28.7k
33 votes
3 answers
816 views

Are bash/shell scripting questions on topic?

I have seen a number of users voting to close scripting questions as off topic. Is this the community consensus? Are bash questions not welcome here? How about other shell programming questions?
terdon's user avatar
  • 100k
18 votes
1 answer
749 views

Why are questions about (specifically) Ubuntu based distros off-limits?

I can understand (in general) questions about non-Ubuntu distros being off-limits. But is there a reason that questions about distros like Linux Mint which derive directly from Ubuntu are also off-...
Karthik T's user avatar
  • 2,031
54 votes
7 answers
2k views

Do we consider "Ubuntu on Windows 10" the same as an official Ubuntu flavour? Do we support it? To what extent?

As many will have heard of, Microsoft will distribute a stock Ubuntu installation to be run on Windows 10. Source. Someone has made the point that being this the result of a partnership with ...
kos's user avatar
  • 35.9k
33 votes
4 answers
1k views

How do we tell if a question belongs here, or rather at stackoverflow/superuser?

I asked a question about vim in the ubuntu stackexchange, and someone suggested it should be taken to stack overflow or superuser. Would this be relevant, or should general Linux/UNIX software stuff ...
Jeremy Kerr's user avatar
  • 27.1k
22 votes
2 answers
673 views

Are software recommendations on topic or not?

There are presently over 2 300 questions tagged with software-recommendation at Ask Ubuntu. However, now and then questions are closed on the basis of this tag being off topic. As an example, Thomas W....
Luís de Sousa's user avatar
17 votes
4 answers
532 views

Should questions about using end-of-life Ubuntu releases be closed? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Should we allow questions that are about releases which are considered End of Life? Should questions requesting advice using end-of-life (i.e., officially unsupported) Ubuntu ...
Eliah Kagan's user avatar
15 votes
3 answers
416 views

Questions seeking how to bypass security, off-topic?

Recently, this question appeared asking how to bypass a firewall using Ubuntu. What should we do about questions which seek out how to use Ubuntu to bypass security implementations?
Marco Ceppi's user avatar
  • 48.1k
24 votes
2 answers
355 views

A note on flagging end of life questions

Recently in review, there seems to be a lot of questions flagged for end of life, the issue with these flags is that when the questions were written they were ON TOPIC, this is important, old ...
Mark Kirby's user avatar
  • 18.5k
17 votes
3 answers
37k views

Wubi discussion (AGAIN) - Supported Here on Ask Ubuntu? (13.04 and later)

According to what the Release team told me, wubi.exe appears on the images. Whether or not this means it's "supported" is open to debate among the ops, however, for all other intents and purposes, ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
15 votes
4 answers
1k views

Policy Change Proposal: "End of Standard Support" for ESM releases is effectively the "Not Supported" date for a release on Ask Ubuntu

This is a proposal for adjusting a policy. The Community at large should vote on this change and determine whether or not they are in support of it. This will be as simple as upvoting the official ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
12 votes
4 answers
380 views

What ubuntu versions are covered?

There is a question on the site about this, but it belongs here so I rephrase. Is the site just about Ubuntu or also Xubuntu Kubuntu and so on. imho all official derivates should be covered ...
Manfred Moser's user avatar
25 votes
3 answers
781 views

EOL Notice: Hardy, Oneiric, Lucid (desktop) are now End of Life

This is a reminder/notice regarding now-EOL releases. The following versions of Ubuntu and derivatives are officially end of life as of today on May 9th, 2013: Hardy Heron (8.04, all currently-...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
19 votes
8 answers
574 views

Do custom kernels constitute off-topicness?

Originally, this question was closed due to a mis-wording, and is now in the process of being reopened. Another user pointed out to me that they believe that a custom kernel makes a post off-topic (...
nanofarad's user avatar
  • 20.7k
22 votes
5 answers
1k views

Are bug reports suitable for this site?

Recently there was a bug report posted as a question here. I was hoping the community could discuss whether this should be done or not.
15 votes
1 answer
2k views

How long do we support Ubuntu flavors?

Recently, there have been proposed and applied changes regarding “End of Standard Support” and “End of Life”. It is not clear, however, if this policy also applies to the official flavors. For example:...
BeastOfCaerbannog's user avatar
14 votes
2 answers
371 views

Are questions about making "unofficial" derivatives of Ubuntu welcome?

I wondered whether How to add custom services to Ubuntu that aren't Canonical's but my own (Cloud service etc) is off-topic because of "I'm making my own distribution of Ubuntu" in the body of the ...
user avatar
14 votes
5 answers
475 views

Can we please ban unrelated programming questions?

This issue has been discussed in the past: http://meta.askubuntu.com/questions/5695/why-was-a-purely-programming-related-question-not-moved-closed But I disagree with Andrea Corbellini because I ...
hytromo's user avatar
  • 4,904
17 votes
3 answers
358 views

Let's refine and clarify our off-topic close reasons

Recently I have noticed, both as a user and a moderator, a good number of questions either being closed as end-of-life or as a development release when they probably don’t need to be. Just a few ...
Seth's user avatar
  • 58k
16 votes
2 answers
392 views

Can I ask about a problem with a non-Ubuntu kernel here?

I realise that it's perfectly on topic to ask how to install a non-Ubuntu kernel, but what about problems that are specific to non-Ubuntu kernels? Are they and should they be on topic? If not, why ...
Zanna's user avatar
  • 70.4k
12 votes
0 answers
736 views

Policy Clarifications In Place on "End of Standard Support" and "End of Life"

Per the discussions yielded in Policy Change Proposal: "End of Standard Support" for ESM releases is effectively the "Not Supported" date for a release on Ask Ubuntu and 30 days of ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
10 votes
5 answers
638 views

Is Ubuntu 14.04 off-topic on Ask Ubuntu?

THREAD NOTICE: This issue has been raised to Mark Shuttleworth, the Ubuntu Community Council, and the Ubuntu Technical Board via this email message (TB is the only public archive version of the email)....
C.S.Cameron's user avatar
  • 19.5k
27 votes
6 answers
4k views

Questions that refer to using or installing ripped/pirated software

I note in the comments to this Question, that the user is using ripped software. umm, I just copied the folder of the game to my home folder.. thats it.. should I download the installation and ...
fossfreedom's user avatar
  • 173k
21 votes
9 answers
930 views

Are we better off with a general "Unix & Linux" stackexchange site?

Recently launched: Unix & Linux - Stack Exchange (Proposal ) Is Ubuntu perhaps a too narrow topic?
17 votes
5 answers
474 views

Shouldn't we stop closing questions instantly as Off-Topic if we see the words "mint", "debian", etc.?

I'm not suggesting that Mint is on-topic, but recently I've noticed questions getting closed as Off Topic, just because a question contains the word "Mint" or "Debian". If you need to close them, I ...
Dan's user avatar
  • 13.1k
13 votes
1 answer
1k views

EOL Notice: Raring (13.04) is now past End of Life

This is a notice regarding releases of Ubuntu that have reached end of life. The following versions of Ubuntu and derivatives are officially end of life as of January 27, 2014: Raring 13.04 New ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
12 votes
1 answer
162 views

Would a off-topic tag warning be a good-idea? [duplicate]

Here on Ask Ubuntu we have quite a lot of tags for various Linux distributions/Operating Systems/things that could be off-topic if specific about them: debian, mint, fedora, crunchbang, windows, ...
Wilf's user avatar
  • 30.2k
8 votes
2 answers
290 views

How to resolve conflicting information about "Chrubuntu" policy/status?

My understanding is that we do not currently consider Chrubuntu to be an unofficial derivative (or even a separate derivative at all), and that the current consensus is not to close questions as off-...
Eliah Kagan's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
103 views

Are half-Minty questions allowed?

I was just wondering as I saw this question Unable to install Ubuntu 14.04.3 or Linux Mint, are half-Minty questions like this allowed or should they be closed even if they are also as about Ubuntu?
user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
122 views

Asking questions about third-party applications running on Ubuntu

In the past when I have asked how to achieve a particular thing using a third-party application on Ubuntu, I have often come across users like here for instance that say that it has nothing to do with ...
user avatar
16 votes
6 answers
343 views

How can we refocus on being a Q+A, not a support forum or bug tracker? [closed]

After doing some investigation on issues brought up doing these questions I've found something that I'm embarrassed that we have let get out of control, see these questions for some background. What ...
14 votes
3 answers
938 views

Is Ubuntu WSL with Linux Mint repos/packages OK for Ask Ubuntu?

I recently installed Ubuntu on WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux). After installation, I added the Linux Mint repositories, and installed several packages from them (like mintinstall and cinnamon). Can ...
Zackary's user avatar
  • 121
13 votes
1 answer
216 views

Please reconsider closing bug-related questions if a workaround can be produced

I would like to investigate if there is a changed point of view concerning allowing bug- related questions in specific cases. The last time this was discussed is four years ago, and practice seems to ...
Jacob Vlijm's user avatar
  • 83.6k
12 votes
1 answer
315 views

Do we, or do we not support wubi.exe?

I have been wondering this for a while and would like to get a definitive answer. We still get questions on wubi on the site, however, it is no longer developed and won't work on a modern Windows OS (...
Mark Kirby's user avatar
  • 18.5k
11 votes
2 answers
131 views

What do we do about topics spanning multiple versions of Ubuntu?

For instance, What are PPAs and how do I use them PPA? this has multiple correct answers depending on what version of Ubuntu you are using. Should we continue this method or look to create separate ...
Marco Ceppi's user avatar
  • 48.1k
4 votes
2 answers
987 views

On-topic? What games can be played by two people on the same computer

I want to know what games can be played by two people on the same computer. The highest-voted for this meta question is: a "best game" one is far too open ended. You'd end up with every game in ...
Nicolas Raoul's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
183 views

Is Bitcoin on-topic on Ask Ubuntu?

I stumbled across this question. Just in case something happens to that question or its comments, here is a Wayback Machine link. I wasn't quite sure about if Bitcoin was on-topic, so I didn't flag it ...
cocomac's user avatar
  • 3,338
4 votes
1 answer
225 views

Are EFI/UEFI installation type of question appropriate at Ask Ubuntu?

Searching "ubuntu-12-10 install uefi" gives a google page of Ask Ubuntu Q&A all pointing to same recommendation. (which is make a grub-efi partition before trying to install) Have asked this type ...
geezanansa's user avatar
  • 1,550
4 votes
3 answers
228 views

Let's reopen this on-topic question about using Ubuntu software in Ubuntu [duplicate]

This question is, and has always been, on topic. The OP's reading of the FAQ is correct. A question about using built-in Ubuntu software and third party Ubuntu software on Ubuntu is a question about ...
Eliah Kagan's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
212 views

What's the final word on "What X are available" and "List of X" type questions?

What is our final decision on questions like these? https://askubuntu.com/questions/40606/what-arcade-platform-or-role-playing-games-are-available What IDEs are available for Ubuntu? Our FAQ is ...
Stefano Palazzo's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
77 views

Is it considered on-topic, If a user needs help to get back only Windows after he deleted Ubuntu partition?

If a user, who have dual booted system (with Windows) accidentally deletes Ubuntu partition and He now only interested to get Windows back, should we help him considering that, He fell into the ...
Anwar's user avatar
  • 76.6k
1 vote
1 answer
77 views

Why do one post sometimes off-topic post like "How To Boost Marathon Stamina?"

Recently I saw a post saying: "How To Boost Marathon Stamina?" Why people do post these type of off-topic post on Ask Ubuntu? These are automated robots for posting ads or something else?
snoop's user avatar
  • 4,040
0 votes
1 answer
43 views

More destinations for off-topic questions

Often, I see a question that is off-topic, but I only see options on the flagging interface to flag for a close or to flag to send it to meta, which is quite limited. Is this by design since other ...
nanofarad's user avatar
  • 20.7k
0 votes
1 answer
117 views

Are non-Ubuntu-spefic questions allowed? [duplicate]

I was just wonder, let's say that there is a question which asks how to disable the cache in Firefox, and the person who asks says that they are running a supported flavour and version of Ubuntu, is ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
106 views

Are questions on unauthorized software on-topic?

Someone asked a question about installing a software program that was clearly illegally procured. Yet I hesitate to flag the question as off-topic: there is, as far as I can see, no explicit rule ...
Jos's user avatar
  • 29.1k
-2 votes
1 answer
144 views

Just lets drop the software recommendation mess

Lets face it... software recommendation were never good questions for Ask Ubuntu, and don't tell me "but they are popular"... the popular questions got their popularity because they are too broad or ...
Braiam's user avatar
  • 67.7k
50 votes
0 answers
2k views

Ubuntu Bionic Beaver 18.04 LTS is now released, and posts about it are (generally) No Longer Offtopic

As of about 23:00 UTC on April 26, 2018, Ubuntu Bionic Beaver 18.04 LTS has been officially released. The corresponding release announcement email that went out to the ubuntu-announce mailing list is ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
37 votes
0 answers
1k views

EOL Notice: Precise Pangolin (12.04) reached End of Life on April 28, 2017

This will be enforced starting on April 28, 2017. This is a notice regarding releases of Ubuntu that have reached End of Life. The following versions of Ubuntu and derivatives are officially end of ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
34 votes
2 answers
1k views

EOL Notice: Wily Werewolf (15.10) is now End of Life (as of July 28, 2016) (Enforcement starts July 29)

This will be enforced starting on July 29, 2016. This is a notice regarding releases of Ubuntu that have reached End of Life. The following versions of Ubuntu and derivatives are officially end of ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k