Questions tagged [scope]

questions about the scope of this site.

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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
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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
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
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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
40 votes
2 answers
926 views

EOL Notice: Vivid Vervet (15.04) is now EOL as of February 4, 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 life as of February 4, 2016: Vivid Vervet (15.04)...
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
36 votes
0 answers
928 views

Ubuntu Cosmic Cuttlefish 18.10 is now released, and posts about it are (generally) No Longer Offtopic

As of about 17:47 UTC on October 18, 2018, Ubuntu Cosmic Cuttlefish 18.10 has been officially released. The corresponding release announcement email that went out to the ubuntu-announce mailing list ...
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
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
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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
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29 votes
2 answers
4k views

Ubuntu Focal Fossa (20.04) LTS is now released, and posts about it are (generally) No Longer Offtopic

(Meant to post this yesterday but crashed hard from lack of sleep) As of about 17:47:04 UTC on April 23, 2020, Ubuntu Focal Fossa 20.04 LTS has been officially released. The corresponding release ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
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
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
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
24 votes
0 answers
719 views

EOL Notice: Yakkety Yak (16.10) reached End of Life on July 20, 2017

This will be enforced as of July 21, 2017. This is a notice regarding releases of Ubuntu that has reached End of Life. The following versions of Ubuntu and derivatives are officially end of life as ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
23 votes
1 answer
187 views

Can I use this site to post a how-to?

Can (and should) I use Ask Ubuntu to ask a question that I already know the answer to in order to make a "how-to"?
mfisch's user avatar
  • 3,643
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.
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
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?
21 votes
0 answers
529 views

Non-EOL Notice: Quantal (12.10) remains supported through April 2014

Since 12.10 is non-LTS and 13.04 is non-LTS and 13.04 will be end-of-life in a week, it might seem like 12.10 must have been end-of-life a long time ago. But that is not the case. 12.10 is supported ...
Eliah Kagan's user avatar
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
19 votes
3 answers
1k views

"Can I run Ubuntu on my hardware?" questions: a discussion

Ask Ubuntu receives large numbers of questions like this example posted today asking "I have this [specific device], can I install Ubuntu on it?" These questions tend to attract low quality answers (...
Zanna's user avatar
  • 70.4k
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
18 votes
0 answers
2k views

Ubuntu Groovy Gorilla (20.10) is now released, and posts about it are (generally) No Longer Offtopic

(I'm a day late, I got busy with work stuff and at-home stuff) As of about 17:39:04 UTC on October 22, 2020, Ubuntu Groovy Gorilla 20.10 has been officially released. The corresponding release ...
Thomas Ward's user avatar
  • 74.4k
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
17 votes
4 answers
283 views

Unix vs Ubuntu?

If you're using Ubuntu but have a question which is applicable (or you think it is) across distros is it considered best practice to post in Unix SE? Or is it more a case of the question being valid ...
Philip Kirkbride's user avatar
17 votes
2 answers
1k views

When do we say a problem can't be reproduced?

Today I saw a question, noticed it was a problem that I and other people have been having in Ubuntu for years, and wrote an answer. I also checked on my machine that the answer was correct. I would ...
Eliah Kagan's user avatar
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
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
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
5 answers
235 views

Who is the public for which this service is intended, exactly?

Some of the questions appearing seem pretty advanced, wile others (like the ones I'm asking) are elementary. Who is the user we imagine using this service? The answer to this question should ...
eugenemarshall's user avatar
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
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 ...
16 votes
0 answers
2k views

Ubuntu 23.04 (Lunar Lobster) is now released and is no longer off-topic

Ubuntu 23.04 (a.k.a. Lunar Lobster) is now released. As of today (April 20th, 2023), posts about it are no longer off-topic on Ask Ubuntu. As usual, posts still must meet the normal requirements for ...
cocomac's user avatar
  • 3,338
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
15 votes
1 answer
218 views

Are python questions appropriate for this site?

Python is so ingrained in Ubuntu. Would it be appropriate to ask python related questions on this forum? Or WHEN is it appropriate to ask questions about python? Where is a good place to ask python ...
Dan's user avatar
  • 6,753
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
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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
15 votes
3 answers
361 views

Do we support snapd on other distros?

Although the current help says we support Ubuntu Core, it doesn't say if we support installing and using snapd on other operating systems. My default assumption is that we do not--after all, using ...
Eliah Kagan's user avatar
15 votes
1 answer
527 views

When are Debian questions off topic?

I just voted to close this Debian question. There are a bunch of Debian questions that are open though; when is it appropriate to close a Debian question?
Jorge Castro's user avatar
  • 71.7k
15 votes
0 answers
396 views

Ubuntu Budgie is now an official flavour (starts properly with 17.04)!

Ubuntu Budgie Remix is now an official flavour! Though 17.04/ZestyZapus (to be released in April, 2017) will be the first officially supported flavour, so questions on that should not be closed as off-...
user avatar
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
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
4 answers
613 views

Heartbleed on 13.04 is bad for the Internet, we should keep one open

Since this is a pretty serious issue I think we should keep one canonical question for heartbleed on 13.04, maybe this one? https://askubuntu.com/questions/445710/how-to-patch-ubuntu-13-04-raring-for-...
Jorge Castro's user avatar
  • 71.7k
14 votes
2 answers
183 views

Are Launchpad questions on-topic?

Since Launchpad is an integral part of Ubuntu, would questions relating to the use of Launchpad be on-topic? Obviously questions about a specific project on Launchpad would be off-topic. (Unless ...
Nathan Osman's user avatar
  • 32.1k
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
14 votes
1 answer
326 views

Can we burninate [hardware-recommendation]?

The help center says: Questions that you should avoid: Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Backtrack, Gnome-Remix (prior to 13.04), budgie-remix (16.04 and 16.10) and other Linux distributions (try our ...
Zanna's user avatar
  • 70.4k
13 votes
3 answers
234 views

Is asking questions about the ubuntu wiki off-topic

Is asking questions about the Ubuntu wiki off-topic. So I ask a question here about an error in the Ubuntu wiki and how do I edit said wiki page and the question got flagged as off-topic, why is this. ...
lnee's user avatar
  • 796
13 votes
2 answers
386 views

Are questions regarding System76 hardware allowed?

Since System76 is the largest vendor for consumer PCs with Ubuntu pre-installed, are questions about their products allowed if they don't concern the OS in particular? That would include What usb3 or ...
David Nehme's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
207 views

Are questions about other Linux distros acceptable?

Is it acceptable to ask elementary questions about Linux that will be of interest to Ubuntu users (e.g., how do I lock the screen in Xfce?) though one may be using another distro? Such questions will ...
Akhil Mathew's user avatar

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