Before this post gets downvoted to hell:
I think that programing questions about using the system calls/interface are on topic. But isn't on topic how to write a "hello world" in C.
This is already done:
This is not about Ubuntu. Questions about other Linux distributions can be asked on Unix & Linux, those about Windows on Super User, those about Apple products on Ask Different and generic programming questions on Stack Overflow.
(highlighted the relevant part)
The problem is that not everyone agrees in what is a "generic programming questions", including some of our esteemed moderators that believes that all programing done in Ubuntu is on topic, which seems a extremely similar situation/believe to the boat meme.
While your examples are illustrative and I agree with them, notice that this problem is neither new nor easy to solve in the Stack Exchange. Unix & Linux is having a similar discussion with the Linux C API questions which they, as we, don't really know where to draw the line.
My personal take is along the line of your last statement: If I were using another OS do the question essence change? This question is relevant to a programmer or to a programmer for Ubuntu applications?
Notice, I'm ok with some programing question, but if they are easily solved with the 1-2 result of Google (which it's also Stack Overflow) seems that he asked in the wrong site.
Ah, almost forgot. If you allow all sort of programming question "in Ubuntu", people that has been baned from asking questions in Stack Overflow will start spilling here drowning us even more with low quality content.
