I realize that this question has been touched on before but I am shocked that this community is so closed to questions that, were they answered, could assist pure Ubuntu users.

I recently noticed this question was closed without explanation by those moderating it:

http://askubuntu.com/q/153729/42224

Furthermore, the rules do not seem to be consistently applied.  Many questions here are so generic they should be asked at other sites (Linux/Unix, Server Fault etc.), yet these have been kept open.

As Mint is so closely tied to Ubuntu I would have expected that there would be a good overlap.  Surely the tag system is there to handle this sort of thing.

I've been a member of [SO] for quite a while and several other sites including Area51 and thought that the same community spirit would be matched here.

There is a fundamental flaw in the way StackExchange works that doesn't address overlap which needs to be addressed but this may never be addressed so the best thing that can be done is to apply a consistent and fair policy, which is clearly not being practiced here.

I welcome your comments, but please be constructive as animosity is rarely welcome or helpful.