Area 51 » Technology

Note that the scope and purpose of this proposal changed DRASTICALLY during the beta. Along with the name. Please refer to the Software Engineering Tour for the current definition.

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Bad name. I thought it's meta :p – KennyTM Jun 3 '10 at 23:05

So, on this site, I can ask what to google for to find out what to google for? SWEET! – Tim Post Jun 4 '10 at 0:02

Where can I vote for great off-topic site proposal? – extropy Jun 21 '10 at 13:43

show 17 more announcements

81 Example Questions (12 closed)

active newest votes

up vote 2 down vote

added by apaderno Jul 4 '10 at 3:53

up vote 2 down vote

added by Sergio Acosta Jul 4 '10 at 8:33

up vote 2 down vote

added by kelleystar Jul 7 '10 at 19:25

up vote 2 down vote

added by Łukasz Lew, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jul 12 '10 at 7:10

up vote 1 down vote

added by Evan Plaice Jun 18 '10 at 2:01

up vote 1 down vote

added by ChrisF Jun 18 '10 at 8:56

It seems to suit this proposal. – apaderno Jul 4 '10 at 4:04

up vote 1 down vote

added by Brant Jun 18 '10 at 19:10

Out at sea, on the moon, etc. – Brant Jun 18 '10 at 19:10

...or on a boat? – Pavel Shved Jul 6 '10 at 10:29

@Brant, you had me at "at sea." – Pops Jul 11 '10 at 18:30

up vote 1 down vote

added by Gordon Gustafson Jun 24 '10 at 0:05

	Well, it'll give you sore legs... – Nathan Osman Jun 24 '10 at 0:09
	How about treadmills while working? – Adam Davis Jun 24 '10 at 14:25
	This is not related just to non-programming – Lorenzo Jun 28 '10 at 0:41
	Sure! Just place your computer on the floor ;-) – Preets Jul 2 '10 at 20:36

up vote 1 down vote

added by Preets Jul 1 '10 at 9:57

Of course they are! – Lorenzo Jul 3 '10 at 11:29

up vote 1 down vote

added by Preets Jul 1 '10 at 10:00

up vote 1 down vote

added by Preets Jul 2 '10 at 20:48

up vote 1 down vote

added by apaderno Jul 4 '10 at 3:52

up vote 1 down vote

added by apaderno Jul 4 '10 at 4:01

up vote 1 down vote

added by kelleystar Jul 9 '10 at 14:38

up vote 1 down vote

added by Andrew Bolster Jul 9 '10 at 22:03

up vote 0 down vote

added by Adam Davis, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jun 3 '10 at 23:11

closed as off topic by Robert Harvey, sth, derobert, Jim McKeeth, J. Random Coder Jun 17 '10 at 13:01

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

up vote 0 down vote

added by Tim Post, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jul 11 '10 at 19:29

closed as off topic by sth, luvieere, Adam Davis, Noctrine, ChrisF Jun 16 '10 at 12:45

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

up vote 0 down vote

added by Robert Harvey Jun 4 '10 at 3:34

...And all other "best programming book" questions. – Robert Harvey Jun 4 '10 at 3:34

Discussed effectively on SO, right? – Jared Updike Jun 10 '10 at 6:43

@Jared: I always thought that these kinds of questions were considered off-topic on SO, but begrudgingly allowed anyway. – Robert Harvey Jun 10 '10 at 17:58

up vote 0 down vote

added by sth Jun 4 '10 at 19:56

closed as off topic by AviD, luvieere, bdonlan, Lorenzo, William Jul 9 '10 at 1:10

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

Seems on-topic for stackoverflow, if it's CW... – bdonlan Jun 19 '10 at 2:31

up vote 0 down vote

added by Sam Saffron Jun 16 '10 at 22:16

closed as off topic by Jim McKeeth, Brian R. Bondy, bdonlan, Eric Wilson, Willbill Jul 8 '10 at 19:57

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

I am not sure this question would be accepted in SO. I actually asked what is better between Perl, Python, and Ruby; the question has been closed. – apaderno Jul 4 '10 at 3:55

up vote 0 down vote

added by Evan Plaice, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jul 11 '10 at 19:28

closed as off topic by Gelatin, Eric Wilson, Andrea Ambu, Willbill, kelleystar Jul 9 '10 at 14:53

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

	From meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/12073/… – Evan Plaice Jun 18 '10 at 2:09
	Hmmm, down-voted with no explanation? – Evan Plaice Jul 5 '10 at 21:06

up vote 0 down vote

added by Noctrine Jun 22 '10 at 17:57

up vote 0 down vote

added by apaderno Jul 4 '10 at 3:52

up vote 0 down vote

added by Sergio Acosta Jul 4 '10 at 8:30

	Can anyone care to comment why this is considered off-topic? – Sergio Acosta Jul 11 '10 at 8:38
	programming related? – Dave Jul 11 '10 at 8:53
	Based on the description: "Proposed Q&A site for expert programmers interested in discussions that are only indirectly related to programming." - this seems to be a perfect fit. – Peter Boughton Jul 11 '10 at 13:11

up vote 0 down vote

added by Bless Jul 7 '10 at 17:59

up vote 0 down vote

added by Łukasz Lew, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jul 12 '10 at 7:09

up vote 0 down vote

added by Matt Blaine Jul 9 '10 at 21:24

up vote 0 down vote

added by Pavel Shved Jul 10 '10 at 15:49

up vote 0 down vote

added by Patrik Björklund Jul 11 '10 at 19:13

up vote 0 down vote

added by Patrik Björklund Jul 11 '10 at 19:15

up vote 0 down vote

added by Patrik Björklund Jul 12 '10 at 6:40

up vote -1 down vote

added by Adam Davis, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jun 3 '10 at 23:11

closed as off topic by bmargulies, Noctrine, derobert, Brian R. Bondy, Helen Jun 25 '10 at 18:31

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

up vote -1 down vote

added by Adam Davis Jun 3 '10 at 23:04

closed as off topic by bmargulies, sth, luvieere, Noctrine, ChrisF Jun 16 '10 at 12:45

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

@Adam Davis: what is the question? – WikiSpeedia hang-around Jul 11 '10 at 19:30

up vote -1 down vote

added by Nathan Osman Jun 4 '10 at 5:22

closed as off topic by bmargulies, OscarRyz, Firas Assaad, luvieere, Adam Davis Jun 15 '10 at 7:58

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

	stackoverflow.com/questions/1003841/… – rlb.usa Jun 16 '10 at 16:19
	I know that... it's an off-topic example. – Nathan Osman Jun 28 '10 at 3:52

up vote -1 down vote

added by luvieere Jun 8 '10 at 11:29

closed as off topic by Pops, Adam Davis, Noctrine, Michael Petrotta, Jim McKeeth Jun 17 '10 at 5:32

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

Knowing only the title, I'd say this is a valid SO question. – Pops Jun 15 '10 at 6:36

"Why does [language x] ... [language feature of x]?" are generally bad questions. It's the same like asking why is 2+2=4?, why is a circle round?, etc. They either are attempts to gain rep or just pure laziness of the questioner, not willing to research things by him/herself. – Dave Jul 5 '10 at 9:22

@Dave 2+2 does not equal 4 by a designer's choice, the fact that 2+4=4 and a circle is round are intrinsic properties, hardly the case of a language that has [feature x] because of a human's choice, that had a reason, a purpose that said feature needs to fulfill as it is, not in another way. So explaining that is not always in the realm of "it's like that because that's what it's like" - not lazy... just interested in the thought that went in the decision. – luvieere Jul 7 '10 at 6:19

@luvieere let me rephrase what I said: I can't imagine how I would answer this question other than "Because the designer(s) decided so?". I would have no problem answering a question like "Do You think the advantages of Java's platform independency overweight the disadvantages of its interpreted nature?" though.. – Dave Jul 7 '10 at 9:51

up vote -1 down vote

added by nik Jun 17 '10 at 15:21

closed as off topic by bdonlan, Ullallulloo, Samuel, Kredns, apaderno Jul 11 '10 at 22:37

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

I can already see this one bouncing from Serverfault to Superuser -- it might have a longer ride if posted initially on Stackoverflow ;-) – nik Jun 17 '10 at 15:22

up vote -2 down vote

added by apaderno Jul 4 '10 at 3:50

	I would say on-topic because he's asking for specific advantages between the two and not which is better over-all which could be argumentative. – Ullallulloo Jul 7 '10 at 19:04
	This kind of questions are not accepted on SO because they are subjective. It's a programming related question without to be a programming question. – apaderno Jul 8 '10 at 21:56

up vote -4 down vote

added by Robert Harvey Jun 4 '10 at 3:36

closed as off topic by OscarRyz, Firas Assaad, bdonlan, Kyle Cronin, Pavel Shved Jul 4 '10 at 19:55

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

	...And all other interview questions – Robert Harvey Jun 4 '10 at 3:41
	But how to solve problem X in language Y is actually a programming question. – derobert Jun 17 '10 at 3:34
	Some interview questions could be good, but I'd imagine a lot would fall on the border between being directly programming related, being subjective and being non-programming (and within the scope of the proposal) – Rowland Shaw Jul 8 '10 at 20:38

up vote -4 down vote

added by Robert Harvey Jun 4 '10 at 3:37

closed as off topic by bmargulies, Firas Assaad, chills42, derobert, Brian R. Bondy Jun 17 '10 at 11:47

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

...And all other "Please do my work for me" questions. – Robert Harvey Jun 4 '10 at 3:41

To the delete voter: like it or not, people are going to ask this question, and then argue with you because they can't ask it on StackOverflow and therefore feel justified in asking it here. – Robert Harvey Jun 5 '10 at 1:49

This is bad for reasons unrelated to on- or off-topicness - it's simply not a question with a 'right answer', and not one that'll help other people later. It doesn't belong on any stackexchange site, and so isn't really a very good off-topic example. – bdonlan Jun 19 '10 at 2:33

@bdonlan: For the very reasons you stated, I think that makes it an exceptional off-topic question, an example of what not to ask. – Robert Harvey Jun 24 '10 at 16:48