Questions tagged [faq]
These questions are the most frequently asked and answered questions on Meta.
16
questions
3
votes
1
answer
321
views
Why can't I ask customer service-related questions here?
I have questions about how I go about using various tools or products. Can I ask these questions here? If not, why? Where can I ask them?
23
votes
1
answer
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I have a question, but it may not fit best on Software Engineering. Where else can I ask it?
What other Stack Exchange sites are there that may be able to answer my questions about software engineering or software development?
Thomas OwensMod
- 79k
17
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Why are implementation and debugging questions off-topic on Software Engineering?
Questions that are asking for debugging ("help me find this error") or implementation ("how do I write...") have tended to be closed and down voted.
Why is this? And where should I ask these ...
user40980
22
votes
1
answer
1k
views
When is a software licensing question on topic?
I would like to ask a question about software licensing. The help center says:
If you have a question about...
...
software licensing
and it is not about...
...
legal advice or aid
It seems like ...
- 7,550
20
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Where does my tool question go?
I have a question about tools. According to the on-topic page, tool questions are off-topic on Software Engineering Stack Exchange. Is there a site for me to go to ask specific tool questions?
124
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3
answers
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What goes on Software Engineering (previously known as Programmers)? A guide for Stack Overflow
Moderator Note: Programmers changed its name recently to Software Engineering.
This post has been updated to reflect the new scope, but it still refers to Programmers for historical reasons. Wherever ...
user40980
43
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Where can I have subjective discussions about programming?
I entered Softwareengineering Stack Exchange and unfortunately, it wasn't what I was looking for. I expected you would be able to talk about all kinds of programming, but the rules are much stricter ...
user143253
48
votes
3
answers
5k
views
On the troubles of naming and terminology
Difficulty with naming has a bit of a history with programming.
There are two hard problems in computer science: caching, naming, and off by one errors.
It has been repeatedly revisited on meta ...
user40980
46
votes
11
answers
21k
views
Why was my question closed or down voted?
Help! My question was closed (or down voted). Why? And what can I do about it?
Downvoted
Duplicate
Off topic
What technology to take up next
Recommend a software library, tool, book, research paper,...
1089
votes
13
answers
53k
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Open letter to students with homework problems
It is September once again (today is the 8755th day of September), and once again students are asking their homework problems on Stack Overflow and SoftwareEngineering.SE.
We start seeing questions ...
user40980
12
votes
2
answers
261
views
A guide to moderating programmers.stackexchange yourself - close voting
One thing that keeps coming up is the number of questions that are closed solely by moderator action on this site. We've already been over some of the issues, but I'm going to take this opportunity to ...
ChrisFMod
- 38.9k
15
votes
2
answers
388
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Are software law questions off-topic here?
Most of the answers to legal questions here are prefixed with "I'm not a lawyer, but..." I'm beginning to think that including "software law" as on-topic is way too broad, and opens the door to ...
Thomas OwensMod
- 79k
16
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Are book recommendations on-topic?
We get a lot of book recommendation questions, so much so that it's hard to keep up with them.
We've been closing them as off-topic, not a real question, and not constructive based on a few different ...
user8
4
votes
2
answers
711
views
Are "I'm looking for X" questions on topic?
The question Is there something else like SquareSpace out there? (10k link) reminded me that there is nothing explicit in our FAQ about shopping recommendation questions. The question starts out with:
...
- 31.8k
13
votes
4
answers
645
views
Why is "what language should I learn" considered off-topic?
Don't get me wrong: I understand the argument that the answer in almost all cases is "it depends". Nevertheless, many people do want some advice on the applicability of various languages in the real ...
- 401
24
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1
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How do I get started with Programmers.SE?
What do I need to know to get the most out of this site?