up vote 6 down vote favorite

The Super User FAQ states that superuser.com is for asking questions related to computer hardware and software. Is asking iPhone or android questions allowed?

EDIT: Maybe the real question is: do we consider an android phone or an iPhone a computer?

My question has been asked!

Edit 2:
As a result of this and similar questions, the FAQ has been updated to read "and it is not about ... electronic devices, media players, cell phones or smart phones, except insofar as they interface with your computer"

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migrated from meta.stackoverflow.com Jul 22 '10 at 17:59

3 Answers

up vote 10 down vote

I'd say yes, since phones, especially smartphones nowadays, are essentially general-purpose computers and are subject to many of the same problems.

Edit by Gnoupi: since this post, the situation has changed. The FAQ now clearly states that you should not ask questions about "electronic devices, media players, cell phones or smart phones, except insofar as they interface with your computer".

Questions about electronic devices will be welcomed on this Area 51 proposal site, when it will launch.

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Providing the question is discussing the programming of the devices? – mas Aug 10 '09 at 11:22
Then it's probably better on stackoverflow than superuser. – Johannes Rössel Aug 10 '09 at 18:14
Sorry Johannes for hacking into your answer, it was not actual anymore and used as reference. – Gnoupi Jul 6 '10 at 19:41
up vote 6 down vote

Only for extra-computery phones, and even then, it's best if the question is at least related to computer hardware or software.

Fex: "I want to transfer PDF files from my COMPUTER to the iPhone and read them on the iPhone at my leisure. How do I do that?"

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the question i wanted to on superuser.com was: What android phone would you recommend & why? what say ye Jeff? or are we looking at another stackoverflow forum fork? – Nick Kavadias Aug 9 '09 at 9:48
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that's already kind of a problem question on any SO-family site. "What {x} do you recommend and why?" is just a discussion. – Jeff Atwood♦ Aug 9 '09 at 9:55
it's a bit of a 'soft' question. but i can make it a 'hard' one. What's the best android phone ? ;-) – Nick Kavadias Aug 9 '09 at 10:07
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You say at least related to computer hardware/sofware - but what about a problem with an iPhone app that's standalone? For example, "how do I do x in Mobile Safari." – bpapa Aug 9 '09 at 13:56
@Jeff Was this one out of line? superuser.com/questions/20634/… – Troggy Aug 10 '09 at 18:07
@Jeff: and what about this one? superuser.com/questions/21789/… – fretje Aug 14 '09 at 12:39
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I think phones should be totally fair game. Most of them are very "computery". Even if we're not discussing the computery features (email, web browsing). – Chris W. Rea Aug 14 '09 at 17:03
up vote 1 down vote

No, Superuser won't allow them unless the problem also involves a "real" computer.

You'd have to support one of these:

(Disclosure: these are referral links)

This is for general gadgets and gizmos: http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/614/electronic-gadgets?referrer=lu78is-6UwU1

This one's for all things Apple, if you happen to mean an iphone: http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/151/apple?referrer=LvSWwLbXk641

The former is a lot closer to a beta launch.

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