Timeline for What is our stance on questions “Is there any software that can do X or can it be achieved natively with Windows"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| May 17, 2017 at 3:15 | comment | added | Franck Dernoncourt | I created a question on this: Can any software recommendation question be made on-topic by simply asking "how"? | |
| May 7, 2017 at 1:59 | comment | added | Ramhound | Majority of software recommendations answers in the past are pretty bad, which is partially the reason, questions seeking them are not on topic. Software Recommendations SE was created to fill that void and I think it does it well | |
| May 6, 2017 at 21:25 | history | edited | MokubaiMod | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 653 characters in body
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| May 6, 2017 at 21:07 | comment | added | fixer1234 | @allquixotic, the difference in the wording is in the nature of what constitutes an answer. "Is there a program that does X?" can be answered with a list of software. "How can I accomplish X" requires a solution. Just naming a program isn't a solution to the question. | |
| May 6, 2017 at 20:00 | comment | added | I say Reinstate Monica | It's worth noting that asking What software does X doesn't invite functional solutions that would otherwise be elicited by asking How can I fix this? IMHO this is a just another XY problem where the OP assumes his solution is software. | |
| May 6, 2017 at 19:14 | comment | added | Mokubai Mod | For me it is a matter of simplicity. Stating what your problem is and saying "how can I fix this?" is okay, simply saying "What software does X?" without saying why is lazy and not particularly useful for future users trying to solve real world problems using software. Stating your problem allows users to find alternative solutions and describe a real solution that may not need external software, only asking for software means all you're going to get is a group of people belching the name of their favourite softwares. | |
| May 6, 2017 at 19:05 | comment | added | allquixotic | @FranckDernoncourt Yes. That is exactly why I think the "ban" on software recommendation questions is stupid. If rewording your question with a simple syntax replacement makes it OK, what the heck is the point? We have a bias against specific words? What we really want to ban are questions that show no research effort or don't describe the use case in detail, IMO. But our topicality rules don't word it that way. Maybe our newer moderators like Mokubai and DavidPostill can help rectify this utterly stupid situation... | |
| May 6, 2017 at 19:01 | comment | added | Franck Dernoncourt | Thanks. Does this mean any software recommendation question can be made on-topic by simply asking "how"? | |
| May 6, 2017 at 18:51 | history | answered | MokubaiMod | CC BY-SA 3.0 |