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I'm currently clearing out my cable drawer and finding all sorts of oddball things - I'm currently doing some simple functional tests on ethernet and USB cables and weeding out the infirm and weak.

Now, some of these cables are unusual enough that I find them baffling like 2 paired ethernet cables, and now, flat ethernet cables. These are physically different enough from my regular cat 5 cables that I'm curious about them, and have engaged in functional testing (the flat stuff seems marginally better, while 4 stranded cable is garbage).

I suppose the perfect solution would be to test these cables myself and write a blog post. However, I'm wondering - what would be the best way to handle very similar questions on the same functions but with potentially widely varying answers?

If I had wanted to ask a question on flat cables, or intend to, how best do I do it? Do I ask a general question, include the information from the other question, and potentially ask it to be merged? Ask a seperate question for flat cables?

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  • Maybe I didn't understand correctly—what would the actual question be?
    – slhck Mod
    Commented Jan 16, 2014 at 14:21
  • Either "What would be the disadvantages of a flat cable?" or a cable equivilent of this one - practically "what should I be looking at when selecting an ethernet cable?"
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Commented Jan 16, 2014 at 14:47
  • We had some paired ethernet cables with 4 connections at each end and a material sheeth holding the cables together. It had come with some conferencing equipment. The only time I have seen a flat cable similar to the one you are talking about is with a Cisco Console cable, which has an RS-232 connector on one end and an ethernet on the other. The fact is was flat seemed irrelevant. I work for an Engineering company and the engineers tell me that Cat6 is significantly better quality than Cat5e (according to the specs and standards) however in reality I have never noticed.
    – leinad13
    Commented Jan 19, 2014 at 13:45

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