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I stumbled across this question on Which HDD brand do you ..trust which was closed due to the subjective nature of it. While I agree it is subjective, I can't help but wonder where so valuable a question such as this would fit in the Stack Exchange network of sites?

Despite the subjectivity of the above question, it is still a very legitimate concern for anyone constructing a computer, because let's be honest, some hardware manufacturers really do suck- and with something so crucial as a disk drive it pays to be informed.

I'm not proposing that subjective questions like these be allowed on Super User, I'd just like to know if there is anywhere they would be allowed. Is this sort of question a better candidate for a separate Area 51 site?

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It's a legitimate concern, yes, but what would you consider as an accepted answer ? Half the folks say WD is reliable, other say WD is bad ( taking WD as an example).

Back on your question, Stack Engine series of sites are not meant for extended discussion - I see that you have put forward a proposal. I'd also recommend you have a look at Technology Recommendations Proposal

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  • nice catch on the Technology Recommendations proposal. I didn't see that one. As far as "accepting an answer" is concerned, that is actually a topic of some debate on the currently-beta programmers.stackexchange.com. I'm curious to see what the final determination is.
    – Nathan Taylor
    Commented Sep 15, 2010 at 7:48
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I stumbled across this question on Which HDD brand do you ..trust which was closed due to the subjective nature of it. While I agree it is subjective, I can't help but wonder where so valuable a question such as this would fit in the Stack Exchange network of sites?

I simply cannot agree that this is a "valuable question", at all.

It's like asking what politicians you trust, or what your favorite football team is.. just a bunch of personal opinion and anecdotes.

Perhaps a better question might be "how do I gather data to determine the reliability of hard drive brands?" (and FYI the answer is largely that you can't, since models change so frequently and often have completely different reliability levels.)

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In this case it might be possible to restructure the question to minimise the subjectiveness, but ultimately it's going to be a list of anecdotes ranging from "don't buy I had 5 fail in 5 minutes" to "go for this one, it's worked 24/7 for the past 10 years".

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To add on to the other answers:

Ideally all the questions here and in the other Stack Exchange sites would address a specific issue or problem. You need to have something with an unequivocal answer that WORKS.

"What is the best widget?" type questions have no real answer.

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