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https://superuser.com/questions/1028107/fatal-error-when-running-the-game-war-thunder

The purpose of Super User is for asking for help on the topic of hardware issues or software issues. Last I checked, the game War Thunder is a piece of software. It is not running correctly, so it has an issue. Is asking for help on SU off topic for this case?

Edit: For the record I just reinstalled the game and it works so I would like to leave this closed

4 Answers 4

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What topics can I ask about here?

Super User is for computer enthusiasts and power users. If you have a question about …

  • computer hardware,
  • computer software, or
  • personal and home computer networking

and it is not about …

  • programming and software development,
  • video games or consoles,
  • websites or web services like Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress,
  • electronic devices, media players, cell phones or smart phones, except insofar as they interface with your computer,
  • issues specific to corporate IT support and networks,
  • asking for a product, service or learning material recommendation,

… then you’re in the right place to ask your question!

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  • What is a good example of computer software?
    – Registered User
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:47
  • 2
    Microsoft Office.
    – Michael Frank
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:48
  • Facebook would be off-topic because...it's a social network and is not a piece of software but the browser it's running in, chrome, is on topic because it's a piece of software?
    – Registered User
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:50
  • @RegisteredUser That's correct. The community has defined its scope. I'm sure good content could be generated, but we have decided to not have it generated here. There doesn't have to be a tag (or even SE site!) for everything.
    – Ben N
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:51
  • 1
    I'm still confused...aren't games considered software?
    – Registered User
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:52
  • 1
    @RegisteredUser Yes, they are software, as are web pages (in a way). But the community has defined its scope to not include them.
    – Ben N
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:54
  • @Ben good stuff. Thanks for helping me get a feel for the scope here
    – Registered User
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:57
  • @RegisteredUser Games are software, yes. But very early on it was decided that SuperUser wouldn't accept questions about games. meta.superuser.com/a/249/128359
    – Michael Frank
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:58
  • @Michael I see now. Notice however, in this answer this person then commented "if it's about a problem with getting your game to run/configure then go for it", which is my case. :)
    – Registered User
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 2:03
  • @RegisteredUser: By the by, most questions about Facebook are on-topic at Web Applications.
    – ale
    Commented Jan 29, 2016 at 19:51
  • @AIE. cool thanks
    – Registered User
    Commented Jan 29, 2016 at 20:38
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I'd note I'm not posting this as a definitive modhatted answer, but I do believe the closure for the specific reason feels like a misunderstanding of the intent of the rules (that is to say, the spirit of the rules as opposed to one interpretation of the letter of them), least through the application of common sense. I believe the benchmark would be "How would I treat this if it wasn't a game executable"

I believe the intent is to not allow questions to do with playing games as opposed to finding errors in the game. The launcher's buggy, and if you want to nitpick

That said

  1. The question doesn't really give us enough information to solve the issue
  2. There's no evidence of any research and attempts to fix it
  3. This is really something the game company would be fixing.

So meh, I am officially disinclined to reopen this just to close it again.

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  • I think this is the correct response. The close reason is a misinterpretation of the on-topic rules. (It's not a question about the game itself; it's an issue with installation in Windows.) However, the logs and other information about the installation and Steam setup need to be edited into the question before it is reopened.
    – Excellll
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 20:10
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From the on-topic page in the "and it is not about" section:

video games or consoles

Gaming is such a huge topic, and Super User has apparently decided to not include it.

(For the record, I skipped this question when it came up in the Close Votes review queue. That said, with the lack of logs, environmental details, and research record, I strongly considered VTC'ing as unclear what you're asking.)

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  • Heh, Michael Frank posted his answer a couple seconds before mine. I'll leave mine up for the last paragraph.
    – Ben N
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:47
  • This was basically my question: I wanna run a game but i can't because there's an error. what do i do? Is that not a good question type for this site?
    – Registered User
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:48
  • @RegisteredUser If we accepted support questions for video games, we would be showered in such questions, and it is evidently decided that SU is for productivity(?) applications of computers. You should probably ask the game company's support, or look on their forums. Even if your question wasn't about gaming, it would probably be closed, as I said, as unclear.
    – Ben N
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:50
  • so stuff like this belongs on gaming.stackexchange.com?
    – Registered User
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:53
  • @RegisteredUser I don't know, it might. You'll have to check their on-topic page and/or meta. I believe you'd be best off contacting the game company or posting on their forum.
    – Ben N
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 1:54
  • I have a feeling that Gaming.SE frowns upon "My game doesn't work" type questions... but I haven't been there in a while, and I can't access the site from work, so my info may not be up-to-date.
    – Michael Frank
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 2:00
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    @MichaelFrank I wouldn't be surprised if the decision to not include game support questions here is motivated by not wanting to get blocked by school/work filters.
    – Ben N
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 2:02
  • @Ben "getting around filters" is an interesting one. my school blocks 4chan but not reddit.
    – Registered User
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 2:04
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I believe this question is within the scope of the site. The restriction on gaming questions is meant to keep out questions like

How do you get past level 8 in Portal on PC?

"But the game is software, and this is a site for questions about using software!" is the argument this restriction is meant to cut off.

Questions about installing or configuring software, even games, are perfectly fine by this interpretation of the scope of the site.

As mentioned in a comment above, there is an old meta post from Jeff Atwood that spells out this position.

So, yes, this question is in scope. However, in my opinion, it is also lacking in detail that would allow anyone to answer the question. If you have logs or any details about your installation (from Steam?), you should edit those into your question. After that is done, I think the question is a good candidate for reopening.

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