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So this question sudo command won't run from script was migrated to SuperUser.

The question is really basic: why isn't my command in my path when I run it with sudo?

This accepted answer Preferred location for "shell scripting" questions says "consider who is asking the question." This makes sense.

Do we really think that someone who has that basic level of question is a system administrator or power user?

But now, other people who know they aren't system administrators or power users will be less likely to see the questin, and people who are will be likely to see the question and say "why is that quesiton here?"

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    A power user could also be someone who is an expert on Windows but only just started looking into UNIX-like systems.
    – Oliver Salzburg Mod
    Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 15:29
  • And so will go looking for answers to his noob questions on a power unix user site.
    – Charlie Martin
    Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 17:02
  • Anyone who is asking a question about a sudo command should have the required knowledge to understand an answer to that question. If they are asking a question about sudo, then they have that capability, and thus are a system administrator or power user.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 20:22
  • Nonsense. On, eg, a Mac, you are often told to use a sudo command.
    – Charlie Martin
    Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 20:54
  • @CharlieMartin - Question wasn't about OS X.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Feb 25, 2015 at 2:02
  • Which would be why I said "on, eg, a mac". Now think: if this person is using sudo, and doesn't know that's complaining about his path, is he really an advanced user/
    – Charlie Martin
    Commented Feb 25, 2015 at 6:37

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I don't quite follow your reasoning.

The question originated from Stack Overflow, a site for programmers, where the question is simply not on-topic. So the question was migrated to Super User where the question is perfectly on-topic.

You seem to suggest that Stack Overflow as a better fit, because it might be viewed by more people who are less experienced with the topic at hand. By that reasoning, Seasoned Advice would be an even better fit.

Every Stack Exchange site has a certain scope of things that are considered on-topic. The level of expertise of whoever asked the question is rarely a factor in deciding if a question is on topic. The important part is if the subject of the question is on topic.

In fact, over 90% of all traffic on all Stack Exchange sites originates from search engines. This is due to the fact that Stack Exchange sites provide information in a manner that is easy for search engines to digest, which results in high rankings in search results.

So it really doesn't matter that much on which site the question is located. What's important is that the question finds a home on a site where it is most likely to be answered.

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  • Well, I bet you could if you tried. This is a normal, small, programming task: making a shell script. It's one that needs to be run with sudo, which exists precisely because it's a safer way to let inexpert people do things requiring superuser privilege. So, yeah, it's perfectly suited for less-skilled programmers rather than superusers.
    – Charlie Martin
    Commented Feb 24, 2015 at 20:56

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