Frequent Questions
422 questions
53
votes
1
answer
10k
views
How can I ask better questions on Server Fault?
This is a Canonical Question / FAQ Candidate to help our new users ask better questions,
and hopefully get better answers. Similar questions:
How do I get better answers?
How can I get people to ...
225
votes
3
answers
94k
views
What are the canonical answers we've discovered over the years?
We've created, appointed, or otherwise identified certain question/answer pairs that are the canonical answer for certain problems. These are answers where the community has said all it is going to ...
sysadmin1138Mod
- 136k
46
votes
4
answers
19k
views
What IS a "professional capacity"?
This is part of a set of questions on how Server Fault defines "professional" system and network administration. For additional information, see:
Why "professional capacity"?
...
81
votes
9
answers
2k
views
Server Fault needs professional-quality questions, not just questions from professionals
In the nearly 4 years that I’ve participated on Server Fault, it’s been a community that I’ve been proud to be a part of, and I’ve been able to build my own skill set a lot and help people out at the ...
- 116k
20
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Why "professional capacity"?
This is part of a set of questions on how Server Fault defines "professional" system and network administration. For additional information, see:
What IS a "professional capacity"?...
- 41.3k
24
votes
1
answer
526
views
When is an answer Not An Answer?
This is intended to provide information for people who throw Not An Answer (NAA) flags and who might be surprised to see the canned decline reason "flags should not be used to indicate technical ...
- 117k
23
votes
9
answers
2k
views
Are cpanel questions really 'professional sysadmin' related?
Do any professional sysadmins really use cPanel, rather than provide cPanel? To me, cPanel is indicative of non-professional (i.e. voluntary, spare time, personal) web hosting use?
Sure, I can see ...
- 9,441
56
votes
8
answers
4k
views
Abrupt change in moderation staff?
Myself and a few others just noticed that HopelessN00b and Chris S are no longer listed as moderators. What is the story behind this?
- 111k
27
votes
9
answers
2k
views
What should Server Fault do with questions about web hosting control panels?
We've had this discussion before, but it's apparently time to revisit it. For some background, see:
http://meta.serverfault.com/q/1075/126632
http://meta.serverfault.com/q/3425/126632
http://meta....
- 252k
20
votes
11
answers
625
views
Perception of purpose
When using ServerFault, I approach it from the perspective of a professional resource. I use it to to provide solutions and see solutions provided to professionals. Specifically from the FAQ:
...
- 24.2k
28
votes
8
answers
2k
views
Is it time to kill problematic tags like cpanel, plesk, whm and webmin?
Given the recent uptick in new users with new questions, I've been noticing an even sharper-than-normal decline in quality on the site and a correlated increase in the number of questions about how to ...
- 54.2k
66
votes
8
answers
4k
views
Why the hostility?
The comment thread and reaction to the original poster of this question was completely out-of-line.
https://serverfault.com/questions/494996/what-are-the-bare-essentials-to-make-ubuntu-production-...
- 201k
43
votes
5
answers
7k
views
What information should I include or obfuscate in my posts?
This is a Canonical Question about the privacy of Server Fault and the needed detail to get an answer from the community.
Is there any information other than a password that would be considered a ...
- 143
27
votes
13
answers
2k
views
The bad tag collection
Summary
Ok, we have a lot of bad tags. I found at least half a dozen without trying over the weekend. Some of these tags have hundreds of questions in them, meaning that it will take a dev so that we ...
- 101k
23
votes
8
answers
1k
views
Sick of "unprofessional" questions
I'm seeing SO MANY questions like this: How to get my server viewable from the internet?
From the FAQ:
Server Fault is for system administrators and IT professionals, people who manage or maintain ...
- 69.5k