0

There are few questions from users >200 points on DevOps.

There are on the whole 5000 questions, and new questions get few views and few answers.

I thought using DevOps SE would be better for DevOps issues, but there are too many new users like me who do not know that this Stack Exchange is almost dead. They just go there, ask a question, and find out about it later. This waste of time should be avoided.

This SE should be merged into ServerFault (310.000 questions) even in cases where ServerFault does not fully fit as a name. Or give a better SE, I do not see it. (Perhaps it could be Stack Overflow itself if ServerFault does not want the questions.)

I have already asked the same question on ServerFault, now it is up to this community to discuss. Server Fault does not want to have the "crappy questions" from DevOps to some degree, I take that comment there as representative. But would it not be better to decrease the quality of Server Fault slightly and therefore get rid of the confusion of two very near SE's?

See Merge DevOps into ServerFault? (polite for: close down DevOps SE and find the best SE for the freed Q/A?)

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

This stackexchange is not quite as dead as it would seem. I've moderated Christianity.SE for a few years and here for a year, I'll admit, there's a lot more to do there, but there are a lot more questions asked here.

The problem is not enough answerers here. But I have the same problem when I ask esoteric questions on ServerFault. So I don't think it behooves anyone to have this site moved over to ServerFault (which I don't believe is a thing)

The important distinction is that questions here should be answered from a DevOps perspective i.e. the answer is not "Log in and do a thing", but "Write this script to do this remotely".

Now, we don't often hit this aspirational goal, but maybe we should refocus. Way to many questions are "How do I do this in Jenkins" or "Where's this button in the AWS console". I'd rather not see those questions.

Maybe we should just close more questions. I'd be up for a re-focus.

10
  • Strange, I thought anything that has to do with DevOps is best placed here, that also means your examples, since they have nothing to do with a "fault of a server" and are everyday work of DevOps. I would rather say there is too much DevOps on ServerFault, the naming of ServerFault is flawed, it does not fit to DevOps very often. But since the ServerFault community is used so much more for DevOps, I do not see a chance to keep this DevOps up in a senseful way. But why should everything in life be always senseful :).
    – questionto42
    Feb 23, 2022 at 14:08
  • Yeah, I don't know why this community was created, I might have signed up for the beta since my role at work is mainly DevOps. FWIW, I'd prefer if this site were just for ansible. I think the topic is big enough and the product is mature enough to have its own stackexchange.
    – Peter Turner Mod
    Feb 23, 2022 at 14:17
  • It is also another thing: DevOps, as a name, is too boring. All Stack Exchange sites have creative names while this site is boring in the sense that it is just what the job branch is called like. Perhaps it is really time to just close it completely, archive all and make ServerFault the official DevOps site from now on - even though it does not always fit to a "fault of a server". I cannot say anything about ansible, no idea, but rebranding DevOps to that focus, perhaps? Mind: ServerFault, StackOverflow and SuperUser are the main communities that ServerFault suggests to put it all in.
    – questionto42
    Feb 23, 2022 at 14:45
  • @questionto, only 5 or 6 have creating names. The "original trilogy" were collaboratively came up with and StackExchange itself was just something Joel Spolksy thought was cute. Do you know what DevOps is? it's ok if you don't - few do. but it would be more appropriate to ask these questions on StackOverflow than ServerFault.
    – Peter Turner Mod
    Feb 23, 2022 at 15:21
  • Well for me the name ServerFault is the main problem - if I understand DevOps right. It is not up to me to understand everything, there is confusion in the DevOps for a reason. The question and answer is for the public, not for me, I will not and should not decide anything. I also guess that it all comes down to StackOverflow in the end even though normally, it should just be about programming. For example, Google Cloud Platform asks you to post your questions on StackOverflow, not on ServerFault or DevOps.
    – questionto42
    Feb 23, 2022 at 16:04
  • @question ServerFault was just a cutsey name from back when branding was an issue, before Area51 communities. I've been on all of them since the beta. The beauty of it is like libraries at a big university. There might be one big library with a million books in it. But you still have Engineering and Agriculture and Geography libraries on the same campus. It doesn't mean you take all the Engineering books out of the main library and put them in the Engineering library. But it does mean you may need to walk a little ways to get what you need if it's specialized.
    – Peter Turner Mod
    Feb 23, 2022 at 17:53
  • Well if it was like this. But instead, it is more confusing; DevOps has many beginner questions from users who do not know the landscape. Often, those questions are not good (mine as well, btw). Specialised questions from high rep users rather go to ServerFault. The insights here and on ServerFault on this question here are enough for me, thank you for your answer at all. :)
    – questionto42
    Feb 23, 2022 at 18:21
  • 3
    @questionto42 check area51.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/22356/…, this question has been asked way before this site was launched. There was reasons to launch it, mostly because the target questions were off topic for SO/SF/etc.
    – Tensibai
    Feb 24, 2022 at 12:30
  • @Tensibai It is about now, not about why it was created (I have not read your link, admittedly). The problem now is that DevOps takes some few beginner questions while the mature users are is on ServerFault - since they know about this.
    – questionto42
    Feb 24, 2022 at 18:34
  • 4
    The fact is still the same, questions on topic here would be off topic on SF and closed as such, this stack has been open exactly for those questions mixing code and system administration along with some methodology of work.
    – Tensibai
    Feb 24, 2022 at 22:20

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .