Computer setup questions off topic

Question

Can we please make sure we close quickly any question asking about set up of software. For example IMEs that are not working.

These are off topic on every other site as they are way too localized.

Answer 1

Although a down-vote on meta means to disagree, I don't feel like down-voting your question, because I disagree but you also make a good point... I'll elaborate a bit.

I think such questions have a chance to be open-ended and as such they must be closed, but it's also true that this site is the best one for such questions (about Chinese input) so we can't just erase them all. Considering this, I guess we could set them as off topic or not also counting the questions themselves, their form, etc., so not just by prohibiting them altogether but trying to see what points can be asked here and what not.

Anyway, I'm not sure yet, so I'd like to see also other opinions and see where the community as a whole moves to.

Answer 2

I just wanted to add my voice as I have a question that is part computer, part Chinese and want a view on whether it's appropriate, and why I think it should be accepted:

I'm trying to get Anki set up properly with the Mandarin pronunciation, tone colours and so on, but I seem to be getting stuck somewhere along the way. I imagine someone on Chinese.SE would have a similar set up, so would be a good person to ask.

As far as I can see this is a computer related issue, but just wouldn't occur for anyone not learning Chinese. I think software questions that are specifically related to Chinese should be accepted as we are probably the community that is best able to answer these kind of questions.

That's just my 2 cents on it anyway.

Answer 3

Can we please make sure we close quickly any question asking about set up of software. For example IMEs that are not working.

I disagree with that because of the "any." Excluding all software questions just because they are software questions is excessive in my opinion.

Chinese is somewhat unique compared to many other languages because it's not exactly intuitive for someone who is just learning the language to know how to input Chinese.

However, I agree that "IMEs that are not working" fall into the "too localized," as they aren't likely to help other visitors.

These are off topic on every other site as they are way too localized.

Not really. The only site that is comparable is Japanese.SE, where they did ban IME questions. That doesn't mean we have to do what Japanese.SE is doing.

Also note that there is a distinction between "off-topic" and "too localized." Off-topic is what's not on-topic, and what is on-topic is, to a certain extent, up to us to decide. "Too localized," on the other hand:

This question is unlikely to ever help any future visitors; it is only relevant to a small geographic area, a specific moment in time, or an extraordinarily narrow situation that is not generally applicable to the worldwide audience of the internet.

I strongly disagree that questions all software questions are unlikely to help future visitors. In fact, one of the first things someone learning Chinese will do is to try and figure out is how to set up an IME. Because of that, I think they shouldn't be banned.

Again, I am not saying all software questions should be allowed - just a few that are applicable to everyone learning Chinese. It would be preferable to have them here rather than on sites like Superuser because (presumably) they fall under the expertise of Chinese speakers, not power users.

Answer 4

I asked the question in question.

I had concern at first but noticed this 20 vote example question from Area 51: http://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/6388/chinese-language-usage/6470#6470.

Is that example question not representative anymore? or how can I rephrase my question to be on-topic? My question has a little more specificity so is perhaps a gray area. I'm not sure where else to ask such a question.

Answer 5

It sounds like you're worried that software support questions will be hard to answer, and might crowd out the more interesting vocabulary, grammar, and usage questions that this site should focus on. In your comment on another answer, you said, "support questions aren't allowed on any [Stack Exchange] site," and "Try asking a software support question on StackOverflow."

Personally, I find software tools interesting, and I find tools for learning and typing Chinese particularly interesting, so I would welcome that kind of question here. This question about installing psycopg2 seems to have been welcomed on Stack Overflow (15 up votes so far). A quick Google search of stackoverflow.com for "install" gives lots of hits, and I could find no comments in the first four questions that anyone thought they were off-topic.

On the other hand, this draft FAQ on meta.japanese.stackexchange.com contains links to several software tools, followed by this comment:

Help with any of these tools should be asked on the corresponding website and is off-topic here.

I couldn't find any actual software support questions on the German or Japanese sites, and this question had been migrated from the main Japanese site to its meta site.

The evidence is mixed, so I currently support including software support questions here if they:

1. Are about software tools related to the Chinese language.
2. Are clearly asked with a description of what should happen and what does happen. Essentially, they follow ESR's How to Ask Questions The Smart Way.

If someone can provide clear evidence of a network-wide policy against this type of question on sites other than Super User, I will change my opinion. If someone can provide clear evidence of policies on other sites, I will reconsider my opinion. By clear evidence, I mean moderator comments, blog posts, or discussion consensus.

If the consensus is to close this type of question, I would prefer migrating them to Super User instead of migrating them to this meta site. Any question that is poorly asked should probably just be closed instead of migrating.