Is there a list of banned topics?

omgwtfbyobbq · 2011-06-14 22:21:46

Maybe I'm blind by I haven't noticed anything in the Off-Topic forum explicitly stating what topics we can't post about. For instance discussions about other operating systems appears to be banned, but I can't find a sticky about it. What other topics, besides the obvious illegal stuff, are banned?

Xabre · 2011-06-14 22:25:42

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Forum_Etiquette

ewaller · 2011-06-15 02:44:41

Allow me a minor correction. Discussions that libel other operating systems or their developers are not tolerated. Objective, technical, polite comparisons of Arch and its features to other distributions and Operating systems are fine.

Requests for support for other operating systems are generally not appropriate. Please don't ask questions about how to fix a Windows Registry or how to install a driver on Crunchbang. If it is peripherally applicable to Arch, it is okay; examples might include Android interfacing to Arch through ADB; getting a program to run under Wine, How to do something on Arch that is known to work on, say, Gentoo.

omgwtfbyobbq · 2011-06-15 03:07:11

If that's the case, shouldn't that be in a sticky for that forum, or at least in the forum etiquette article in the wiki? I think that putting forum posting guidelines in the wiki is also kinda weird since most users won't think to look for forum guidelines there IME. Are there any other exceptions like this that aren't mentioned in the wiki article?

Last edited by omgwtfbyobbq (2011-06-15 03:08:46)

Inxsible · 2011-06-15 03:12:44

Most things also just comes down to common sense as to what is appropriate and what is not. If unsure, asking a moderator by private message is the way to go.

karol · 2011-06-15 08:36:36

omgwtfbyobbq wrote:

If that's the case, shouldn't that be in a sticky for that forum, or at least in the forum etiquette article in the wiki? I think that putting forum posting guidelines in the wiki is also kinda weird since most users won't think to look for forum guidelines there IME. Are there any other exceptions like this that aren't mentioned in the wiki article?

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=62345

omgwtfbyobbq · 2011-06-15 18:55:29

Inxsible wrote:

Most things also just comes down to common sense as to what is appropriate and what is not. If unsure, asking a moderator by private message is the way to go.

That's the weird thing about it. Most forums I've been to aren't as restrictive in terms of similar subject matter. For instance on a Mercedes forum, no one will bat an eye if someone posts up a basic question about a Honda in OT and the same holds true for just about any subject barring the obvious exception of not having an OT forum. The other stuff, avoiding illegal/controversial stuff is fairly common, but most forums are pretty up front about the other stuff while this one isn't. Obviously that's just my 2c, any forum can have as many invisible lists of what is or isn't permissible as it wants and ban discussion of any related topic in OT, but most don't.

stlarch · 2011-06-15 19:44:44

This is actually the only forum I've ever been a part of (other than penthouse forum of course - I'm kidding). I used to look through the Ubuntu forums when I used that but I never joined. While there is some good info there(probably a lot), it's all over the place. I've come to appreciate Arch's "strictness". I personally like it this way. Much better IMO.

drcouzelis · 2011-06-15 21:31:17

If there was a list, I'm sure would have "don't post about the position of Arch Linux on the distrowatch distribution ranking list" on it.

omgwtfbyobbq · 2011-06-18 17:52:53

stlarch wrote:

This is actually the only forum I've ever been a part of (other than penthouse forum of course - I'm kidding). I used to look through the Ubuntu forums when I used that but I never joined. While there is some good info there(probably a lot), it's all over the place. I've come to appreciate Arch's "strictness". I personally like it this way. Much better IMO.

I can totally see that for most f the forums, but having a relatively strict off-topic just seems weird to me. Ya gotta make sure to stay on topic in off topic and all that.

disastrophe · 2011-06-18 20:11:21

At first the policies (both implied and clearly stated) felt a little restrictive to me but I believe there are very good reasons for them:
I used to spend some time at Debian forums and things are definitely much more lax in their Off-Topic. By that same token I have also seen how fast things can get out of hand when bad feelings start to arise.
I much prefer how Arch maintains a sort-of polite indifference about other distros and their users. I think it's perfect.

Arch doesn't need to run other distros down or make fun of them or make a bunch of noise to prove anything - it's unique, it's the freakin' best and it's above such things.

karol · 2011-06-19 21:59:26

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php … 28#p749928

kazuo wrote:

I think that we need a new rule at the forum, anyone that suggest to symlink a library need to be banned...

The quote is not about what topics do we allow here, it focuses on a certain kind of posts. Shows that at least some people want to do stuff The Right Way and symlinking a library because it's easy is frowned upon.
This may come from laziness, which is one of the three great virtues of a programmer (according to Larry Wall), as often you forget what kind of symlinks did you put in place and why and this can make a mess in the future.

Being strict about what's correct and what's wrong doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Last edited by karol (2011-06-19 22:10:54)

ConnorBehan · 2011-06-28 16:43:30

I would have been banned several times then :S. Whenever I suggest it, I always include a warning that it is not proper and could lead to breakages, but I think people should know it's an option.. I do it from time to time for three reasons:

1. The obvious is that it's a time saver. Symlinking is faster than recompiling.

2. Even if the API changed from soname to soname, there's a good chance that all of the programs I use that depend on that library only use a subset of the API that hasn't changed. Indeed, I almost never get crashes because of this.

3. The hack is very temporary. I usually only have to use it when an Archlinux package "-1" has not yet been updated to "-2" to reflect an update of the library it depends on. A "pacman -Syu" in a few days will get me release number 2 and the whole thing will become a non-issue.

karol · 2011-06-28 16:49:41

Problem with stale symlinks is they are harder to debug. If you know what you're doing and remember to change / remove stuff when needed you can get away with it unscratched :-)

bernarcher · 2011-06-28 20:13:24

You can symlink a library with a certain chance of success if there was a minor version change only. Usually the API/ABI remains untouched in those cases. But it is strongly advised against on major version changes, at least without having read the changes docs.

Nevertheless, this should only be necessary in exceptional cases, and done for a limited amount of time only, e.g. remove such a symlink as soon as possible, when the programs/packages which demanded it have changed.

And, of course, document such changes! Do this in a prominent location, so you really, really never forget before bothering the forum.

Last edited by bernarcher (2011-06-28 20:15:36)

ngoonee · 2011-06-29 04:37:44

This is not the place to discuss the merits or lack thereof of symlinking libraries, so please don't drag the thread off-topic. Thanks

Arch Linux

#1 2011-06-14 22:21:46

Is there a list of banned topics?

#2 2011-06-14 22:25:42

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#3 2011-06-15 02:44:41

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#4 2011-06-15 03:07:11

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#5 2011-06-15 03:12:44

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#6 2011-06-15 08:36:36

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#7 2011-06-15 18:55:29

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#8 2011-06-15 19:44:44

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#9 2011-06-15 21:31:17

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#10 2011-06-18 17:52:53

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#11 2011-06-18 20:11:21

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#12 2011-06-19 21:59:26

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#13 2011-06-28 16:43:30

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#14 2011-06-28 16:49:41

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#15 2011-06-28 20:13:24

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

#16 2011-06-29 04:37:44

Re: Is there a list of banned topics?

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