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The tag has existed for quite a while in stack overflow which I feel only invites questions that belong in server fault.

Should it really exist in Stack Overflow and if so what are some examples of legitimate questions?

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closed as off-topic by CRABOLO, nicael, Aziz Shaikh, gnat, doppelgreener Dec 30 '14 at 9:48

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Since Amazon has an extensive API for all of it's cloud platforms (ec2 being one of them), there is a definite need to keep the tag on Stack Overflow. Any question relating to programming against those APIs is a perfect fit for being tagged as such.

Since ec2 is also a server-oriented service, it has it's own home on Server Fault dealing with the server-oriented aspects (such as managing) the ec2 servers.

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  • In that case would tags that exist on stack overflow purely to accommodate questions about the API of their namesake benefit from some mention of API either in the tag or description? – Ray Vahey Sep 12 '11 at 16:43
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    @Ray Vahey - Yes and no. For questions regarding the API, I would say yes, there should be an indicator in the tag. However, there are also programming-oriented questions not related to the API, such as configuring a programming framework or library to work within the ec2 environment or issues relating to code performance or optimizations in the ec2 environment. Given this, it almost seems like there may be some benefit from adding another tag (amazon-ec2-api) to specifically target the API, but it may be more clutter than it's worth. – cdeszaq Sep 12 '11 at 17:39
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There are questions on Stack Overflow that use , and which are legitimate questions. Using that tag doesn't automatically mean the question should be asked on Server Fault.
The fact two different SE sites use the same tag should not confuse users, as those sites are using that tag for different aspects. For example, both Drupal Answers and Stack Overflow use : In Drupal Answers, that tag is used for questions about the Views module, while in Stack Overflow the equivalent of that tag is ; has a meaning that is not related with the meaning it has on Drupal Answers.

Clearly, there are questions that suit Stack Overflow, and questions that suit Server Fault. Questions that better suit Stack Overflow are questions about programming; if a question is about which web service should be enabled on Amazon EC2, then the question suits Server Fault.

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  • I understand completely the need for some tags to be used on multiple sites, including SO and SF. I'm trying to understand the roles of one tag on one site, so far in the answers that seems to be API programming. In which case why not call it amazon-ec2-api or put that in the description somewhere to save the moderators a lot of hassle? – Ray Vahey Sep 12 '11 at 17:00
  • A tag that is suffixed with "api" could be used. I can imagine the tag used is amazon-ec2 to facilitate the migration to Server Fault; if the tag were amazon-ec2-api, then during the migration it would be removed, as that tag is not used on Server Fault. I am not sure if that would be sufficient reason for not using amazon-ec2-api, as Server Fault could use "amazon-ec2-api" as a synonym of "amazon-ec2." – kiamlaluno Sep 12 '11 at 17:44
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EC2 has programmatic aspects as well - questions that, for example, ask how to use its API would be perfectly appropriate on SO.

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