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I'm a programmer so I'm happiest on Stack Overflow, but I also manage my own server so I sometimes ask questions on Server Fault.

I asked this powershell question on Server Fault after being challenged by a sys admin friend.

It's a simple scripting problem. My friend needs to list all the users' folders in order of their last initial, which is the last letter of the folder name. My friend is full of the joys of Linux and thought that this was the only operating system that could solve the problem.

I thought powershell would be able to do this, but I couldn't figure out how. To me this seemed like a sys admin problem so I asked the question on server fault. I got an excellent answer, was happy and marked it as answered.

I didn't get a message saying my question had been migrated and no one explained to me why it had been. It just moved there a few days later and was no longer marked as answered. As it happened this lead to it getting some more answers, many of which improved on the original answer.

So it probably worked out well for me, but I still don't understand my mistake. I want to use the sites effectively, but I don't think I understand the rules.

  1. Are powershell commands and the powershell language not a suitable topic for server fault? In which case, I would like to have been told this when I tagged the question with powershell.

  2. As a programmer should I not be using Server Fault, and if I do should I put more effort into justifying why it is a server related question?

  3. It'd be nice to get some warning about the migration. Ideally I would like to have had it suggested to me with a justification and then been able to migrate it myself.

  4. If I choose not to move it, but loads of people agree it should be moved, then I would like to be warned and told why so I don't make the same mistake again.

I'm still not sure if this is a Server Fault or Stack Overflow Question. I got excellent answers on both sites, so I'm doubly confused.

P.S. I'm new to meta, so sorry if this is a boring question and has already been asked loads of times. I did search first and I couldn't find anything that answered my question.

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    I have to say this is a excellent question because you formatted it well, gave detailed information, and provided links to everything you are referring to. +1
    – Troggy
    Dec 9, 2009 at 20:46
  • It's currently open on Server Fault as well: serverfault.com/questions/91005/powershell-challenge
    – Chealion
    Dec 9, 2009 at 20:51
  • That's since Jeff un-migrated it.
    – Richard
    Dec 9, 2009 at 21:14

2 Answers 2

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Well, I un-migrated it. Since it's in the gray (grey?) area, I left it on both sites.

It's a bit disappointing that 5 SF users felt it needed to be migrated. I don't agree... when in doubt, don't migrate.

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    Interesting how an un-migrated question leaves two identical questions... perhaps keep the referential links between the two?
    – AnonJr
    Dec 9, 2009 at 21:00
  • Keith Hill on Stack Overflow ended up supplying a shorter answer, but this hasn't been ported back to Server Fault. So there are two different answers and things are a bit confusing. An enterprising user has just added that answer, but I'm reluctant to give them credit for it.
    – Richard
    Dec 9, 2009 at 21:23
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    They should have marked it community wiki, and included a link.
    – Ether
    Dec 9, 2009 at 21:41
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Powershell is actually in the gray area of being appropriate for both sites, programming for sys-admins. The 3000's on each of the sites should give it more slack.

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  • Yeah that's true, but I see generic questions like this being more geared for SO than SF, as opposed to questions that deal with scripting for SQL Server, Exchange, or other more obvious administrative tasks.
    – Bratch
    Dec 11, 2009 at 1:37
  • Shell scripts almost need their own place I think. I also struggle with finding a good place for PS questions and answers.
    – Elliptical view
    Jan 18, 2014 at 4:09

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