How can we improve moderation of IP networking questions on Stack Overflow and associated sites?

Question

I have noticed what seems to be a trend of general confusion about what should be done when pure IP networking questions are posted to Stack Overflow. I have collected some very recent examples over the last few days:

To summarize:

Some users and moderators dislike theoretical IP networking questions on Stack Overflow and close them:

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6479554/the-journey-of-a-packet-from-my-computer-to-the-web-server-and-back (Closed: Off topic)
• How to decode an ARP Packet? (Closed: Off topic, then reopened upon my request)
• When can we see a TCP header without any flag set? (Closed: Not a real question, subsequently deleted by mod team)
• IPSec over WLAN requirements (Closed: Not a programming question)
• About NAT piercing (User deleted the question after it was closed)
• Anonymous Network Protocol (Closed: Not a programming question)

Sometimes theoretical IP networking questions remain on Stack Overflow, as suggested by Gilles:

• Number of network connections possible
• How do applications know which OSI protocol to use
• Number of hosts in a subnet
• Relationship between TCP and IP Packets
• How does packet interaction with TCP Selective Acknowledgement work?
• Why might an IP datagram be encapsulated in another IP datagram? (Remains on Stack Overflow)
• Leaky Bucket Problem (Remains on Stack Overflow)

Sometimes networking implementation questions remain on Stack Overflow (instead of migrating to Server Fault)

• IPv6 Link Local Address Format
• SNMPv3 configuration (Remains on Stack Overflow)

Sometimes theoretical IP networking questions get punted to Server Fault:

• What is a VALID subnet
• How is IP Restricted to Forwarding on Spanning Trees
• What is the difference between a gateway and a router

Sometimes DNS and other networking services questions get punted to something other than Server Fault, because of another popular keyword in their text

• One domain, multiple IP addresses (Posted to Stack Overflow, migrated to Webmasters because he was talking about websites, but the the real issue was intelligent DNS responses, not HTML or httpd)

In this example the OP asked questions about how to use research-grade techniques, but he got punted to a forum that cannot help.

• Is there a single ended available Bandwidth Measurement Tool (Migrated from Stack Overflow to Super User)

To moderators and question-close voters:

My bottom line suggestions for improvement are:

• If the subject is IP networking, please do not merely close the question as off-topic; place it in what you think is the right forum.
• Could someone address IP networking in the Stack Overflow FAQ to reduce ambiguity?

I write this because IP networking is my career, and like programmers need Stack Overflow, networking specialists need some consistent place to get a good answer... And the field is wide open... It is not just generic questions about IP networking or how do I deploy XYZ service... If it was well-done, it could conceivably expand into what is currently dominated by non-Stack Exchange sites right now... like Cisco NSP, Juniper NSP, and perhaps smaller network vendors which don't have a useful place for users to gather and collaborate.

I'm pretty sold on the value of the Stack Exchange network, but it can only be as good as the consistency of moderation for a given subject. With great respect to the moderators on Stack Overflow, Server Fault, and Super User, the consistency of moderation for networking questions seems like it could be improved.

If I am correct, what is a good path to get there? If I've misunderstood something, please set me right. Thanks to all the Stack Exchange staff and volunteer moderators who have built a fantastic discussion framework for programmers.

BOUNTY GUIDELINES

This bounty will be awarded to the person who can demonstrate that the following have been done:

1. Stack Overflow's FAQ has been updated with exact guidelines regarding IP Networking questions. I even have some suggested guidelines:

   • Any IP networking question involving host-level theoretical or practical TCP or UDP issues belongs on Stack Overflow
   • ALL other IP networking questions belong on Server Fault.

2. The IP networking questions listed above as closed should be either reopened, or migrated to the appropriate site.

Just because Gilles has a good answer to my original post does not mean I would not award the bounty to another person who makes the changes above.

Answer 1

There's no single Stack Exchange site about networking (IP or otherwise), and some topics fall through the cracks.

• Development questions (how to use sockets or other APIs, how to implement a certain protocol, …) belong on Stack Overflow.
• Questions about networking-related hardware and software can be appropriate for several sites, depending on the type of equipment and on your perspective:
  • Questions about professional equipment (e.g. Cisco routers), or about complex server or multi-client setups, belong on Server Fault. Basically, if you're a pro, ask on Server Fault.
  • Questions about home equipment or simple client setup belong on Super User. Basically, if you're a user, ask on Super User.
  • If your question targets a specific platform, you can ask on a platform-specific site:
    • Android Enthusiasts for Android devices
    • Ask Different for Apple devices (Mac computers, iPhones)
    • Ask Ubuntu if you're running Ubuntu
    • Unix & Linux if you're running Linux or any other unix variant
• Questions that are mostly interesting to webmasters can be asked on Webmasters
• Questions specifically about security can be asked on Security

Questions that are purely about networking protocols fall through the gaps — none of these sites welcomes them.

Going through your list, here's my opinion:

• ACL for SNMPv3 operaions : SF, perhaps, if the question is clear enough to a professional (it's not clear to me, it might be ok for SO).
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5714754/one-domain-multiple-ips-migrated: “I want to host the website” → Webmasters
• Leaky Bucket problem: I would say computer science, but this is an uninteresting homework question.
• How to decode an Address Resolution Packet (ARP) (10k only): purely about a networking protocol , fell through the cracks.
• What Internet bandwidth speed tools are available?: asking for a user application on Ubuntu, so ok for any of SU, U&L or AU.
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5690472/when-we-can-see-a-tcp-header-without-any-flag-set: purely about a networking protocol; the question might not have been closed (or have fallen through the cracks by being closed off-topic rather than NaRQ) if there had been a little more context.
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5671194/how-do-i-connect-a-usb-gsm-modem-to-asterisk: Somewhere between SU and SF — Asterisk is professional equipment, but the asker doesn't look professional enough to fit on SF. It was probably closed on SU because the SU crowd will go “Asterisk, never heard of that” and “I want to write a program, belongs on SO”.
• Why might an IP datagram be encapsulated in another IP datagram?: another question that could fall through the cracks, but wasn't closed on SO

Given what you state about your interests, I'd say you would fit on Server Fault. Even if it's dominated with Windows and Unix questions, there are networking professionals as well. There was a prior proposal to create a specific site for network administrators, which was closed as a duplicate of SF.

If you like, you could propose a site about networking on Area 51. But that would have to be about networking in general, not specifically about network administration. However, considering that only a small subset of networking topics are not covered by an existing site already, I don't think that's a good idea. And a site specifically about networking protocols feels too specialized.

Officially, questions about computer science belong on Stack Overflow (except for research-level theoretical science, which has its own site). Network protocols are applied computer science, so I'd say that they're on-topic because Jeff says so — but the community doesn't welcome them.

Answer 2

I am going to argue that the answer is the new Network Engineering site.