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Questions like this question and this list seem to cover it reasonably well but our FAQ really doesn't cover when I should be asking a DBA and when I should be asking a programmer; on occasiona I've also been unsure whether a mostly/only SQL query question on StackOverflow should be migrated to here or not.

It seems to me that any question dependent on a programming language belongs clearly on SO, and that should be mentioned explicitly in the FAQ. When there's a finer line I wouldn't be able to say myself, such as when a programming problem is solely because of a misuse of SQL or database design, but I think our FAQ needs to be clear about that.

It looks like DBA.SE hasn't started customizing it's FAQ yet but IMO this would be one of the most important things to include, since it defines what questions are actually in our scope.

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  • You are right - we need to sort out the faq. We've started on that here - please take a look and say whether you think we are on the right lines...
    – Jack Douglas Mod
    Commented Nov 6, 2011 at 5:53
  • I agree with Jack, we're not entirely confident of where to draw that line. I like what you said where "it's language dependent" except ... in the case of database programming, because of the higher order mathematics that the joins and such depend on, and because of the specifics of querying on a platform, there is a need to ask some SQL vendor specific questions here.
    – jcolebrand Mod
    Commented Nov 7, 2011 at 15:58
  • @jcolebrand I wasn't implying SQL-flavor specific issues aren't welcome here, but rather programming language specific ones, IE "I can't get this C# database connection to work" is much different than "This SQL Server query results in an incorrect execution plan"
    – Zelda
    Commented Nov 7, 2011 at 16:19
  • Ooooh, yes, those sorts of code questions should go on SO. Agreed
    – jcolebrand Mod
    Commented Nov 7, 2011 at 17:14

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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I think this is a great idea -- if you haven't already, I suggest a diamond mod editing this addendum into the DBA FAQ.

https://dba.stackexchange.com/faq

I do see

but this is not the right place to ask questions about...

  • client-side programming (ask on Stack Overflow instead)
  • basic SQL (ask on Stack Overflow instead)

Is that what you had in mind?

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  • There are some proposed changes to the faq on this question
    – ConcernedOfTunbridgeWells
    Commented Jan 23, 2012 at 12:05
  • Jeff we really hadn't closed this Q, but this Q was part of the motivation and direction on our current FAQ, so ... take that as you will. We've also been discussing as a group how we want to take the FAQ going forward, such as providing a section for other-site moderators to have a list of goals for when and when not to migrate to dba.
    – jcolebrand Mod
    Commented Jan 23, 2012 at 14:15
  • I see the FAQ currently states questions about "Advanced Querying" is appropriate on DBA. That begs the question, what is considered "basic" vs "advanced"? I'm still struggling with whether my question belongs in SO or DBA. It is Oracle SQL related, but hard to say if it is "basic" vs "advanced".
    – Sun
    Commented Sep 8, 2014 at 21:10

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