When should the linux tag be used? Should it be added to any question when the OP is using Linux? Should it only be used when the question is about the Linux kernel or GNU/Linux operating systems?
I've seen some people use it to indicate that they are running Linux, although the question isn't actually about Linux. So when should we use this tag?
In my opinion, this tag should only be used for cases where a question is asking about how a Linux OS works. Not when the OP just happens to be using Linux, and not as a way of stating that the OP is using Linux. Tags should describe the question and help guide experts to questions they can answer. So the linux tag should only be used when the question is asking about some aspect of a Linux system.
For example, I would tag these (hypothetical) questions with linux:
/home?/proc filesystem work on Linux?/tmp directory created on a Linux system?So, questions that are generally about Linux, the operating system should have the tag. Conversely, questions that are not about how Linux works but are simply asked in the context of a Linux system, shouldn't have the linux tag and instead they should just mention Linux in the body of the question.
For example, I would not tag the following questions with linux:
/ with sed on Ubuntu?These questions are asked by people using Linux but they aren't actually about Linux as such. They are about doing specific things on a Linux system, but not about how the OS works.
In summary, I suggest we only use linux for questions that are about the actual system and not about performing actions on the system. The tag should be used for broader questions that need an overview of how the OS works. If we just use it as a way of indicating that the OP is running Linux, then considering how many questions we get from Linux users, the tag is essentially useless and could be applied to >70% of all questions on the site.
linux-api would be better) and second because we already have linux-kernel for kernel stuff. My main point here is that it doesn't make sense to put it on any question that happens to involve a machine running a Linux-based system.
linux tag to indicate when I [as the OP] believe some behavior is peculiar to Linux. Note that I suggest what matter's is the OP's belief not the outcome (the answers) which should result in a tag. So an imaginary question "why does Ubuntu keep randomly deleting my files" should have a linux tag at the OP's discretion. Arguably the question should have some reason stated to explain why the Linux OS / Kernel may be to blame.
Commented
Dec 29, 2019 at 0:19
-executable option, or portably in other ways. Knowing the (default) available tools helps to guide a good/useful answer (e.g. one that doesn't have to be strictly portable).
We can discuss anything we want, but without the effort to actually enforce a meaning for linux, we are wasting our time. If anyone wants a definitive solution, that is, one that will not be a continuous effort for anyone, that is just blacklisting and burning the tag.
It is so, because "Linux" is an overloaded term, it implies many things to many people. If we try to define it by current usage, it would be so broad that it is meaningless. If we try to narrow it, then we get ourselves into a battle against the tide trying to enforce it.
We already have a linux-kernel tag, and other linux-* related tags. Lets just do what it is usually done when SE sites are created and blacklist the tag which is also part of the topic and name of this site.
[all this is of course just my opinion]
Tags are used by people to define the scope of their questions, and they should keep being useful that way.
The linux tag should be used when the OP only cares about information and solutions that apply to a typical GNU/Linux system, and doesn't want their question hijacked into a portability and system comparison discussion.
Similarly to bash when they absolutely don't care about portable shell scripts, and are perfectly fine with using features like arrays, process substitutions, etc.
Trying to micro-manage tags and turn them into a curated ontology completely destroys their utility. The linux tag should only be force-added to another user's question when it's absolutely clear that any relevant answers could only apply to Linux-based system, not when they just mentioned (or it could be guessed) that they're using a Linux system, and should not be force-removed unless it's clear that the user is confused and they're not using Linux in any way or form.
Just in case it wasn't clear enough, I reject any pretension of "consensus" for blacklisting the linux tag -- as long as you're not going to ask all the people who already tagged their own questions with the linux tag in the way I've described it, and you absolutely don't care about its effect on new users asking questions, I'll consider this just a way to enforce the groupthink of some close-knit club of users. Or worse.
Removing the linux tag could only make sense if GNU/Linux is assumed as the "default" system -- it that's the purpose of this, better be crystal clear about it.
non-linux tag or a posixly_correct one (or its predecessor posix_me_harder :))...
The tag adds information. Maybe poor information, but information even an unexperienced user actually provides. Very often I saw a question about how to solve some problem, but with very poor border conditions given. Only after I saw the linux tag, I was able to guess a lot of things like the OP probably uses the GNU version of the described tools.
I grew up with HP-UX, Solaris, NetBSD, later MacOSX, so "linux" is not my default thinking, while for most people on the site it seems to be. They don't write "btw, it's a ubuntu 16.04.6 amd64 machine", but at least they use the "linux" tag. Not much, but enough to sometimes skip two times asking back in a comment.
More experienced users can replace the tag with "linux-something" to make filtering more useful, but you don't lose anything by allowing the linux tag. I doubt you can tame it to be used more specificly by the majority of users, so don't have too high expectations on a redefinition. And removing it won't help, but it will even kill the tiny contribution it did.
