While performing reviews, I sometimes encounter questions that ask for a software tool or a website to perform a task.
Here are 3 examples:
What is the best way to handle questions like these?
asked Feb 20, 2016 at 7:00
RockPaperLz- Mask it or CasketModRockPaperLz- Mask it or Casket
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1 Answer
They say "website" but they mean can also be called "webapp". A website to make a clipart is a webapp.
I think these questions are on-topic (at least 1st and 3rd).
The asker is looking for a software tool that will perform the task for them:
- On their OS, as a native tool
- Or via their browser
As a Linux user, sometimes I when I look for a particular tool I don't find it and end up using an online tool to perform what I want.
So I would say that asking for a native tool or webapp is OK.
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1I agree. Do we have a working definition that we can use for the difference between a web site and a web app? Feb 20, 2016 at 21:11
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Actionable by the user or not, maybe? For example, a bunch of encyclopedia pages is a website. Something that allows me to search within these pages is a tool.– Nicolas Raoul ModFeb 22, 2016 at 2:33
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2That's a possibility. On the other hand, many websites have a search feature. For example, is this SE a tool or a website? What about Wikipedia? I'm not sure how we draw the line. Feb 22, 2016 at 4:20
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"I am looking for an encyclopedia" is off-topic but "I am looking for a tool to search Wikipedia for a word+category" is on-topic, you will probably agree. Now, "I am looking for a 18th century philosophy encyclopedia with a search feature" is not too broad, and asks for an actionable tool, but in that case I would say off-topic because the "most difficult to fulfill" requirement is the data rather than the software.– Nicolas Raoul ModFeb 22, 2016 at 4:30