Should mentioning the Operating System in titles be removed?
We have tags to indicate those information. And on Stack Overflow it is recommended to remove the language tag from the title.
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1Makes sense. I'd say this would be a good policy to implement.– ApproachingDarknessFishCommented Feb 5, 2014 at 0:08
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That's a great suggestion– RajivCommented Feb 5, 2014 at 0:14
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1See my post below - there's a misconception that language tags should be removed on SO - they just needn't be added when they're NOT needed. Titles should stand on their own.– Jaydles StaffCommented Feb 5, 2014 at 17:17
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3 Answers
The operating system should be included in the title if it's an important requirement. It often is.
It is not recommended to remove the name of the language on Stack Overflow! I think you're confusing this with the recommendation not to include language names as “tags” in titles. That is:
- “How do I frobnicate a widget in C?” is a good title
- “C Frobnicate a widget” is a bad title
A title of the form “Application type with key characteristic on platform” is perfectly reasonable for SR.SE.
Examples:
- OS X window organization software with resizing shortcuts
The fact that this is about OSX is absolutely critical, it's good to have it in the title, and it comes naturally. - Calendar application for Linux that plays well with Outlook and Exchange and works offline
The whole premise of this question is the use of Linux (under Windows, there is an obvious answer), so it's good to mention it explicitly in the title. - Draw freehand on Android
Desktop operating systems tend to ship with some “paint” software. This question exists because Android doesn't, so mentioning Android in the title is better.
Counter-examples:
- Tool for taking screenshot and quickly editing it
As the asker is looking for either a multi-platform tool or tools on common platforms, the platform is not a critical feature of this question. (The question itself is an answer of sorts for Linux.) - GUI app to create maps made up of polygons
As I write, the asker hasn't specified a platform. But even if he did, there's a good chance that answers would be cross-platform. So there's no need to mention the platform in the title. - What project planning software includes resource leveling and is cheaper than Microsoft Project?
The question doesn't even mention a platform. Presumably running a Linux or Windows application in a VM would be acceptable. So it's no wonder that the title doesn't mention a platform.
answered Feb 5, 2014 at 0:35
Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
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Shouldn't OS be a tag if it's a relevant limiter rather than be in the title? Commented Feb 5, 2014 at 13:42
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@waxeagle It needs to be a tag, but that doesn't imply that it shouldn't be in the title. Not all titles need to specify the platform, but there's no call for systematically removing them. Commented Feb 5, 2014 at 15:24
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I put the OS in the title if it is a very short title otherwise, and leave it out if the title is getting long.– MadTuxCommented Feb 5, 2014 at 22:30
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To me, the third counter-example would clearly indicate OP is after software for Windows. Well, in that case it doesn't need to be mentioned either. Might be nice to mention in the full text, though, to be found with searches.– IzzyCommented Feb 7, 2014 at 19:50
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I think it is recommended not to have tags in titles. See Should questions include “tags” in their titles?. Commented Apr 17, 2014 at 11:41
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1@moose “Don't put tags in title” means not to write things like “windows - best text editor”. It doesn't mean not to put things in title if they're implied by the tags, which would be silly. Commented Apr 17, 2014 at 11:48
Titles should be complete summaries of the question.
Here's the easy rule:
Cover the tags, and ask yourself if the title conveys enough information. It needs to.
That means two things:
- Information in a tag in no way makes it less necessary in a title.
- But tags need not be added to a title when they're not needed to convey key information
Tags are for filtering, not for completing otherwise incomplete titles.
The answer from Gilles in Why do people insist titles actually be a question (I seem to be unable to find a “share” link on the specific answer…) refers to a meta.SO FAQ with a scientifically-based highest-scored answer on titles.
The part interesting here is: Do not copy parts of the question in the title.
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I personally think that it should probably be repeated if it’s an important requirement (it is a requirement in most cases, but we got tags anyway…). But I thought I should add this answer here nevertheless, in case someone thinks differently. Commented Feb 5, 2014 at 16:58