I want to ask what the difference is in common English usage between two particular words having to do with Internet browsers.
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2Depends on just how narrow/niche the specific question is. But demonstrating, in the body of the question, a healthy amount of prior independent research can go a very long way towards making almost any question of meaning on topic. You might also want to briefly describe your reasons or motivation for asking in the first place.– Dan BronJul 22, 2015 at 23:13
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1Without knowing the words in question, that is probably a reasonable use of ELU. But note that in a recent question english.stackexchange.com/questions/261759/…, the OP could have helped themselves out by checking a dictionary first (and not stopping at the first definition or by thinking a little metaphorically). Like @DanBron said, showing that you've done some research makes answerers feel like they're helping out rather than just doing someone else's work for them.– MitchJul 23, 2015 at 12:31
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@DanBron: I didn't want to ask the question in here because I was concerned someone would try to answer it. But this isn't the place to answer my question; it's the place to answer whether or not I can ask the question.– SarahofGaiaJul 23, 2015 at 16:20
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@Mitch: I did plenty of research; I'm not a beginner in this, you know. δ_δ– SarahofGaiaJul 23, 2015 at 16:21
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@Mitch: Ignore that last statement. I was a bit on edge at the time I wrote it and I apologise. How, after all, could you know whether I'm a beginner or not in what way to what degree? My apologies.– SarahofGaiaJul 23, 2015 at 16:34
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2@SarahofGaia Yes, I wasn't suggesting you ask your question here on Meta. You're right that Main is the place for it. I was just offering suggestions on what to include in the question which mitigate risk. Questions which border on specific industry jargon have a relatively higher risk of closure (as you're aware, hence this Meta-question you asked); I was just offering strategies which have proven to mitigate that risk.– Dan BronJul 23, 2015 at 16:35
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@DanBron: Definitely true. I thank you for that. I'm sorry if I was being rude myself.– SarahofGaiaJul 23, 2015 at 16:37
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1@SarahofGaia ha ha, I didn't realize that was something that needed an apology. Now that I do, how dare you! Now that you've apologized, I'm sorry myself if I spoke in a rude way.– MitchJul 23, 2015 at 17:13
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1Also, tech stuff often can be off-topic because it is language of a very particular culture that people here may not be familiar with. Internet browsers...probably no problem at all.– MitchJul 23, 2015 at 17:14
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1@Mitch: Lol, okay, apology accepted. xP Also, I thought of a good compromise that would answer both questions I have. On Super User, I would ask what the technical definitions of the words I want to ask about are; then, on this site, I would ask whether the popular definitions are aligned with the technical definitions, and if not then what are they. ^_^– SarahofGaiaJul 23, 2015 at 17:18
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Also, is it Super User or SuperUser? I've seen it both ways... :/– SarahofGaiaJul 23, 2015 at 17:19
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@SarahofGaia what's the context? I'd probably write "superuser". It started off as 'super user' (two words) then 'super-user' and quickly moved on to 'superuser'. No capitalization.– MitchJul 23, 2015 at 17:23
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@Mitch: The context is Internet browsers.– SarahofGaiaJul 23, 2015 at 20:11
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@Mitch: And okay. I see people writing it as "SuperUser" in informal contexts, like in threads and stuff, but it's also often written as "Super User" in more formal contexts, such as at the bottom of this page, for instance.– SarahofGaiaJul 23, 2015 at 20:12
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1@Mitch: Are you sure about that? The earliest instance of "unix superuser" I can find is 1983. I find a few later instances of the two-word (and hyphenated) versions, but I think they're just "mistakes" anyway.– FumbleFingersJul 24, 2015 at 12:10
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