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Proposal: Network Engineering

Should the scope of this site include discussion of professional certifications such as CCNA, JNCIA, Net+, and so on? Or should it be limited strictly to technical topics?

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  • I know this question has come up with similar sites before and most of the "professional" oriented sites like SF consider these out of scope. However I see questions all the time (that end up getting closed) regarding them. Maybe time for an IT Certification site to fill this need? I threw up a proposal at area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/53425/it-certifications and if there is enough interest, then there will be a place for these questions.
    – YLearn
    Apr 6, 2013 at 20:25

13 Answers 13

38

Keep it limited to technical discussions. There's already plenty of forums and blogs for those kinds of discussions.

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Taking a look at the example questions it seems that the community is putting those out of scope.

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All the major networking vendors have learning forums already frequented by students. & tutors for the purpose of certification already. Also, there are already numerous learning forums like IEOC, Group Study & the like. What's the point in re-inventing the wheel?

The purpose of the site should be for facilitating discussion & exploration of real world Network Engineering issues that will inspire all folks with interest in the broad range of topics this entails to participate, not just certification seekers.

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if we go down the cert road, there will probably be a lot of posting about dump sites and home work style questions.

Beside there are plently of other sites for cert discussions.

Just my 2c

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  • I agree with this. When I researched various certifications I came across a large amount of websites dedicated to providing leaked tests, free IOS/Junos downloads etc etc. Definitely something to avoid Apr 18, 2013 at 8:34
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Certification specific questions should probably be avoided, but I don't see a reason for someone studying toward one of these certifications, that has a question about a technology they don't have much experience with in a lab, to ask for clarification. I think that would help a lot of people out.

EDIT: For clarity, I'm for having this not be geared toward certifications.

4

My vote is no. We need to fence off the braindump questions (and the braindumpers) that inevitably plague any networking forum.

I would go so far as to say, leave any mention of the certification acronyms (CCNA JNCIA etc.) off whatever keywords this forum uses to reduce visibility when people search for certifications.

As someone said above, no issues with people asking general questions or about something to do with their lab setup.

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  • Good point - especially since you've included those very acronyms in your post ;) Apr 23, 2013 at 15:43
  • LOL true hoping the content of posts doesn't count as keywords enough to push it up during googling (goes to remove profile info now ROFL) May 9, 2013 at 4:00
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Cert discussions will be highly read..advice on studying/taking is invaluable.

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I have many other options for when I want to discuss certifications.. including studying/sitting exams.. "Network Engineering" is primarily about designing & implementing the optimal.. or the closest-to-optimal solution that fulfills demand, the support & development of solutions. Enough in that I think!

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personally i have no interest in certification related questions, it's way easier to find answers to that stuff on Google compared to specific network related problems/questions.

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I think that if they have specific issues they need help figuring out then probably fair game, but if it's "what should I study for X cert" then no not really.

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Its probably best to ask for advice if you're studying for an exam, but not specifically relate it to an exam. Like asking about VTP config issues on your test lab.

Lets not forget the minefield of NDA issues around asking and answering certification related questions. Before even delving into the nasty realm of test dumps and websites.

So yeah, just keep it to the question you need answering; whether its from actual equipment, GNS3, or packet tracer.

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I suggest keeping it to tech discussions. If a cert student wants to ask a question from a lab perspective for example then its still perfectly valid and can be a real world scenario... Would rather just avoid rubbish links to dump sites etc

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I don't think it is the right place for certification-specific questions.

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