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It seems to me that Stack Overflow has an infinite amount of outdated questions that pop out in Google, the SO search, etc. I frequently limit Google search to the last year to get accurate results.

I know this is a frequent theme, but well, nothing has been done.

It seems to me that the only way of improving this situation is creating some way to specify the API or SDK versions regarding the question/answer.

I am aware this is done via tagging, but it's never enforced nor recommended to specify the real version of the SDK you are using. We have tags like [iOS] and [iOS-SDK6] but I really think this could be improved.

My suggestions:

Always specify the SDK version on tags [IOS-SDK-6.0], replacing generic tags like [IOS-SDK]

I think this is a better approach than creating [version-deprecated] tag for instance, first, because you remove the need to edit the tags, second because the answer might not be deprecated to everyone - there is aways someone using an older version of the software.

EDIT:

According to the answers, this may seem to be an iOS-related issue, mainly due to the yearly deprecation of the code. If it turns out to be true, I would recommend a retagging.

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  • And what about questions which are not specific to a certain version? Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:32
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    That's so true. I question/answer overall in the Objective-C section. In that language the newest framework versions use garbage collection. Sometimes I can't understand if an OP is using garbage collection or not, that makes a bid difference. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:41
  • @Bart, I think they should be. Event the code conventions change from sdk to sdk (for ios at least!). You are always talking about a specific SDKs In 2011, with IOS-5, code conventions and actual programming are TREMENDOUSLY different from 2012 IOS-6. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:49
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    So you're purely talking about iOS then? If so, you might want to clarify this. Because in general I don't see a need at all for what you propose. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:53
  • I would advise changing this question into a retag-request for iOS only. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:55
  • It happens in Rails (2 to 3), iOS (yearly deprecation), Android (7 to 14+ versions)!, you name it. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:55
  • Then address those individual cases. This is not something which requires a site-wide general "solution" imho. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:56
  • Even so, if you have a particular issue with iOS, I'd suggest changing this to a retag-request. If someone from Android has an issue with the SDK version, then they can submit one as well. I don't think this needs general enforcement, though. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:57
  • I will wait for the discussion to grow, if it's an iOS issue I'll update the question. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:57

3 Answers 3

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This problem is not limited to iOS tagged questions, but maybe the iOS questions are lagging through lack of attention (a tag with a high number of newbies posting to it could also suffer in this way). It is up to the people active in each tag to keep an eye on this sort of thing.

There should be two tags applied to the relevant iOS posts: and . If it requires the version specific tag and it hasn't been supplied then the question should be retagged when it is posted or when someone answers it (as mentioned in the answer by Telthien). Users with 500+ reputation have the ability to retag, users under that can suggest an edit (and gain rep for each accepted suggestion).

If you find there are a large number of posts that need editing then you could start a question here on meta requesting some asisstance (if possible include a handy search link that returns the posts that need attention).

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I have experimented cases where the OP doesn't say what SDK version is using and this makes a lot of difference. I agree with you, it also happened that I was reading a question to find a solution, and after reading it few mins to find the solution, I realised that the solution was for an older SDK (or IDE) version.

So I generally agree with your idea, the version should always be present, when possibile.

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  • It happens 10 times a day with iphone development! Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:52
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    Indeed I think that all those who said it isn't necessary, don't see often Objective-C questions. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:55
  • Then address the Objective-C tag if it's a problem for that. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:59
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For questions pertaining to a specific revision, the text of the question will contain the SDK revision number. Tags like IOS-SDK are intended to be used for general questions about the IOS SDK.

I personally have had no issues with searching for outdated questions. For people with a particular question, the fact that an answer comes up likely means that the answer is relevant to their search. If it is not, they should refine their search to better express their question.

There may be exceptions to this, but this holds true for most of the cases in SO tags. OPs should still put their SDK version in their question, if reaspnable, though.

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  • Will you rely on "the version will be specified on the question's text"? Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:51
  • Mostly. Occasionally yes, I would like it to be specified. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:52
  • Well, sorry, but it's not always referenced. There should be a way to enforce the specification of the SDK. Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:53
  • Though, to be fair, this issue may be more local to iOS than other areas. Most of the time these problems are self-explanatory. And, as above, what if the question doesn't pertain to a specific SDK? Commented Jan 5, 2013 at 22:53

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