Server Fault crowdsources computer problems for professionals

Server Fault is a free crowdsourced question and answer site that caters to system admins and IT professionals. The site is maintained by its members, much like Wikipedia, and combines the best of Wiki, blogs, forums, and social bookmarking sites. It was started by Kyle Brandt, the one and only Server Fault team member, and has four site moderators. Including Brandt and the moderators, there are 30,762 members (and that doesn’t include anonymous users)!

According to the website’s About page, “We don’t run Server Fault. You do. Server Fault is collaboratively built and maintained by your fellow system administrators and IT professionals. Once the system learns to trust you, you’ll be able to edit anything, much like Wikipedia. With your help, we can build good answers to every question a system administrator or IT professional might have. No matter what types of servers or desktops you administer, or what operating systems you happen to call home — getting better at what we do, together, is our goal.”

Server Fault Diagram

Server Fault is pretty cool. Reputation points are earned by members (but aren’t necessary to ask or answer questions) by asking and answering questions in a quality manner. The more reputation points a person has, the more “power” or control that person has on the site. For example, with 15 points, a member may vote up an answer. With 2000, that member may edit other people’s posts, among other things. This is how people get to help run Server Fault.

There are different areas within Server Fault. For web designers and the like, there is “Doctype.” For general software or hardware troubleshooting, there is “Super User.” And for programmers, there is “Stack Overflow.”  This site is NOT for general computer users, or for general computer troubleshooting questions. Server Fault is for the pros!

If you’re a system administrator or an IT professional, check out Server Fault, and tell them The Daily Crowdsource sent you.