3 ms·

It's incredible how he keeps expanding into viable markets. Has he opened any "stack" sites that didn't get immediate traction?

spolsky 16y ago
it's not incredible, it's by design :) We only open the sites that we know will get traction (through the "Area51" process, see http://area51.stackexchange.com http://area51.stackexchange.com). Right now it looks like we've got about 10 sites that are pretty much guaranteed to work, then we'll probably take a couple of weeks to study the data in detail to see what the real success factors are.
- city41 16y ago
  What entails the "beta" part of a new stack exchange site? The platform is proven to be rock solid and the only changes appear to be in visual design. Or is it just an extra precaution and sites leave beta quickly?
  - spolsky 16y ago
    There is a 7 day secret, private beta so that a few hundred super-committed people can fill up the site with questions to set the tone, and establish a system of tags. That way when the public beta hits, the site is already stocked with a bunch of appropriate questions. After the private beta, there is a 60-90 day public beta. The purpose of this is to make sure the site really survives and doesn't just get a burst of activity and then disappears. Sites which still have a lot of activity at the end of 90 days become permanent sites... sites which don't would be closed down. The public beta also allows a community to start to develop.... in addition to setting a tone for the site and deciding what kinds of things are on-topic, they work on picking a permanent domain name, a logo, a graphic design, and electing moderators.
- GrandMasterBirt 16y ago
  Um, is this more about gaming hardware issues, or the games themselves because we still have gamefaqs.com
  - city41 16y ago
    There's also still experts-exchange, usenet and various forums for programming questions.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
- edanm 16y ago
  As someone also working on building a community site, I hope you or Jeff could one day write down some thoughts on creating a community from scratch. Considering your IMO truly amazing successes, I'm sure you have a lot to offer people like me.
  - johns 16y ago
    Step 1: Get popular. Step 2: Turn followers into early adopters. Step 3: Profit.
    - edanm 16y ago
      I was hoping for something a mere mortal like me might have a chance at. If the first step is "Get popular"... :)
  - michaelbuckbee 16y ago
    I would highly recommend listening to the Stack Overflow podcasts, they cover in great detail the design decisions behind the site and how it all came together.

spolsky 16y ago

it's not incredible, it's by design :) We only open the sites that we know will get traction (through the "Area51" process, see http://area51.stackexchange.com http://area51.stackexchange.com). Right now it looks like we've got about 10 sites that are pretty much guaranteed to work, then we'll probably take a couple of weeks to study the data in detail to see what the real success factors are.

city41 16y ago
What entails the "beta" part of a new stack exchange site? The platform is proven to be rock solid and the only changes appear to be in visual design. Or is it just an extra precaution and sites leave beta quickly?
- spolsky 16y ago
  There is a 7 day secret, private beta so that a few hundred super-committed people can fill up the site with questions to set the tone, and establish a system of tags. That way when the public beta hits, the site is already stocked with a bunch of appropriate questions. After the private beta, there is a 60-90 day public beta. The purpose of this is to make sure the site really survives and doesn't just get a burst of activity and then disappears. Sites which still have a lot of activity at the end of 90 days become permanent sites... sites which don't would be closed down. The public beta also allows a community to start to develop.... in addition to setting a tone for the site and deciding what kinds of things are on-topic, they work on picking a permanent domain name, a logo, a graphic design, and electing moderators.
GrandMasterBirt 16y ago
Um, is this more about gaming hardware issues, or the games themselves because we still have gamefaqs.com
- city41 16y ago
  There's also still experts-exchange, usenet and various forums for programming questions.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
edanm 16y ago
As someone also working on building a community site, I hope you or Jeff could one day write down some thoughts on creating a community from scratch. Considering your IMO truly amazing successes, I'm sure you have a lot to offer people like me.
- johns 16y ago
  Step 1: Get popular. Step 2: Turn followers into early adopters. Step 3: Profit.
  - edanm 16y ago
    I was hoping for something a mere mortal like me might have a chance at. If the first step is "Get popular"... :)
- michaelbuckbee 16y ago
  I would highly recommend listening to the Stack Overflow podcasts, they cover in great detail the design decisions behind the site and how it all came together.