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StackExchange sites are meant to be for questions and answers, they aren't comparable.

by galvin 14y ago

eksith 14y ago
Humans aren't APIs. If observing Stack and a whole heap of other sites (even apps and gadgets) have ever taught me anything, it's that your creation is what your users take it to be. Not what you originally intended. I mean sure, the "nudge" method works by locking, deleting even outright banning, but in the end, people will do what comes naturally. It's like trying to make water flow upwards on a waterfall. The natural direction of interraction is toward discussion, not just question-in-answer-out.
- derefr 14y ago
  > I mean sure, the "nudge" method works by locking, deleting even outright banning, but in the end, people will do what comes naturally. Alternatively, you can just give people a place to do what comes naturally, so that it doesn't clutter their "productive effort." Talk pages on wikis, for example.
  - eksith 14y ago
    That's true. And I guess that's what "Meta" was supposed to be, but there's still a lot of the same handicaps applied there and "polling" questions (whatever that means today vs. tomorrow) get voted down to obvlivion. E.G : http://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/138411/why-are-constructive-questions-being-closed-as-not-constructive http://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/138411/why-are-const... So even in a place that's talk "of" the place still isn't safe to talk of.
    - derefr 14y ago
      I think the problem there, is that meta.stackoverflow is still considered by the StackOverflow guys to be an instance of type QuestionAnswerSite. Which means that it's a place to ask objective questions about StackOverflow, not really a place to "talk about things." What they really need is forum.stackoverflow.com. Or, more likely, given the leadership, discourse.stackoverflow.com.
- galvin 14y ago
  No, what I meant was that University of Reddit is not an alternative to StackExchange. University of Reddit is for learning new skills, kind of like Khan Academy, Coursera, Udacity, or a real University. StackExchange sites are for solving problems, I very much doubt they will ever become anything like that regardless of natural evolution. I have seen plenty of interesting discussions closed on StackExchange and whether or not that's a good thing is besides the point. The fundamental purpose of the two services is not comparable. It's called the StackExchange Network by the way, not Stack.
  - eksith 14y ago
    Yes, by Stack* I was referring to StackExchange's sites.

StackExchange sites are meant to be for questions and answers, they aren't comparable.

by galvin 14y ago

StackExchange sites are meant to be for questions and answers, they aren't comparable.

Humans aren't APIs. If observing Stack and a whole heap of other sites (even apps and gadgets) have ever taught me anything, it's that your creation is what your users take it to be. Not what you originally intended. I mean sure, the "nudge" method works by locking, deleting even outright banning, but in the end, people will do what comes naturally. It's like trying to make water flow upwards on a waterfall. The natural direction of interraction is toward discussion, not just question-in-answer-out.

derefr 14y ago
> I mean sure, the "nudge" method works by locking, deleting even outright banning, but in the end, people will do what comes naturally. Alternatively, you can just give people a place to do what comes naturally, so that it doesn't clutter their "productive effort." Talk pages on wikis, for example.
- eksith 14y ago
  That's true. And I guess that's what "Meta" was supposed to be, but there's still a lot of the same handicaps applied there and "polling" questions (whatever that means today vs. tomorrow) get voted down to obvlivion. E.G : http://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/138411/why-are-constructive-questions-being-closed-as-not-constructive http://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/138411/why-are-const... So even in a place that's talk "of" the place still isn't safe to talk of.
  - derefr 14y ago
    I think the problem there, is that meta.stackoverflow is still considered by the StackOverflow guys to be an instance of type QuestionAnswerSite. Which means that it's a place to ask objective questions about StackOverflow, not really a place to "talk about things." What they really need is forum.stackoverflow.com. Or, more likely, given the leadership, discourse.stackoverflow.com.
galvin 14y ago
No, what I meant was that University of Reddit is not an alternative to StackExchange. University of Reddit is for learning new skills, kind of like Khan Academy, Coursera, Udacity, or a real University. StackExchange sites are for solving problems, I very much doubt they will ever become anything like that regardless of natural evolution. I have seen plenty of interesting discussions closed on StackExchange and whether or not that's a good thing is besides the point. The fundamental purpose of the two services is not comparable. It's called the StackExchange Network by the way, not Stack.
- eksith 14y ago
  Yes, by Stack* I was referring to StackExchange's sites.