Even as I was writing my last reply, I was steadily coming up with more reasons for sticking with Google Groups and not moving to Stack Overflow. It seems I find my own previous arguments a bit underwhelming.
I'd still like to see something similar to SO written in web2py. I'd like to get around to doing that myself, but if someone wants to try to beat me to it I'll give you a BIG head start ;). My final thought on this subject is that I think it would be good if more than just Massimo were to monitor the web2py tag on SO and answer questions. As it stands now, everywhere you look on the web outside of the Google Group, web2py questions are answered almost exclusively by Massimo. To an outsider or newbie it gives the _impression_ that web2py requires the desperate self promotion of its creator to succeed. I've since learned that is certainly not the case, but only after I joined this mailing list. Massimo deserves better support outside the gated walls of this group. That is all. -Mike On Sat, Sep 18, 2010 at 12:59 AM, bally boy <ballybo...@gmail.com> wrote: > And yeah on second thoughts about what Michael said, while it can be argued > that sheer exclusivity, might stunt the growth of web2py(which even I was > thinking), I guess there are other ways to spread the word too... > > On Sat, Sep 18, 2010 at 10:24 AM, bally boy <ballybo...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> I am with Massimo on one thing, not to scatter information all around.As a >> platform although both Stack Overflow and Stack exchange are great and >> better than google mailing lists but it does invite a lot of uninvited >> guests who actually know nothing. >> For eg: - let us say someone puts up a post asking how to do this and some >> troll replies that it can never be done on web2py or no web2py is not for >> this etc, the signals that it sends to people who are newbies wont be right, >> and you might find yourself arguing most of the time rather than solving >> issues which is what is currently happening on forums like reddit. >> On the other hand one might argue that it would give a strong platform for >> the entire community to come forward and spread the word, which as of now is >> restricted to only the mailing lists. >> Although I am not in favour of moving out from mailing lists , I would be >> wherever people like Massimo and other core contributors are around. >> <If you really want something like stack overflow to be used, guys build >> one... what the hell!.. you use web2py .. dont you!.. I read some post >> wherein someone was actually working on something like it.. > >> One more thing, let us leave the decision to Massimo, ultimately he is the >> one who is going to address most of the issues ...lol!.. let him decide >> where he wants to be! >> >> >> On Sat, Sep 18, 2010 at 12:43 AM, Michael Wolfe >> <michael.joseph.wo...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> I understand your concern, Massimo. However, I think the solution is >>> not to ignore SO, but to try to get more knowledgeable web2py users >>> answering questions there. You will still have general knowledge >>> folks answering web2py questions, but the voting system should leave >>> their answers at the bottom of the page, while the focused answers get >>> voted up. >>> >>> The biggest problem I currently see with a web2py-centric Stack >>> Exchange site is I don't think it has even a tiny chance of getting >>> through the ridiculous "Area-51" approval process. I remember seeing >>> some posts about somebody working on a web2py-based SO clone. That >>> might be a better option. >>> >>> The other issue I have with a separate site just for web2py, whether >>> it is Google Groups or web2py.stackexchange, is that some problems may >>> not necessarily be web2py specific. Especially for people new to >>> programming and/or python and/or web frameworks it may not be clear >>> what their problem really relates to. >>> >>> You should know that as I'm writing this I'm having quite a lively >>> debate in my own head. So I apologize if this post is disjointed or >>> contradictory. I guess I can't convince myself strongly one way or >>> another of what the best solution is. I'd hate to lose the community >>> and focused knowledge of the Google Group, but I think the very >>> exclusiveness of the group may be stunting the growth of web2py. >>> >>> >>> >>> On Fri, Sep 17, 2010 at 1:48 PM, spiffytech <spiffyt...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> > StackExchange is designed such that people who don't know what they're >>> > talking about get voted down, while those who have quality answers get >>> > voted up to the top. When I'm reading StackOverflow, the reading the >>> > highest-voted questions first makes the poor quality of the lower- >>> > voted questions very apparent to me, and I distrust them. >>> > >>> > Also, a web2py-centric StackExchange should only attract people who >>> > know about web2py. This is unlike StackOverflow, which caters to a >>> > general audience and thus gets many people with only general knowledge >>> > and general answers. >>> > >>> > The checks, balances, and filters seem sufficient to me. Do you >>> > disagree? >>> > >>> > >>> > On Sep 17, 12:30 pm, mdipierro <mdipie...@cs.depaul.edu> wrote: >>> >> I oppose and here is why. A few people have asked web2py related >>> >> questions on stack overflow. Almost all of them have at least one >>> >> generic answer by somebody who knows nothing about web2py. On Stack >>> >> overflow there is no sense of community (other than the stack overflow >>> >> community) and people try to answer even when they know nothing about >>> >> the topic. >>> >> >>> >> Massimo >>> >> >>> >> On Sep 17, 10:58 am, mwolfe02 <michael.joseph.wo...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >> >>> >> > My vote: >>> >> > - ask questions on StackOverflow using the existing web2py tag >>> >> > - follow the questions using this RSS feed: >>> >> > http://stackoverflow.com/feeds/tag/web2py >>> >> >>> >> > I like StackOverflow a lot and I think it is a much better interface >>> >> > than Google Groups. I asked my first few questions about web2py on >>> >> > SO >>> >> > and was a bit reluctant to have to join Google Groups just to get >>> >> > answers to my web2py questions. That said, the user community here >>> >> > is >>> >> > second to none. I've been amazed how quickly my questions have not >>> >> > only been answered, but in many cases answered by _core developers_! >>> >> >>> >> > The problem, as I see it, is that like it or not, StackOverflow is >>> >> > quickly becoming a tool not only for getting technical questions >>> >> > answered, but also to gauge the popularity of various programming >>> >> > languages, web frameworks, etc. When I was trying to decide what >>> >> > web >>> >> > framework to use for my most recent project I looked at the most >>> >> > popular questions for Django, ASP.NET, etc. as well as the number of >>> >> > questions, by tag name, for each of those frameworks. >>> >> >>> >> > The relatively low number of questions (compared to Django, for >>> >> > example) and the apparent lack of knowledgeable users (web2py >>> >> > questions are answered almost exclusively by Massimo) was nearly >>> >> > enough to lead me away from web2py. It was not until I finally >>> >> > relented to Massimo referring me to this Google Group that I was >>> >> > truly >>> >> > pleased with my decision to use web2py. >>> >> >>> >> > I think Google Groups remains the proper place to discuss the >>> >> > direction of the web2py project. However, I think we should start >>> >> > making an effort to ask and answer web2py technical questions on SO. >>> >> >>> >> > On Sep 16, 10:40 am, cjrh <caleb.hatti...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >> >>> >> > > On Sep 16, 1:31 pm, Narendran <gunanar...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >> >>> >> > > > What does the community >>> >> > > > think of having a stackexchange page for web2py? >>> >> >>> >> > > Good idea. The StackOverflow model is the future of technical Q&A >>> >> > > forums. I joined and added some good and bad questions. We >>> >> > > need >>> >> > > 59 more users to join in support. >>> >> >>> >> >> > >
