On Nov 3, 11:37 am, Steven D'Aprano <st...@remove-this- cybersource.com.au> wrote: > On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:11:59 -0800, Lorenzo Gatti wrote: [...] > Are you saying that now that comp.lang.python and stackoverflow exists, > there no more room in the world for any more Python forums? > > I think that's terrible.
Although there is a high barrier to entry for general Python forums, it is not a problem because the door is always open for specialized forums that become the natural "home" of some group or thought leader or of some special interest, for example the forum of a new software product or of the fans of an important blog. Unfortunately, pyfora.org has neither a distinct crowd behind it nor an unique topic, and thus no niche to fill; it can only contribute fragmentation, which is unfortunate because Saketh seems enthusiastic. What in some fields (e.g. warez forums or art boards) would be healthy redundancy and competition between sites and forums becomes pure fragmentation if the only effect of multiple forums is to separate the same questions and opinions that would be posted elsewhere from potential readers and answerers. Reasonable people know this and post their requests for help and discussions either in the same appropriate places as everyone else or in random places they know and like; one needs serious personal issues to abandon popular forums for obscure ones. > Saketh, would you care to give a brief explanation for sets your forum > apart from the existing Python forums, and why people should choose to > spend time there instead of (or as well as) the existing forums? What > advantages does it have? That's the point, I couldn't put it better. > > It would be the Internet equivalent of looking for a poker tournament in > > a desert valley instead of driving half an hour less and going to Las > > Vegas: > > [...] > How about avoiding the noise and obtrusive advertising and bright lights > of Las Vegas, the fakery, the "showmanship", > [...] > if you're interested in poker without all the mayonnaise, maybe > that poker tournament away from the tourists is exactly what you need. I didn't explain my similitude clearly: I was comparing the fitness for purpose of going to Las Vegas with a plan to gamble with the absurdity of stopping, say, at an isolated gas station in the hope of finding a poker tournament there. If you are hinting that popular newsgroups and forums might be so full of fakery, showmanship, mayonnaise, etc. to deserve secession, it's another topic. Regards, Lorenzo Gatti -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list