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Area 51 is awesome for proposing Stack Exchange sites, but what about using it to propose projects, sites, applications, tools, etc.?

Where:

  • You could propose a project.
  • Committers would be committed to collaborate as a developer, researcher, etc...
  • Followers could track the status of the project
  • Instead of example questions, there would be feature or method proposals to help define the scope of the project
  • Proposals could be tagged by language, categorized by scope (project, application, tool, mobile, etc.)
  • The proposer and those with highest number of Stack Exchange reputation points would be considered project leads (or democratically vote)
  • Maybe need new phases after commitment (development, private beta, public beta, production)

These are just some base ideas I came up with and could probably think of more... I would have proposed on Area 51 itself, but I felt it may have confused some typical users.

Quick Note Some believed I was trying to re-purpose Area 51 and end its current functionality. This is not the case. Simply, I think the Area 51 engine is most similar to this idea and could be cloned and modified easily into this scope.

Overall, I'm asking if this is something that StackExchange would consider implementing to allow the community to collaborate on projects, and to find participants who share their interests and enthusiasm for particular undertakings.

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  • I'm not sure what kind of response you're going for here. Are you suggesting that this kind of proposal engine becomes a part of Stack Exchange?
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    May 18, 2012 at 20:59
  • @AnnaLear Indeed. Either looking for input on the topic or whether or not this would be considered to be implemented
    – Kyle Macey
    May 18, 2012 at 21:01
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    It's unlikely that something like this would become a part of the network. It's not really what we do and probably not a direction we'd consider exploring any time soon.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    May 18, 2012 at 21:02
  • @AnnaLear That's precisely why I asked. If SE has no interest in it, I may build it myself
    – Kyle Macey
    May 18, 2012 at 21:04
  • @KyleMacey - I was just thinking in the same idea and find this question while searching. Did you start doing it? I'm interested to contribute it under open license,
    – Rami Sedhom
    Sep 10, 2012 at 20:48
  • @RamiSedhom I came up with a name and bought a domain. I've had too many projects to get too far with this one, but if you;d like to start working on something, I'd definitely be interested
    – Kyle Macey
    Sep 11, 2012 at 19:09

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I get a lot of requests like this — folks who want to use an Area51 engine to build support for other types of projects (or to use Stack Exchange as a voting engine to suggest and vote on stuff other than Q&A).

Your idea is commendable, but that's not really what we do. Cloning the base functionality is the easy part; that's only surface-y software stuff — a means to an end. It would take a lot more resources and expertise to accomplish your vision than simply cloning the software. Our purpose and focus is to build vast collections of collaborative knowledge. We're likely to stick to that core focus long be we start spreading ourselves out to use the software for other ends.

But thank you for the well-thought-out ideas.

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  • Thanks. I'm at CfObjective this week and am having mind explosions inspired by wonderful conversations. Thank you for taking the time to answer
    – Kyle Macey
    May 19, 2012 at 1:39

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