*work in progress
The meta site should be buzzing with activity during the initial stages. There are a lot of issues to be worked out. The most important questions, vary from site to site, and from private to public status. The answers to these will have a lasting effect on how your site operates for a very long time. This post attempts to aggregate the most common and important issues that should be addressed depending on your current site status.
##Private Beta
###Are questions about [subject] on or off topic?
You should actively watch the earliest questions with an eye for quality and purpose. Ask yourself: “Is this the type of question we want on this site? Is it pushing the boundaries of on- and off-topic questions? Are we opening a can of worms?” Talk about these issues in meta, early and often. They are the key to establishing the boundaries around your site.
Remember, this is a class of questions, and not just a single question. The more specific topics that get discussed, the more meaningful the discussions will be.
For example, on Chocolate.SE, discussing:
Should dark chocolates be on-topic?
Will most likely result in flame wars, and reach no useful conclusion. However, discussing:
Should the additives used in the process of making dark chocolates be on-topic?
Will lead to more constructive discussion.
###How should we tag questions about {subject}?
Tagging questions is an ad hoc way of organizing content. It is mostly improvised by users asking the questions but only to a point. Tag auto-completion and community editing will influence the proper use of tags for a very long time.
The type of things you should look out for: how to handle acronyms common to your subject, brand versus product-specific tags, common terminology, and the use of semantic tags to categorize specific types of questions unique to your community. Every site will have their own unique set of tag-related issues.
The best way to identify tagging problems is to watch new posts closely, and try to build tag wiki excerpts that explain what the tags are for. When tags become ambiguous, too specific (or not specific enough), or just somehow off, raise those issues in meta, and quickly. Proper tagging is very much a lead-by-example activity. The sooner you get the “community standards” for tagging ironed out, the less chance you’ll have to face the drudgery of cleaning them up later.
###Should tag A be a synonym of tag B?
Usually, in the early stages a fair bit of redundancy gets developed as many users may suggest different variations of the same tag, or some may call the same thing by a different name. These can result in disorganization and confusion in using the tags. It is important to look for and discuss such redundancies that could become problems later on.
###What’s the “elevator pitch” for our site?
###Whats an interesting name for the chat room?
##Public Beta
###Who should the moderators be?
###What should our documentation contain?
###Do we really need tag [subject]?
###How do we promote our site?