Aearon Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) So I just created a proposal for a houdini stack exchange site. http://area51.stacke...s/57115/houdini I'm hoping for this to be an additional resource for houdini users, one where it'll be easier to find the best answers to specific questions, not just for the person asking but the community at large. This is more specific than, and somewhat different to the open discussion a forum povides. Answers can be edited and voted for by all members of the community, which tends to let the good answers rise to the top, where they are easy to find for everyone. Here are some of the differences compared to a traditional forum system: * Voting - rather than being a forum discussion, the best answers are voted to the top, making it really quick and easy to find what you're looking for. * Gamification - the best contributors are rewarded with reputation and achievement badges creating a competitive element to the questions and answers format that increases contributions. Reputation also unlocks certain moderator-like privileges. * Wiki - editing is encouraged, leading to the most popular questions and answers becoming more like a collaborative wiki to provide the most succinct and helpful answers. To be clear, this is not something "I" am doing, the fact that I created the proposal doesn't even appear on the site, and doesn't give me additional rights. Everyone who joins the site (with their google/facebook/stackexchange account) can shape it's future. The most valuable thing at this point (In the 'definition phase' of the new site) would be to get as many expert houdini users as possible to sign up, and propose some very specific questions (up to 5 per user). The whole point of the definition phase is to find the kind of answers we want, by voting them up and down. Please help! *edit* just realised that this should probably be in lounge/chat, can it be moved? Edited June 27, 2013 by Aearon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kleer001 Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 Why would you want to drive traffic away from the oldest, most active, and eminently searchable Houdini forum? All the questions I saw are already answered here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aearon Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) I wouldn't put it like that - I think there's room for both, it isn't a competition. I did explain in my post why I think there is a lot merit to the stackexchange format - while the forum format is good for other things. The ability to search for threads and posts doesn't give you the best answer without a lot of work. Like you I'm used to that system, but there is something better out there... Especially with popular threads, you have to search through multiple pages of stuff until you find the guru who's got the best answer. This is the opposite on stackexchange - the popular questions breed the best answers, and those answers will be right at the top. Also, on stackexchange you're also actually encouraged to keep answers updated, and other people can update your answers as well. On a forum, if that guru later notices that his answer is outdated, he might post again to the same thread - making the correct answer even harder to find. Edited June 27, 2013 by Aearon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anim Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) I'm not sure that this kind of system is a right thing Houdini is fast evolving and things change rapidly so the best answer for some problem yesterday is not what's best today so if there is some answer voted the best and everybody sees that as first, it solves the problem, but the user may not get the best or most efficient way to do it especially if he finds it after a few years or months on forums people are asking the same questions over and over again, which may be slightly annoying (if they don't search before), but it's quite good system, since they can be redirected to already posted answer on different thread (even between forums) or simply provided with better answer which may be up to date and simply wasn't possible before (and don't expect people to track thousands of answers just to update them ) and as well most problems is solved quickly so you don't need to go through many pages to get to the answer and if it's interesting and it grows for many pages it's usually worth to read it all and see all different ways to do something because that simply gives you the idea how to solve things differently Houdini is not about one question = one answer that's just how I see it and I'm not very fond of new forum(or whatever this is), it's difficult enough to track the main 2 and even now there is plenty of crossposts Edited June 27, 2013 by anim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aearon Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) That's a valid concern, but what you're describing is true of almost everything on stackoverflow as well. The Q&A system works very well for this, because the votes change constantly, to reflect the current state of the art. In addition to that the answers are edited all the time as well, by the original author or others. There are multiple answers per question as well. Edited June 27, 2013 by Aearon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mantragora Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) CGTalk tried with Houdini forum. 3Dbuzz tried with Houdini forum. CMIVfx tried with Houdini forum. Even Sesi tried with Orbolt. Everybody still comes here. This is $HOME of Houdini. Edited June 27, 2013 by mantragora 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aearon Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 That is all true, and for a good reason: the things you listed are all typical forums, that don't provide anything different. have an honest look at stackoverflow.com and you'll see that it isn't a forum at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I fully support a stackoverflow site. I've thought about this myself. I certainly think it's worth a shot; if nothing else, it's a nice measure of the types of concepts / features that people are having difficulty with, which is never a bad thing to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybar Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I probably won't use it. I'm spending most of my time here at odforce, and the rest at SESIs forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kleer001 Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) In the end time will tell. I'll come back in a year and see how it's doing. If you want it to take off I think you'll most likely need sesi's support for publicity and several experts visiting frequently. Edited June 27, 2013 by kleer001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aearon Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 (edited) It will be challenging, mostly because of the requirements of stackexchange. If you come back in a year, chances are you'll see that it has failed - so why don't you just post some questions instead, or at least vote for existing ones. Even if it's voting down. There is nothing to lose. Edited June 27, 2013 by Aearon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Netvudu Posted June 27, 2013 Share Posted June 27, 2013 I´m totally supporting this. The more Houdini information around, the better. I´m obviously not going to stop visiting this forum, but it has nothing to do with stackoverflow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kleer001 Posted July 26, 2013 Share Posted July 26, 2013 why don't you just post some questions instead, or at least vote for existing ones. Even if it's voting down. There is nothing to lose. There's time to loose. I'm old and busy. I barely have time to come here to odforce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larmannjan Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 The proposal died. Maybe someone can revive it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Pity, I thought it was a great idea. Perhaps it will be revived someday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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