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[Footkerchief]

Beyond just inertia, I think a lot of the good support we have here comes from time killing, which will honestly never translate.

That's a pretty big assumption, especially since many knowledgeable people already kill time on the bug tracker.

[RCIX]

Also, i find it easier to type up a question or answer than edit a wiki page. That could be just me, but...

[UmbrageOfSnow]

The bug tracker was introduced with 31.02

Bugs reported by thread:
40c: 150+ search results in the bugs forum, some repeats, not counting, but in the hundreds, but this is out of date anyway, the community has changed since then.  But this was not a "first" release like 31.01 for comparison.
31.01: STOPPED COUNTING AT 100+ but it looks like the beginning of page 14 is the changeover.
------------
31.02 : 20
31.03 : 25
31.04 : 10
31.05 : 28
31.06 : 47
31.07 : 61
31.08 : 3

So is the new bug tracker useless? No.  It is probably even a good idea as far as Toady seeing what bugs matter and having them in a convenient format.  There are probably a number of benefits to doing it this way.  But increasing or maintaining the number of people contributing to the bugs forum is NOT one of them.

No doubt plenty of knowledgeable people use the bug tracker and would use another 3rd site for answering questions.  But given the evidence, and common sense, I think it would be wrong to assume it would be just as many people as would use something that is constantly right under their noses.


And besides, bugs are a whole different issue.  You report them when they are bugging you and you want to complain, or when you notice something and want to help in the development of your favorite game.  You answer questions when you want to contribute to the community.  But it isn't something everyone thinks about.

Would every person who ever gives loose change to a homeless person have donated that money to a homeless shelter if they hadn't run into that homeless person on the street?  I think not.

[Footkerchief]

The bug tracker was introduced with 31.02

Bugs reported by thread:
40c: 300 search results in the bugs forum, some repeats, not counting, but in the hundreds, but this is out of date anyway, the community has changed since then.  But this was not a "first" release like 31.01 for comparison.
31.01: STOPPED COUNTING AT 100+ but it looks like the beginning of page 14 is the changeover.
------------
31.02 : 20
31.03 : 25
31.04 : 10
31.05 : 28
31.06 : 47
31.07 : 61
31.08 : 3

I don't really know what point you're trying to make with these numbers, but they're all wrong.

40c : 168 (high estimate, since many non-40c reports mention 40c)
40d : 792 (again, high estimate, and that version was out for 1.5 YEARS)
31.01 : 608
31.02 : 152
31.03 : 766
31.04 : 224
31.05 : 72
31.06 : 134
31.07 : 13
31.08 : 177

[mnjiman]

I have never had an issues with wiki, these forums or #bay12games

I have always been able to find an answer, and in some cases people have actually attempted to find out the answer for me in there own games if it isnt known.

This community is.. pretty freaking awesome.

I agree that the search function on this website is not the best, but I never seen anyone get yelled at for asking a question already answered.

SSying a "Stack Exchange would work will with a good moderation" well, ANYTHING would work well if it has good leaders applied to it. Why dont we make what we have better then adding unneeded components to the current community?

[Langdon]

RCIX, having Toady redirect users from the forum allows them to find it, but doesn't address my main point: leaving the forum site.  It is easy to be waiting on a community game post or a reply to something, and casually browse the help forum and maybe answer a question or two.  It is harder to leave the forums (where you have the nice Show New Replies button and the ability to click back to your forum of interest in one click) and then answer a question or two and come back.

Beyond just inertia, I think a lot of the good support we have here comes from time killing, which will honestly never translate.  Actually I think that has a bit to do with all the things that get discovered that people are then too "lazy" to post on the wiki.  It isn't that they meant to and never got around to it so much as that it was an extra step in the thought process that they never really got to.  Out of site, out of mind. (Pun intended).

Speaking as an occasional forum poster (I usually post only on the Gameplay Questions forum, helping out new users when I feel like it) I agree with UmbrageOfSnow. I use only three sites, the wiki, the forums, and the bug tracker when trying to answer my own questions, in that order. I like helping out new players, and I find the wiki far more useful than the forums for getting answers for my own gameplay problems.

Adding another site would create yet another smaller subset of users, both experienced and new, which will split the community. (In my opinion, far, far fewer people will go to the SE site, even if Toady removes the Gameplay Questions forum here). I for one will not use yet another site - I'm finding I'm not using the bug tracker as frequently as I should, because that requires a separate login.

Now, if the new SE thingamajig REPLACES the bay12forums (same site, same login, same front page) then I would reluctantly use it, because there won't be anywhere else to go for questions and answers. But that's the only way I see myself using this, despite how technologically/social-networkly/shiny advantageous SE is over this forum.

[Desdichado]

*Dude mildly proposes something new.*

So you basically show up last week, don't try very hard to find any information, then declare the whole process useless and demand that everything be changed to suit your whims? And you even go and PM Toady about your demands?

- The forums already exist and are well-populated by intelligent and polite community members.

Lol.

[Protactinium]

*Dude mildly proposes something new.*

So you basically show up last week, don't try very hard to find any information, then declare the whole process useless and demand that everything be changed to suit your whims? And you even go and PM Toady about your demands?

- The forums already exist and are well-populated by intelligent and polite community members.

Lol.

I'm definitely in favor for trying out SE rather than silencing it, but I want to acknowledge that this post isn't really a fair assessment. I've found this thread to be unusually hostile, and agree with Retro in that the forums are for the most part well-populated by intelligent and polite community members.