[Public Beta now open!] Want Bitcoin to have a real user/merchant support site?

[Chris Acheson]

It's been almost 10 days and the site is still "preparing for launch". Does anyone know what is going on? The title was also changed from "Bitcoin and cryptocurrency" to Bitcoin. Why was that?

I opened up the forums today and I saw lots of threads related to sex so I remembered this... 

The sooner we get a reasonable alternative forum to this cesspit, the better. ("this cesspit" being bitcointalk.org, of course)

The scams, the trolls, the wild accusations.  This place sucks.  I used to come read all the time, mostly the gambling forum, but the new rules there have killed it.

The Stack Exchange forum can't come soon enough.

Yeah, they left us to sit for longer than I expected.  I did some digging around in the Area 51 discussions, and apparently they try to launch new sites on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.  Last week they launched the Christianity Stack Exchange, which was the only other 100% committed proposal.  We're still the only proposal at 100%, so it should launch either tomorrow or Wednesday.  One of the staff members changed the name of the proposal (to just "Bitcoin") today, so it looks like they're working on it.

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[phelix]

it is quite impressive how slow this goes. has it been two month now or longer? at shapado it took 15 minutes....     just sayin...   

[nmat]

it is quite impressive how slow this goes. has it been two month now or longer? at shapado it took 15 minutes....     just sayin...   

Just launched the private beta. There's a lot of action going on right now. Let's see how this goes.

Public beta begins in a week and everyone can join then.

[Stephen Gornick]

I hadn't participated in many other stackexchange sites, so wasn't aware of the restrictions those sites have.

Some decent questions are getting closed as a result and now display the message:

this question will likely solicit opinion, debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion.

Opinion?  Debate?  Extended discussion?  Oh the horror!

[nmat]

Opinion?  Debate?  Extended discussion?  Oh the horror!

Yes, it is not a forum and it can not replace some of the forum's features. It's just question and answer. Questions that do not have a "right" answer (either because they are too vague, ambiguous or controversial) are closed. It keeps things clean, but limits functionality.

But it's very early beta so what is a good question and a bad question is still unclear. Anyway, you can take a look around meta if you want to ask specific questions about the site itself.

And you can cast reopen votes

[D.H.]

it is quite impressive how slow this goes. has it been two month now or longer? at shapado it took 15 minutes....     just sayin...   

I'm sure the StackExchange people could have set up a site in 15 minutes too but there's a thought behind why they don't. There's a thought behind getting a certain number of commited users before launching a site. People who find a site with no activity will quickly leave it.

The Shapado site now has 1 question, the StackExchange site has 143 (after 3 days).

[phelix]

it is quite impressive how slow this goes. has it been two month now or longer? at shapado it took 15 minutes....     just sayin...   

I'm sure the StackExchange people could have set up a site in 15 minutes too but there's a thought behind why they don't. There's a thought behind getting a certain number of commited users before launching a site. People who find a site with no activity will quickly leave it.

The Shapado site now has 1 question, the StackExchange site has 143 (after 3 days).

because it is advertised by the stackexchange fans all the time.

btw: are there people affiliated with stackexchange arround here? full disclosure!

don't get me wrong. I have used stackoverflow for quite a while and really like it. but all the advertising of something that would be much easier to have at another site makes it feel awkward.

[wareen]

don't get me wrong. I have used stackoverflow for quite a while and really like it. but all the advertising of something that would be much easier to have at another site makes it feel awkward.

I don't think that we could have the same "much easier" anywhere else - it's not only the functionality of the site but also its reputation and high quality standards. The combined userbase of the Stackexchange network is huge compared to Shapado sites, same thing for traffic rankings, google hits etc.

I think its quite an accomplishment for Bitcoin to have its own Stackexchange site and not only do I expect it to be a great place for merchants and users to get quality support for Bitcoin but also a good way to show that Bitcoin is serious.

btw: are there people affiliated with stackexchange arround here? full disclosure!

I don't think so - I for one have only registered because of Bitcoin. But hey, if people at Stackexchange would really want Bitcoin that much then we should be happy about that

[D.H.]

because it is advertised by the stackexchange fans all the time.

If you refer to this thread then I agree that the constant bumping by Chris Acheson was a bit excessive. It's not in line with normal forum etiquette. But this thread (where Shapado also was mentioned a few times) does not explain the 143:1 question ratio.

I think that people are just enthustiastic about Bitcoin and want it to get some good exposure. A StackExchange site has a greater potential of accomplishing that than a Shapado site.

btw: are there people affiliated with stackexchange arround here? full disclosure!

I'm not, and I doubt that there are, but I don't know for sure.

[Chris Acheson]

because it is advertised by the stackexchange fans all the time.

If you refer to this thread then I agree that the constant bumping by Chris Acheson was a bit excessive. It's not in line with normal forum etiquette.

Eh, I was impatient, and it's not like normal forum etiquette is observed around here anyway.

[D.H.]

If you refer to this thread then I agree that the constant bumping by Chris Acheson was a bit excessive. It's not in line with normal forum etiquette.

Eh, I was impatient, and it's not like normal forum etiquette is observed around here anyway.

I don't personally have a big problem with it but it would be understandable if people did (yes, along with a lot of other stuff on this forum). I'm a big fan of the StackExchange site and I'm glad that your bumping got it started but to someone who is not interested in it I don't think that "Eh, I was impatient" would count as a very good excuse for constant bumping.

But this is getting off-topic, if we wanna continue this discussion it should probably be in the Meta forum.

[phelix]

Warning: this site is currently in private beta for at least a few more days

what the f***? now that I am all excited. I am gonna increase the questions on the bitcoin shapado site by 100%! there you go! http://bitcoin.shapado.com 

[D.H.]

Warning: this site is currently in private beta for at least a few more days

what the f***? now that I am all excited. I am gonna increase the questions on the bitcoin shapado site by 100%! there you go! http://bitcoin.shapado.com 

It just went public!

http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com

[Chris Acheson]

It just went public!

http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com

Edited the original post. 

[lemonginger]

Going well so far. It took a while, but we seem to have a good starting number of intelligent askers and answerers. Will be interesting to view the growth over the next few months of the public beta period.

[phelix]

I hadn't participated in many other stackexchange sites, so wasn't aware of the restrictions those sites have.

Some decent questions are getting closed as a result and now display the message:

this question will likely solicit opinion, debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion.

Opinion?  Debate?  Extended discussion?  Oh the horror!

+1 feels like an iron maiden and thus can be a little frustrating.  

I try to see it not as some people enjoying their new powers but as a counter point to this noisy and funny forum. My question sure would have stirred emotions. Maybe it will become a little more relaxed after a while.

edit: also there was a reasonable explanation

[D.H.]

Opinion?  Debate?  Extended discussion?  Oh the horror!

+1 feels like an iron maiden and thus can be a little frustrating.  

It's not that people don't want debate and extended discussions, it's just that the StackExchange site is not the place for it. Different sites have different purposes. Your question would have been closed by the StackExchange moderators (employees) if the community hadn't done it first. None of the sites in their network allow debate or extended discussion. The sites are not forums, they are Q&A sites.