Post by qooqǝɯɐƃ on Sept 21, 2010 1:49:47 GMT -5
@bree You make an important point about the uncertainty of knowing when a project has failed and the possible [depressing realization] for the project's creator. And having a whole forum section would also be demotivating as it would be filled with unsuccessful projects (at first).
But are we really that sensitive? If we just have it in our head that not everything works out great at first (which is an important life lesson and look at D3P0's start) then we can accept a failed project and move on and most importantly learn from our mistakes.
And we don't need a whole section for unsuccessful projects (imo). We only need a single thread, pinned and locked that gets updated weekly/biweekly(?) that can show the community
Maybe new members will take up an old idea that failed or find inspiration from this idea-dense page. And with a description as to why the project failed the next person to attempt it will know what to watch out for and hopefully be able to have success with it.
Anyways, I feel like you are looking at this idea in a very negative way. In order to be successful at doing what we do (reducing world-suck) we have to learn from our mistakes.
Well, making the reasons for those mistakes easily accessible to everyone* -- rather than forcing each and every person to go through multiple threads with a bunch of posts (which most will find very overwhelming and too much work) -- will help people design projects in ways that are more successful in the future.
And likely the ratio of unsuccessful projects to successful projects would start to decline. Which would act as assurance that we are actually making a difference in our communities.
*this makes me think it will humiliate some users. So anonymity would be a good idea. We don't have to link projects to the original thread, just simply say what the project was, how it was carried out and why it was not successful. A lot could be learned from reading this page.
So as of now, it's just a logistical problem, right? I'm sure if the pros mean enough to you and the other admins you guys will be able to work through the cons. (I would be glad to offer my ideas btw, I love collaborating =)
But are we really that sensitive? If we just have it in our head that not everything works out great at first (which is an important life lesson and look at D3P0's start) then we can accept a failed project and move on and most importantly learn from our mistakes.
And we don't need a whole section for unsuccessful projects (imo). We only need a single thread, pinned and locked that gets updated weekly/biweekly(?) that can show the community
- Which projects have been unsuccessful,
- Which projects are hard to complete and
- (Most importantly) common reason why projects fail.
Maybe new members will take up an old idea that failed or find inspiration from this idea-dense page. And with a description as to why the project failed the next person to attempt it will know what to watch out for and hopefully be able to have success with it.
Anyways, I feel like you are looking at this idea in a very negative way. In order to be successful at doing what we do (reducing world-suck) we have to learn from our mistakes.
Well, making the reasons for those mistakes easily accessible to everyone* -- rather than forcing each and every person to go through multiple threads with a bunch of posts (which most will find very overwhelming and too much work) -- will help people design projects in ways that are more successful in the future.
And likely the ratio of unsuccessful projects to successful projects would start to decline. Which would act as assurance that we are actually making a difference in our communities.
*this makes me think it will humiliate some users. So anonymity would be a good idea. We don't have to link projects to the original thread, just simply say what the project was, how it was carried out and why it was not successful. A lot could be learned from reading this page.
So as of now, it's just a logistical problem, right? I'm sure if the pros mean enough to you and the other admins you guys will be able to work through the cons. (I would be glad to offer my ideas btw, I love collaborating =)