Okay, I'm going to mention a few thoughts I've had, about DC and about forums in general, but I do want to first say that these are more ideas for improvement, rather than real complaints.
First, the whole forum format is great for discussions - but it isn't the ideal way to present the type of information you want to be able to reference. I'm more inclined to use search, and to poke through a whole thread to pick out info, than most people I know (I've scrolled through rolls of microfilm just to find the one entry I needed, after all), but I still find it a time-consuming way to access information. This isn't just the case with DC: any forum I'm on which includes informative posts tends to bury a lot of great information. If you don't search on just the right term, you miss it. When you do find it, if you do, you have to scroll through a lot of comments in the thread that don't add much to the discussion just to see the relevant bits. What am I getting at? Something like a Wiki (not necessarily editable by anyone, btw, I'm speaking of format here) is much easier to navigate and extract information from. The TOS could be revised to allow reposting selected material there so copyright need not be an issue.
Yes, I do know it is a lot of work.
No, I'm not sure it would be worth the effort. It is just an idea that's been on my mind for a long time, and I think it is at least worth discussion. For what it's worth, the more accessible a reference that was available, the more visitors would be pulled in and exposed to the DC model of software, which I personally think is a great idea. Would it increase traffic enough to justify the effort? Your guess is as good as mine. I'm just tossing ideas out for discussion, as I gather that is Mouser's idea.
My other point is this: I think the more that can be done to draw visitors, to express the ideas behind DC, and to explain them in ways anyone can grasp, the better. Yes, only efforts that yield enough result are worth it, but the goal is important, so I think a discussion specifically of how to win over more visitors is a good one. The basic model is sound; I'm not questioning that. What I'm wondering is, could more be done to spread awareness of, and appreciation for, that model? Whatever your opinion of them, there are a lot of people who won't donate until they figure out what's in it for them (and, yes, there are real benefits) and need to have that spelled out for them.
