On Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 11:34 AM, Ethan Furman
On 01/29/2016 08:19 AM, Guido van Rossum wrote:
I do have to say I find the idea of using a dedicated StackExchange
site intriguing. I have been a big fan of its cofounder Joel Spolsky for many years. A StackExchange discussion has some advantages over a thread in a mailing list -- it's got a clear URL that everyone can easily find and reference (as opposed to the variety of archive sites that are currently used), and there is a bit more structure to the discussion (question, answers, comments). I believe there are some good examples of other communities of experts that have really benefited (e.g. mathoverflow.net).
I am also a big fan of StackExchange, but the StackExchange sites are about questions and answers, while Python-Ideas is about ideas and discussion.
Given that extensive comments on a question or answer is discouraged, multiple answers trying to follow a thread of discussion would be confusing, and the person asking the question would be the one selecting the "approved" answer (which may have nothing to do with the actual outcome), I don't see this as being a good fit.
As a longtime follower of the SE site-creation process, I'd have to agree. There's pretty much no way such a site would get past the existing site-creation process. I suspect even a special arrangement with the Stack Overflow upper management bypassing the regular process wouldn't happen. In any event, a site that creates the illusion that "Create a Python 2.8!" having a ton of upvotes means something seems like a Bad Idea.