New Topic Catagory Suggestion: AMA

+1. Great idea.

What kind of questions do you think aren’t getting asked already or would be easier to find if divorced from their subject?  Folks ask questions in the many existing categories all day long. If it’s hard to search for questions in places the topic would be expected to come up, how would a topic-free place make for better searching?  Seems preferable for the questions to be put forward where people interested in the topic would notice and be inclined to answer.

How would the new space differ from General Lightweight Backpacking Discussion?

Todd,

What kind of questions do you think aren’t getting asked already or would be easier to find if divorced from their subject?

You are correct. I believe that many long-time users have no difficulty asking questions. They do tend to be specific and narrow in scope.

Here is my observation, this site can be pretty dead at times. I also suspect that BPL has a difficult time getting new viewers to respond. I have no solid data on this (Ryan might chime in on this), however; other forums seem to have a higher influx of new people. I suspect that this site has been/ can be pretty intimidating to some people. Some of the knowledge goes steep and deep pretty fast.

Having a separate AMA (or no dumb questions), could be an avenue for new backpackers, people new to the site or lurkers who don’t contribute to become more active and potentially have a higher engagement rate. That being said, we as a community would need to craft responses to be supportive and helpful. If you are skilled in the arts and think that someone is asking a dumb question, it would be best for you not to respond to that person.

IMO, it seems like a simple feature that if handled correctly, could reduce some barriers to people becoming more active on this particular site.

My 2 cents.