The WHATWG Forums
First thing's first. Hi my name is Liam Hockley, I am a recent addition to the admin team on the WHATWG forums and I have been working on improving the site over the past couple of weeks. (forums.whatwg.org)
The first thing I did, was update the forum software from the severely outdated phpBB2, to the fresh new phpBB3. This process went fairly smoothly. Next I created a new forum section to facilitate the discussion of forums/website ideas and feedback. On top of this, the other admins and myself have been working to make sure spam is not and will not be an issue moving forward.
The next step and what we are currently working on, is to try and get the forums more active. I would like to encourage you to use the forums and tell all of your friends. This could serve as a great base for compelling discussion and debate on the HTML spec.
In the future, I plan to try and implement integration of the twitter RSS feed and potentially an RSS feed of the WHATWG mailing list. There is also an effort in place on the part of phpBB, to modernize their markup to follow the latest HTML spec in upcoming releases. We will most certainly be taking advantage of that once it becomes possible.
Anyways, thank you for reading. If you get a chance, check out the forums and drop us a line.
-Liam "Xdega" Hockley
Liam, I appreciate your efforts, and I’m a fan of web forums, but I have to admit I’m a little confused here. My understanding has been that the mailing lists are the primary forum for discourse on the specs. Now that this blog is more active, it’s used for occasionally announcements and recaps. So how do the web forums fit into the picture? I’m concerned that the key players will remain focused solely on the mailing lists, leaving the web forums bereft of their expertise.
Basically, I’m interested in a better understanding of the intended audiences and uses of each medium. I’m sure there’s a good plan in place which just isn’t clear yet. Thanks and good luck!
I have been thinking about this a lot myself. I am relatively new to the WHATWG, but very enthusiastic and idea driven. I strongly believe that each medium has it’s advantages as well as drawbacks though.
Now I can’t speak for the key players here. I am simply an admin of the forums, volunteering to improve that particular medium. But here is where I believe that each method of communication fits in to the “bigger picture”.
WHATWG Blog
Large Announcements
Compelling and informative Articles
WHATWG Mailing List
Serious Proposals (and debate) on the HTML spec
In depth discussions on the mechanics of the HTML spec
WHATWG Twitter
Quick announcements
Quick notification on small spec changes
WHATWG Forums
Unofficial feedback on the HTML spec
Sharing ideas for the use of the HTML Spec
A place to share resources on the HTML spec
A place to ask simple questions, that would be otherwise “spammy” for the mailing list
Now I can see what you are saying with regards to people focusing on one particular medium. Which is why I feel the forums should be heavily integrated with the twitter and the mailing list. In the future, I would like to see the web forums as an active base of discussion for everyone including the “key players” as you put it.
I am very new to mailing lists in general and I respect the WHATWG mailing list as the key medium for submitting proposals, although I do find it a little tricky to use. I do think that having a web forums for more casual discussion that in the future can showcase the HTML spec, will be a major credit.
There has been a little discussion about contests to be held on the forums. I feel this would be a great way to get people using the new spec, and in an enthusiastic and creative way. But for this to be a possibility, there needs to be a community to participate in such activities. It is also an example of something that would not be practical to do via a mailing list. One thing’s for sure, the forums are in infancy at this point with a lot of potential
Thank You very much for your feedback
Have been making a lot of changes to the forums. New styles and changes to the styles to give the forums a more custom look. Restructuring the forum categories etc. Be sure to swing by and check out the forums.