Proposal: Health
About a month ago, I made a small edit to the audience description here, such that it now reads:
Proposed Q&A site for medical specialists, students, dietitians and anyone with health-related questions
While I think this reflects the folks who've signed up here thus far, I still don't like it:
- It's too long. This isn't an audience, it's a laundry-list.
- Everyone has health-related questions. "Everyone" is not the target audience for this site.
- Calling out dietitians separately from medical specialists is a bit of a backhanded compliment. I understand why y'all wanted to call out that particular specialty, but...
Here's the current breakdown of self-proclaimed roles for committers:
- 13.6% Expert
- 7.2% Academic
- 30.4% Enthusiast
- 16.0% Beginner
- 32.8% Curious
Let's ignore the 32.8% who are "curious". Curiosity alone does not build a community. That leaves us with a hair over 30% "medical specialists and students" and the rest falling into "anyone with health-related questions".
Stack Exchange sites work when they're filled with people who are all doing something. Whether that's making meals or learning about how our universe works, there has to be a shared activity that brings folks together, engages them on a daily basis, and offers them ample opportunity to share what they're constantly learning with one another.
Whether you're a committed enthusiast or beginner, dismissing you as just someone with "health-related questions" seems like a put-down. Are you really here because you had that one question about vitamins once? Or are you committed to this site because you realize that there's a vast amount of information you're hoping to learn and you hope to join a group of like-minded individuals in the pursuit of such knowledge...
My sincere hope is that it's the latter. Therefore, I propose the following change to the audience description here:
Proposed Q&A site for medical specialists and people learning about human health.
Short, inclusive, somewhat aspirational... And most importantly, firmly focused on your goals for participating on this site rather than the mechanics of what you'll do there initially.
Thoughts? Concerns?
