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Possible Duplicate:
Is an “Undeclared SE” site a good idea?

I'm sorry if this has been asked already...

Some topics are so esoteric that they don't necessarily need their own dedicated stackexchange site. Has the idea of having a "catch all" or "generic" stackexchange site been floated around?

To be honest, I hate using Yahoo answers when a stackexhange site does not exist, I'd rather use it's concept instead. I think the idea of having a general site could also be a breeding ground for spin off dedicated sites.

Just a thought.

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In addition to the closed duplicate linked above, we also have this discussion — https://area51.meta.stackexchange.com/a/5271/5

Our goal is not to create "general sites" for technology or anything else. Instead we create very specific sites for each community's area of expertise.

See About Stack Exchange.

That's why instead of allowing questions on any topic, we bring together individual communities of experts on very specific topics. We cannot guarantee every question will have a home. Most questions wont (at least until the network grows very large). So if you have a field of questions just itching to be asked, the best thing you can do is propose a site on the subject, and rally the experts you need to get those questions answered expertly. A "general technology" site cannot do that.

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  • Thank you, that is exactly what I was looking for! – javamonkey79 Jul 2 '12 at 5:30
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Stack Exchange is designed around the idea of getting experts on-board. There is no such thing as an expert in "general". So who would be the core answerers on such a site? Someone who randomly walked by and had an answer?

No, that doesn't really work. Not for any real length of time.

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  • I don't know if that logic really works does it? I mean, the original site: stackoverflow.com was founded around programming questions, however, there are very few if any experts in all subdivisions in said site. Albeit, there are the Jon Skeets out there who have many strong areas, there are also quite a few regular people out there who could help in less specific categories. Is area51 even the right place to ask about this? – javamonkey79 Jul 2 '12 at 0:09
  • @javamonkey79: "there are very few if any experts in all subdivisions in said site." What evidence do you have? Yes, we don't have full coverage and expert knowledge of everything that we answer. But we're doing better than any forum or other website on programming has ever done. So the idea seems to be working. – Nicol Bolas Jul 2 '12 at 0:11
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    @javamonkey79: Or to put it another way, "if you build it, they will come" doesn't work. Each site needs to be built with experts already available to answer questions. That's what the whole Area51 process is intended to do: ensure that there is a core of people on the site who will answer questions. – Nicol Bolas Jul 2 '12 at 0:12
  • Well, regardless your answer was unhelpful. Whereas @Robert's was spot on. Thanks for nothing. – javamonkey79 Jul 2 '12 at 5:29
  • @javamonkey79: Unhelpful? Robert's answer is almost exactly what I said, only stated slightly differently and with a link to a duplicate. – Nicol Bolas Jul 2 '12 at 5:32
  • The link made the difference :P – javamonkey79 Jul 2 '12 at 5:51
  • @NicolBolas: I think your answer much better explains why there is no intent in creation of general sites. Thank you. – pabouk Oct 8 '13 at 5:40

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