Re: Ideas for a new A2 site

[pausch@saaf.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <nemoSun072207084508@news.west.cox.net>,
JCarlson  <jcarlson1701@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello All.
> 
> I want to create a new website dedicated to our favorite platform (the
> A2 of course! :) ) and would like to get some input as to what you all
> would like to see on the site. This will be a slow process as I will
> only be doing it in the small amount of free time that I have, but I'd
> like to make it the best A2 site on the net. All input will be
> appreciated.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Josh

You can make your A2 site if you wish, but if you have no idea what to
put there, and if you cannot spend very much time on your site, it
will never become the "best A2 site on the net", as you say you wish.
Your site will have another disadvantage as well: since it's a new
site, people interested in the A2 will already be used to visiting
other sites.  So your site will have to be really really good if you
want to make these people used to visit your site instead.

Basically, you have three choices:

1. If you really want your future site to become the "best A2 site on
the net", then get yourself a really good idea of what you want to put
on your site.  No, it's not as simple as asking here what people want
and then do just what you are told.  It takes more than that.  Visit
as many other A2 sites as you can: look at them, and figure out how
you'd like your site to be better than them.  Yes, this will take much
time - if you have too little free time then you have to rearrange
your life so you will get enough time for your project.  Still, this
is no guarantee that your site actually will become the "best A2 site
on the net" - but with some luck it may be.  Also, you need to think
about how to, some time in the future, verify whether your site really
is the "best A2 site on the net", or not.  How do you intend to figure
that out?  A poll here in comp.sys.apple2?  Some other way?  Just your
own opinion isn't enough to settle that question, since a natural
self-bias tends to make you think your creation is better than others
may think it is.  You're of course not alone here - most of us tend to
react in a similar way when judging our own creations.

2. Turn down your ambitions a lot.  Forget about trying to be the
"best A2 site on the net" and instead aim at creating an interesting
site among a lot of other A2 sites.  Decide what you want to put on
your site.  Don't try to put everything there, instead you should
specialise in something.  What about the A2 interests you the most?
Do you have an interesting hardware or software project?  Or did you
dig up some previously unknown part of the Apple II history?  Do you
have an impressive collection of Apple II hardware?  Or just some
unusual Apple II hardware item?  All of these things are obvious
candidates to put up on your A2 site.

3. If you don't have much time, and if you don't have any good idea
of what to put on your site, then forget about the whole project,
at least for now.  At best, your site would then become some copy
of other already existing A2 sites, and there are enough of them
already.  Setting up an empty framework with e.g. a bulletin board,
a chat room, and little else, and then expect others to fill your
site with interesting contents, won't attract many users.  Even
if you forget about your project for now, you can always take it
up again later, if/when you get a good idea of what to put on a
future A2 site.


Putting up a new web site is a little bit like speaking to the
public.  Now, if you want to make a good speech, there's some
rethoric rules you need to follow.  The most important of these
rules is: you should have something to say!  If you don't have
anything to say but have to ask others what to say, then you
should seriously consider to shut up and not make your speech.
This of course also applies to new web sites.

-- 
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