Create a discussion template

[mburridge]

Some of the proposals in the Discussions tab are quite scant - mea culpa, I'm as guilty of that as anyone.

In the editorial board meeting of 02 Feb we discussed having a template with a list of questions that need to be answered in order to guide people starting a new discussion and to ensure that the discussion topic is sufficiently fleshed out.

We have determined that it is indeed possible to create such a template or form. You can create a template for each category. There are currently three different discussion categories, but the one that most urgently needs a template is Topic Ideas.

I'm starting this issue so that we can decide what the structure of the template should be, i.e. what questions should be asked in order to guide people to create substantial discussion starter posts.

I'm more than happy to undertake the actual implementation of the form once the structure and content has been decided.

[mburridge]

Okay, I'll start. Here's some questions that I can think of:

• What is the title of your proposed article?
• Please write a 150 word synopsis of your proposed article?
• Please write an outline of your proposed article, i.e. what are the main sections)?
• What will the reader gain from your proposed article, i.e. what are the key take-aways?
• Why do you think there is a need for your proposed article?

[justintadlock]

The questions posted by @mburridge are great for architect-style writers*. However, for folks like me who are gardeners, it's really tough to answer most of them. So, just to make sure we're supporting a spectrum of writing styles, I'm going to shift things in the other direction.

It's rare that I could propose a title, write an outline, or tell what the key takeaways would be. And the reason I think there's a need? Mostly just because I think it's a topic that would be interesting to learn about.

It's possible I might have a 150-word description. I'm not a fan of a minimum word count, but I'd prefer that than some of the one-sentence ideas that we've had. For me, I think the biggest thing would be focusing on just giving a good description of what the idea is about.

I like the questions but also don't want them to be a barrier. I think of a solid description as more of a requirement with the other questions really serving more as a guide to help people along.

*Architects vs. Gardeners:

I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they're going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind of plumbing there's going to be. They have the whole thing designed and blueprinted out before they even nail the first board up. The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it. They kind of know what seed it is, they know if planted a fantasy seed or mystery seed or whatever. But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don't know how many branches it's going to have, they find out as it grows. And I'm much more a gardener than an architect.

George R.R. Martin

[mburridge]

I like the questions but also don't want them to be a barrier

The questions don't need to be a barrier. I see them more as a guide, guiding the proposer into creating a good article proposal. I don't think any of them need to be mandatory to complete in order to submit a proposal.

I take your point about the two different approaches to writing. My questions above are merely a first pass, mainly to act as a starting point so that we can get a good template by bouncing ideas around and through iteration.

I really hope others will chime in with their own thoughts and ideas and eventually we'll have a form that gently leads any writer, whatever their approach, through the steps toward putting a clear and coherent proposal together.

[bph]

@justintadlock Thank you so much for the "architect vs gardeners" writing style explanation. I can see myself more as a gardener, too. But it really depends on the topic.

@mburridge Thank you for kicking of the issue and sharing your questions. I think those are the right questions, some they are however from the perspective of the writer who is pitching a topic.Some could be part of a template for the issue that would come out of the Discussion.

For the Discussion, I would rather see answers for

• Describe your idea in as many words as possible, start with what triggered your idea? (confusion, feature, lack of context)
• What should an article on this topic cover? This is a more open question, of "What will the reader gain from your proposed article, i.e. what are the key take-aways?" but goes into the same direction.

The questions should not assume that it is the writer starts the discussion, many topic ideas come from practitioners who need more in - depth information, support volunteers, that see a recurring theme or are inspired by outreach efforts and identified pain points.

I will point it out in the upcoming Editorial group meeting, so we get more voices, as the discussion started in the last meeting.