Per @AA's suggestion, I'll attempt to put my thoughts into words about my hopes for the site:

I'm with @manassekatz on MY's elitist feeling. Though I've only been on MY since the winter, for most of the time I've had that feeling. When people comment, it is often unclear if they're attacking you or genuinely interested in understanding your POV. I think this stems, at least partially, with how some questions are addressed: people simply down-vote with no explanation, a kind of hit-and-run situation. When it happens to new users who aren't too clear on rules and guidelines, that's not too welcoming, to say the least. But even for some of the more old-timers - is this a place of learning or not? How is one expected to learn if one has no idea what supposedly they did wrong? Personally, if there was a way to enforce commenting when down-voting, I think that would be a big plus for everyone. There may be other reasons for the elitist feeling, but that's what comes to mind at the moment.

Secondly, quite honestly, what's so wrong with having some categories allowing opinion-based answers? "V'ten Chelkeinu b'Toratecha" means everyone has their own share in the Torah. If it's a really horrible senseless answer, discussions with the poster can be made to clarify or redirect, or else simply don't vote for it. What if I have an answer that I think is a mind-blowing chiddush, but I've been unable to find sources for that - is that so bad? (this is kind of like the Ashkenazi/Sephardi iyun-style split - what's the focus on: tradition or chiddushim?) After all, the banner of both this site and MY is that for actual halachic matters, CYLOR. If there's some fear that someone will take an answer from here and make it halacha-l'maaseh, why are practical halachic questions allowed in the first place?

Thirdly, as others have already pointed out, making the community more welcoming and friendlier is important. I don't have much ideas for this right now. My suggestion on the Meta a few weeks ago to have the Purim Torah category open all year appears to have been pushed back to Tevet (not sure how that happened exactly and who voted on that one - I'm still in the dark on that) and as things appear to be moving so far, will probably become a tolerated (not necessarily enjoyed) Adar-only category like on MY (seriously, who down-votes PTs? Why?). I think that's unfortunate. I stand by what I said then - I think that having a more light-hearted category serves for giving the site a more friendlier, occasionally light-hearted feeling. For all those that fear a flood of PT questions: a. Why would that be so terrible? Is not the goal to improve Jewish learning? b. I expect there will be a flood at first, because on MY that category is only open a few weeks a year - it's like opening a dam. After a while though, it will slow down and I think there will be a good balance of different types of questions (anti-PTers: you make it sound like in your learning you never joke around at all. I honestly envy your concentration abilities).

Fourthly, I think having an area for discussing and debating certain topics will be helpful. Somewhere that a person can come and say, "Science and Torah, discuss" (random example) and everyone can join in on the discussion/debate.

This is what I have at the moment.

posted almost 4 years ago

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Harel13‭

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