Re: Making Lua accessible to everyone

[Rob Kendrick <rjek@...>]

On Thu, Nov 12, 2020 at 03:22:38PM +0100, Sorn Županić Maksumić wrote:
> To continue, at least 90% of the traffic LuaForum.com is getting is from
> beginners searching “Lua Forum”, because they need help. The forum has
> great SEO (mainly because of the domain name) and the forum always appears
> on the first page on Google. But, it’s no use in having great SEO if there
> is no one around to help the beginners, right?

Perhaps your website could point them towards the web interface to
lua-l?  It doesn't let you post (problems with spam and poor-quality)
but it does let you read using a website.  Perhaps the lua.org website
could also add your forum to the Community page, too.
 
>    People new to programming are most likely not going to join a mailing
>    list

Do you know why, even if it has a web interface?  I mean, it's still
another UI and username/password to remember.

>    The forum has great SEO and it’s the first place many beginners look for
>    help

Well, searching for the name of your site finds your site, that's not
surprising :)  The main Lua website lists numerous discussion fora,
including this one, it's not hard to find.

>    Technical documentation can be scary and there's no way to ask a question

No way to ask a question where?  On the docs?  The website has links to
many places you can ask a question, most of which do not require any
sign up at all.

>    Experts can share good coding practice and style

Same applies to everywhere the community section of the website
mentions.

>    Posts will never be deleted

I don't know about other systems, but I don't think a post has ever been
deleted from the lua-l archives.

> I hope you join, but no pressure if you don't. It's up to you.

Sadly I won't be joining, I've found web fora almost universally
terrible places in terms of interface, convenience, uptime, reliability,
and content.  Needing a special sign-up just for it is also a put-off
for me: somewhere like StackOverflow or Reddit where people are likely
to already have signed up seems better to me, if a mailing list is not
an option.

B.