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Possible Duplicate:
Can we rename this site to be more inclusive of Linux ARM hardware?

What makes the Raspberry Pi different from other small computers and why does it make sense to have a Stack Exchange site with a scope specific to it? Other similar items that can be bought or will be available in the future are:

  • The MK803 Mini PC goes for around $72 and can be ordered now
  • The Pogoplug goes for as low as $30 and has been around for years
  • The APC is a $49 Android system with many similarities like GIPO
  • The BeagleBoard ($149) and BeagleBone ($89) offer full-featured Linux with ethernet and video ports for the BeagleBoard

Is there a logical rationale for creating a Stack Exchange specific to the Raspberry Pi, or was the creation of this site just to the popularity/interest level in the platform? Would it make more sense to broaden the scope if this situation changes in the future and interest in the other platforms grow?

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    Do you really want someone to answer "it's worthy since it got the required backing to give it a go in beta?" since that's all that happened. The employees of Stack Exchange have simply said - that dog could hunt. Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 18:20
  • @bmike Not exactly, although you kind of just did give that answer. I ask because I don't know, not because I have an answer in mind. Is the subject best defined by the Linux ARM hardware? Maybe. Maybe it's something else. Maybe the Ras Pi is important because of the community behind it - arguments no one else seems to have the stomach to articulate. In a year the question could be impossible to ignore. It should be interesting to see. Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 18:57
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    Excellent - I'll vote to keep this open if it should reach the close ratio. The other question seems narrow on ARM+Linux and you seem to be asking a bit broader (android too) of a question. Even if the majority dislike the premise - there is value in having several questions exploring and poking at the edges of where the FAQ should be drawn. Having detailed, open questions seems the best method to work out what people consider a good scope. Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 19:11
  • I think this is a sensible question, and as bmike says, not a duplicate. What happens if the RPi is on sale for a year then the project ends? If a competing product has a massive overlap, then I'd support expanding the site scope to include it, perhaps to something like "Open Source Miniature Computing" (or some other name that makes sense) Commented Jun 13, 2012 at 22:23

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Well - the basic requirements to start any beta site are simply that enough people commit and visit and curate the idea of a site in Area 51 (oops - not that area, this one). The Stack Exchange employees run that, so you'd have to email them or wait for them to step in and answer why this case was deemed worthy of graduation from proposal to beta status.

The details are on the proposal FAQ as to how a site gets to beta.

That being said, this is a bit of a messy democracy with some limited time for the people that committed (or were luck enough to get an invite) a one week period to start using the beta site before it gets opened up to anyone.

As the other answer and comments show - the core of your question was asked in the forming proposal stage but also needs to be worked through here. By making a specfic proposal naming potential systems - that helps everyone understand how and why they might want to support or voice criticism of this particular proposal.

It's not unheard of for a site to expand during beta (or even post beta), but it will take active participation and some reasoning how and why changes would be good. Barring that, it looks like this is set up to succeed or fail to get out of beta with a more limited scope than "any smallish platform that is similar to Raspberry Pi".

I'm personally excited to see such a narrow scope try to get off the ground - but healthy discussion of even what appear to some to be a bad idea helps everyone wrap their minds around the issues and how they see and use this space to learn and teach.

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Probably nothing; These devices may get their own SE sites in future (following our example.)

Devices that are specifically targeted at robot builders may be an exception - these would probably get merged with one of the proposed robotics sites.

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  • Or more probably, in time this one will become more generic? Commented Sep 23, 2012 at 7:58
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The site should stay focused to RPi, as it allows us to provide better, more focused answers.

For reference, this issue was already discussed before the private beta was launched: Should this site only support the Raspberry Pi?.

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