(RFD) Which would you prefer next?

[Ilwrath]

I'll second the request for the knowledge base, too.

I know how that is probably my single favorite thing about Microsoft's OS entries.  If I run into a bug, glitch, error or question, throwing " site:support.microsoft.com" into Google will almost always take me directly to my answer.

Having a similar resource for Amiga would be a huge help.  I think Amigawiki maybe tries to do this, but somehow fails in execution.  (I don't think Wiki is really the best method for such a resource.)  

I'd picture it more as being controlled by a group of several moderators who review recommended threads.   Once they determine a thread is suitable, a copy is cleaned up and properly tagged for appropriate systems and OS revisions, then permanently numbered (for easy reference) and added to a read-only section with advanced search options, based on those tags and the content.

Then, the next time someone asks why their A1200 2.5 IDE hard drive keeps corrupting data, we can just say "Did you check kb " and they can read all about Max Transfer.  

[Ilwrath]

A knowledge base is a good idea, but a little bit on the "dream on" side of reality unless you're talking about a wiki-style arrangement.

I don't necessarily think so.  I'm not sure I've ever bought into using a Wiki as a serious reference tool.  Sure, Wikipedia is great for looking up cultural references.  But, even with the large ratio of dedicated users vs the trolls, they have their share of problems.  And in a population like Amiga where the trolls, shills, and criminally insane are nearly as common as the legitimate users, I can't really see a useful Wiki emerging and not getting continually trashed.  

As for getting people to help pitch in, yes, it would take a team of Knowledge Base Builders, much like the forums need a team of Forum Moderators.  Personally, while I have less than no interest in reprimanding people for slinging personal insults or pirate links around the Forums, I'd volunteer to review technical threads, clean, tag, and archive them...  There may be some others who feel the same.  Or, maybe there isn't.  Who knows?  It IS just a request for discussion, at this time.  

Anyhow, you know it as well as I do...  A great wealth of information is buried in the forums of this site.  The problem is, it's buried in this site.  If those posts could be recognized by users and flagged, it wouldn't take a prohibitive effort for a volunteer knowledge base team to copy, clean, tag and post the information into a repository.  

We already have file repositories, music repositories, and user registers.  If we're talking about building something new, why not try something actually NEW?  A knowledge base would be some really slow progress.  Volunteers can't (and shouldn't) pitch in a lot of time...  But small amounts of effort collected over time can add up to large amounts of progress.  

We have a lot of users here who have posted a lot of great technical information.  It all feels kind of wasted, though, because it's all trapped in forum posts and not easily findable, archive-able, or linkable.