Let's get critical: May 2013 Site Self-Evaluation

Question

We all love The Great Outdoors Stack Exchange, but there is a whole world of people out there who need answers to their questions and don't even know that this site exists. When they arrive from Google, what will their first impression be? Let's try to look at this site through the eyes of someone who's never seen it before, and see how we stack up against the rest of the 'Net.

The Site Self-Evaluation review queue is open and populated with 10 questions that were asked and answered in the last quarter. Run a few Google searches to see how easy they are to find and compare the answers we have with the information available on other sites.

Rating the questions is only a part of the puzzle, though. Do you see a pattern of questions that should have been closed but are not? Questions or answers that could use an edit? Anything that's going really well? Post an answer below to share your thoughts and discuss these questions and the site's health with your fellow users!

Answer 1

To be honest, my impressions are that a lot of the content posted here is good or excellent in some cases. Overall I thought perhaps some of the answers could have done with diagrams or pictures in their explanations, but that was the only uniform potential for improvement that I noticed.

To me it just seems we need more of the same - but the visitor count on area51 is now past the 1k mark so hopefully we're getting there!

Answer 2

Final Results

• How can I 'inflate' or plump up my my sleeping bag?

  Net Score: 3 (Excellent: 4, Satisfactory: 8, Needs Improvement: 1)

• What alternative topographic maps exist in the USA?

  Net Score: 3 (Excellent: 6, Satisfactory: 3, Needs Improvement: 3)

• How safe is the bowline knot in different situations?

  Net Score: 7 (Excellent: 8, Satisfactory: 2, Needs Improvement: 1)

• Different kinds of Down: comparing insulation

  Net Score: 0 (Excellent: 3, Satisfactory: 5, Needs Improvement: 3)

• Does skiing over things like sticks, leaves, roots and tree needles damage the skis?

  Net Score: 1 (Excellent: 3, Satisfactory: 6, Needs Improvement: 2)

• Is there a difference in performance between a fishing kayak and touring kayak?

  Net Score: 6 (Excellent: 6, Satisfactory: 4, Needs Improvement: 0)

• Logs & Rocks - Step on or over?

  Net Score: -1 (Excellent: 1, Satisfactory: 6, Needs Improvement: 2)

• Should I re-wax downhill skis after using skins?

  Net Score: -2 (Excellent: 2, Satisfactory: 2, Needs Improvement: 4)

• How would you evaluate sailing lessons for adults?

  Net Score: 0 (Excellent: 1, Satisfactory: 5, Needs Improvement: 1)

• How small is "too small" for tent guylines?

  Net Score: 1 (Excellent: 1, Satisfactory: 4, Needs Improvement: 0)