Just an idea I had for quite some time.
What would you think about creating a new forum category named “Example” ? Possibly as an alternative or replacement of “Gallery”.
I have noticed several forums in the creative coding/noding community (and beyond) favoring this naming convention. Some pros I can think of:
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“Example” has a neutral connotation.
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content vs form. “Gallery” might be misleading in that it usually refers to something visually impressive/inspiring. Yet the appeal in creative coding very often doesn’t lie in the visual output but rather in the logical process being built. How many times have you come across a sketch that isn’t eye-catching but technically noteworthy ?
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horizontality vs verticality. Even taken in a broader sense “Gallery” still might sound improper or slightly excessive in that it necessarily puts (semantically at least) the OP in the position of an artist willing to showcase its “art” to “viewers”. I have personally restrained myself from posting several times worrying the content would not live up to the expectation the word “gallery” raises. (or be inappropriate in this context)
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“Example” as an invitation to build a community.
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share vs show. In its current state, the forum has no official category clearly dedicated to the sharing of examples or tutorials. For example when @villares kindly shares a workaround for creating tables in Python, he doesn’t post it in the Gallery (nothing to “show”) but in the “Python” category which is yet usually dedicated to questions. I believe this kind of post (neither an artwork nor a question) should deserve its own category.
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frequent vs occasional. An idea or an experiment being easier to post and more common than a fully elaborated artwork, it could facilitate the spontaneous sharing of knowledge and findings among the community. In the long run I believe this could motivate “silent visitors” (regulars or hobbyists that don’t post much but often use this forum) to engage and share in turn their own tips and tricks.
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For comparison, the OpenFrameworks forum has no “Gallery” category, only “Example”. VVVV’s forum provides both a “WIP” page (humble name for “gallery”) and “Tutorials” page (examples with annotations or brief explanations).