Here’s what REALLY got me thinking. On the NorthPack site I added another RSS feed to my profile and I thought…

What’s to stop me adding 100 feeds to the NorthPack site (apart from the fact I appear too much anyway…can you fix that?)

Of course, you’d ban me, but I’d be back with a fake email and a different feedburner URL.

In short, what’s in it for me not to spoil it?

(By me I mean someone/anyone)

Ebay has reputation, Digg lets unpopular stuff sink, Slashot has moderation… etc. I know it’s early days but someone is going to spoil everything for you guys, trust me… maybe not even deliberately, but good stuff just gets spoilt. Look what Page Rank has done to the web!

So, apologies for the link-baity title, but one way to prevent abuse it to make it of real value to the people involved.

Most people don’t poo on their own doorsteps but the grass outside my house has a HUGE dog poo on it.

Kudos for your use of NorthPack to bait on the topic of NorthPack, something must be working right

That Is All

This all started when Dom twittered about how many hits Northpack was getting… which got me thinking …

… about the “crisis of the commons”, game theory and about how exactly do you do something “community-oriented” without owning it?

So, I really wasn’t having a go, but I was baiting… (in a nice way)

I do think you’re missing a point though, NorthPack has done a fantastic job of “bigging up the North” whilst bringing the community together at the same time. Yes, the NorthCrew may on the surface appear to be self-promoting, but I think this is non-intentional and more of a side-effect inferable from the “big personalities” in the NorthCrew. Would you change ‘em? I know I wouldn’t.

I agree on your point that some of the site stats could be made available and that there are features that could be added… but on one hand you say rss aggregation has been done before then go on to say that community features are needed - but this is nothing new either? Sure, Northpack in terms of technology has been done many times before, but it’s the NorthPack concept and the drive that it brings that is new. The rest will follow in time.

As for opensourcing the code, alas it would be reasonably pointless to opensource the RSS aggregator (as, it has, as you say, been done umpteen times before):

http://rubyforge.org/projects/feedtools
http://rubyforge.org/projects/daemons

On the one hand, you’ve raised an important point - North* would benefit from greater transparency of intentions; but like Stanton said, it’s hard to know what people want to know before they ask. The best outcome of this could be as simple as some kind of roadmap & FAQ, and maybe a statement of intent.

But come on, either the proposition genuinely means nothing to you, or you’re intentionally stirring. I am curious to know what you actually *want* from Northpack - as in what measurable gains you want to extract, for you - but you can’t escape the fact that this discussion would not be happening, or at least I would not have read it, had you not put your blog forward to Northpack. Even had we met at some local event, the chance of me then checking out your blog is tiny - I’m only here because your headlines have caught my eyes on Northpack several times.

The question you’re asking is tremendously self-orientated. I prefer an alternate view of Northpack. I don’t care what additional hits I get from putting my blog into Northpack, I do it as a gesture to participate in the community, because that is what I love about it.
I don’t fully understand why - it certainly shouldn’t be this way - but there is something appealing about knowing all the blogs you’re reading are geographically within a few miles of you. Prior to Northpack I would never have known if such a system has value, they are slowly proving it does.
Most tellingly, for me, is that I now check Techmeme and Northpack in the same breath, one to get global news, one to get a local voice.

But yes, I second the request for a more people-orientated feel (people directory, links to other networks, etc.).

One thing we had planned with Meecard that would be cool to see is the ability to click a name next to an article (like this one), and see what (U|u)pcoming events that person is attending, and highlight which ones we’ll both be at.

On the whole I think NorthCrew should take it as a compliment that people are asking such probing questions Obviously started something useful for the North. Ownership is a key issue though.

I don’t necessarily think making the code opensource is a great idea but members do need involvement to help drive it forward. Otherwise there is a danger it could be viewed as tool for NorthCrew benefit rather than the community as a whole. Correct me if I’m wrong Tom but I think this is where it gets a little icky for you?

Adding some features that involve members in driving it forward that are also of benefit to them is probably key for me. I’m sure you’ve got some of these in pipeline - as a freelancer I can see NorthSkills could develop into something that would turn out to be really useful for me.