Stackoverflow allows the public to download dumps of their data [1]. Considering the usefulness, and unique insights provided in this forum is it possible to provide us monthly, quarterly, or even annual dumps of the forum's database?
This is particularly important for businesses as having this type of critical data locally removes a serious operational risk (that the only place where essential and comprehensive insights are provided disappears).
This would also enrich the community by allowing people to develop independent data services and enhanced mirrors educating the world about FreeBSD in unique and innovative ways. Someone loving hardware could for example develop unique data queries, to extract insights from the forum and present them in his website. This type of momentum can greatly benefit the community.
In an ideal world providing an API and a dump of the data would be perfect. But providing raw dumps of the database tables (after removing sensitive information), is the most important part. the API is just to further benefit the community and doesn't address the main concern explained. Moreover third parties can easily develop such an API if dumps are provided.
[1https://archive.org/details/stackexchange (wrote this using a smartphone, the formatting toolbar is essentially unusable)
This is particularly important for businesses as having this type of critical data locally removes a serious operational risk (that the only place where essential and comprehensive insights are provided disappears).
This would also enrich the community by allowing people to develop independent data services and enhanced mirrors educating the world about FreeBSD in unique and innovative ways. Someone loving hardware could for example develop unique data queries, to extract insights from the forum and present them in his website. This type of momentum can greatly benefit the community.
In an ideal world providing an API and a dump of the data would be perfect. But providing raw dumps of the database tables (after removing sensitive information), is the most important part. the API is just to further benefit the community and doesn't address the main concern explained. Moreover third parties can easily develop such an API if dumps are provided.
[1https://archive.org/details/stackexchange (wrote this using a smartphone, the formatting toolbar is essentially unusable)
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