Should we have a tag for 'unfunded ideas/projects' on the EA Forum wiki, and if so, what should we call it?

By PeterSlattery @ 2022-04-11T03:49 (+30)

Given the massive influx of EA funding, and calls for entrepreneurs, I have been thinking that curating ideas and opportunities for funding could be valuable [e.g., 1,2]. Someone with a similar idea has since started working on a website to capture EA related ideas. 

While reviewing that website, I wondered if a better approach would be to add a tag to the EA Forum Wiki to curate 'unfunded ideas/projects'. It might also help a little in addressing the fact that the EA forum wiki seems underused, as it would now have a very potent use case for potential funders. Longer term, this curation scheme could help with the easy production of an EA community funding program (e.g., a Kickstarter for EA ideas).

I'd like to know what people think and any suggestions for the tagging system if they like the idea.

RyanCarey @ 2022-04-11T04:23 (+24)

You could have "needs founders", "hiring", and "needs funding" tags!

Pablo @ 2022-04-11T14:14 (+19)

Good suggestions.

For 'hiring' we have Job listing (open) (we can rename it if that name seems suboptimal).

In general, I like the idea of using tags for this purpose. I don't think the tagging system can replace a website/spreadsheet, since many projects requiring funding or founders are not listed on the EA Forum. But the tags can (1) help with the creation of the website/spreadsheet and (2) make the projects that are listed on the Forum more discoverable.

UPDATE: The tags have been created.

PeterSlattery @ 2022-04-11T22:41 (+4)

Thanks Ryan/Pablo, I think that 'job listing (open)' seems fine. I agree with the other points.

As an aside, what do you think of the forum having a front-page section with link/shortcuts to some of the more important or popular tags?

I am imagining a 'Popular/key tags' section on the homepage with a list of tags and a search bar. It might help nudge people to use the wiki more. It might also increase access to posts that are important but not popular (e.g.,a new research, or open job post that gets little engagement and disappears under more the more interesting and common 'hot ideas' posts)

Pablo @ 2022-04-12T14:07 (+7)

I went ahead and created the tags Ryan suggested:

I'll add a brief description and tag some relevant posts shortly.

RyanCarey @ 2022-04-22T17:57 (+2)

Needs funding seems quite similar to "Funding request (open)". Maybe they should all be migrated to that format, e.g. "Cofounder request (open)".

Pablo @ 2022-04-11T22:50 (+2)

Thanks for the suggestion. Are you imagining a section at the beginning of this page or something else?

PeterSlattery @ 2022-04-11T23:32 (+2)

No, on the homepage. Maybe as something under pinned posts or front page posts? Imagine something like this as a section on the page, but with categories of tags (e.g., 'job listing (open)') instead of posts:

Important tags on our wiki

Pablo @ 2022-04-12T13:55 (+4)

Thanks. I'll mention your suggestion to the team.

PeterSlattery @ 2022-04-13T02:21 (+4)

Thanks - let them know that I am happy to discuss if needed. The main logic is that something like this nudges people towards more topic focused than recency focused use of the forum and better promotes and leverages of our great categorisation system.

Lizka @ 2022-04-19T12:23 (+5)

Agreed that there should be a clearer system here. Currently, a number of related tags exist: 

  1. Funding request (open)
  2. EA funding
  3. Room for more funding
  4. Funding opportunities
  5. Requests (open)
  6. Bounty (open)
  7. Job listing (open)
  8. Take action (which also lists lots of other things)

We're reworking the tagging system a bit, so let us know if you have more ideas! 

MathiasKB @ 2022-04-11T06:53 (+5)

It would be great if that same space had an ability to gauge interest and allow people/organisations to post bounties for projects they would like see done.

Ie. Someone from FHI posts a request for a deep-dive on topic X and provides a bounty for whoever does it sufficiently well first. Someone from CSER realizes they also would like to know the answer and adds to the bounty as well. Upvotes instead of bounties could be another way to figure out which projects would be valuable to get done.

PeterSlattery @ 2022-04-11T22:42 (+2)

Agree. This is pretty aligned with my desire for community funding mechanisms.

Marcel D @ 2022-04-11T13:58 (+3)

It might be worth noting that there is https://www.impactcolabs.com/ (and https://www.eawork.club/), so if anyone really is considering a project idea they could post it here on the forum with the relevant tag (even though it may become outdated) but they should probably also post it on the other site(s).

PeterSlattery @ 2022-04-13T02:22 (+2)

Thanks, I didn't realise these existed!

Yitz @ 2022-04-11T11:19 (+3)

I think “unfunded ideas” would be a great title for a tag!

Ben Williamson @ 2022-04-11T08:39 (+3)

I think this is a great idea! I'm aware of having read at least a few articles on the Forum with ideas for projects people would like to see someone set up, but I've not had any easy way of re-finding these to then send on to people who are interested.

+1 to Ryan's tag suggestions