DBpedia Blog

DBpedia Forum – New Ways to Exchange about DBpedia

Summary

From now on, in addition to our newsletter and slack as a means for communication, we have a new platform for exchange and support around DBpedia – the DBpedia Forum.

With part  II of our growth hack series, we would like to introduce you to the latest feature of our development – the new DBpedia Forum.

Why a new forum?

DBpedia has an inclusionist model and DBpedia is huge. At the core, there is data extracted from Wikipedia and Wikidata. Around this, there are derived datasets like the fusion/enrichment and also LHD. Additionally, we offer services such as DBpedia Spotlight, DBpedia Lookup, SameAs, and not to forget the main endpoint http://dbpedia.org/sparql as well as our DBpedia Chapters. All of this is surrounded by 25k academic papers and a vivid business network.

Since we have this inclusionist model, we believe that access to data and knowledge should be global and unified (and free where possible). That is exactly why we established the DBpedia Forum –  to further this mission. 

Welcome!

The DBpedia Forum is a shared community resource — a place to share skills, knowledge, and interests through an ongoing conversation about DBpedia and related topics. It is meant (among others) to replace our old support page for assistance with DBpedia. In the long run, we will shut down our (former) support page, as it is not serving our growing needs anymore. 

This is what the forum currently looks like. Traffic and communication are still a little low. Start your conversation about DBpedia here and now.

Where are all the DBpedians?

We figured, most of you are already actively involved in exchange about DBpedia. However, the majority of that is scattered all over the web which makes it hard for us and others to keep track of. With the new forum, we offer you a playground for vivid exchange, and to meet and greet fellow DBpedians – a platform for everyone’s benefit. 

The DBpedia Forum simplifies communication

Make this a great place for discussion by contributing yourself. It is super easy. Just visit https://forum.dbpedia.org/, browse the topics, and find the info that helps you or add your own. If you want to contribute just register and off you go. Improve the discussion by discovering ones that are already happening. Help us influence the future of the DBpedia community by engaging in discussions that make this forum an interesting place to be. 

Transparency is all

To assist with maintaining an appropriate code of conduct the forum utilizes little discourse tools that enable the community to collectively identify the best (and worst) contributions. The forum tracks bookmarks, likes, flags, replies, edits, and many more. That is similar to the ranking in the old support system but much more transparent and much more fun.

For the hunter-gatherers among you, you can also earn batches for various activities  – as long as you are active.  And if you feel very passionate about a certain topic, we would gladly make you a moderator – just let us know.  

Now is the time

Since you are already talking about DBpedia somewhere on the WWW, why not do it here and now for everyone else to follow? Your knowledge and skills are key, not only for individuals in this forum but also for the whole DBpedia community. 

Happy posting and stay tuned for part III in the growth hack series. The next post will feature timbr – DBpedia SQL Semantic Knowledge Platform.

Yours,

DBpedia Association