I’m not sure I understand what the “external section on the forum” is (is it the top bar with “Qubes Home Support Docs Donate”?), but a good threads list sounds like a good starting point.
So it looks like we have a system where
- Mods and trusted users tag posts they deem high quality or worth preserving/spotlighting
- Guides are verified by trusted users who have used them (maybe a script adds a “Did this work?” poll or survey to every guide, and mods can see the trusted user vote count)
- The cream of the crop are added to the good threads list which is highly visible on the forum homepage external section (?)
Slight digression
Your response made me realize I made it sound as though the forum is just for newcomers, which wasn’t my intention. However this also highlights a broader issue I have with the forum–it lumps everyone who visits under the same category.
Some people come for simple advice (newer users), some come seeking answers to harder questions (older users), some report bugs, some make HCL entries, some give ideas, some socialize around the topic (e.g. Memes about Qubes OS).
The welcome page lumps everyone under one catgory and presents a singular feed and this feels crowded and chaotic. This thread started with a quote which came from a thread titled “Noise-to-signal ratio” from 4.5 years ago, so this problem has been around for literally as long as this Discourse forum existed, but my perception is it’s been made worse in the last year or two by increased user count and LLMs.
This feels like the root of many issues, including quality and discoverability, with this forum–the deeper issue. However I don’t know if I’m the only one feeling this. Does anyone else feel this way? I don’t have a solution for this (better partitioning? Multiple small feeds?), I just wanted to put into words what I feel whenever I glance at the main page.