The rOpenSci Team

Do you have an account on the [rOpenSci
forum](https://discuss.ropensci.org)?As underlined in our [contributing
guide](https://contributing.ropensci.org/resources.html#channels), our
forum is where we encourage **Q&A and exploration of ideas on a various
range of topics**.Compared to our
[Slack](https://contributing.ropensci.org/resources.html#channels)
semi-open workspace, the forum is **entirely open and much easier to
search**, so a great place to gather some collaborative knowledge!We
have recently **streamlined categories** so that it might be easier for
you to find where to post, and what to follow.In this post we shall
present current forum categories, and ways for you to keep up-to-date
with the activity without getting overwhelmed.

<figure class="center">
<a
href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-white-message-balloons-1111368/"><img
src="convo.jpg" width="500"
alt="Two paper message balloons on a pink background" /></a>
<figcaption>Picture by <a
href="https://www.pexels.com/fr-fr/@padrinan">Miguel Á. Padriñán on
Pexels</a>.</figcaption>
</figure>

## Forum categories

First note that forum categories are there to serve users, not the other
way round!So if you post in the "wrong" category, no problem!If
necessary, we can transfer the post to a more relevant category to make
it more visible, but really no harm done!

### Package Use Questions

Wonder how to [combine images with
magick](https://discuss.ropensci.org/t/magick-combining-several-images-into-one-while-controlling-their-relative-position/2697/3)?Or
how to [update resources with
ckanr](https://discuss.ropensci.org/t/updating-resources-with-ckanr/2631/6)?[Package
Use Questions](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/packages/7) is the
category for Q&A on any of our [packages](/packages).

### Wishlist

What if you wish that, or wonder whether, a certain package existed?Post
in the [Wishlist category](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/wishlist/6)!

### Package Development

Do you maintain or contribute to an R package, rOpenSci-affiliated or
not?You can ask questions in the [Package Development
category](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/package-development/29)!

### General Q&A

The [Q&A category](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/general-qa/17) is good
for asking about any topic related to R, rOpenSci, reproducible and
transparent science, etc.

### Jobs

The [Jobs category](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/jobs/22) welcomes job
postings!Please keep your posts limited to jobs that seem like a good
fit for our community. That is, jobs relating to software + science.

### Use Cases

Use (😉) the [Use Cases
category](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/usecases/10) for reporting
examples of how our [packages](/packages) or resources (e.g. our [dev
guide](https://devguide.ropensci.org) or [contributing
guide](https://contributing.ropensci.org)) have been used in the wild.We
then extract use cases as JSON and present them in a nice table on [this
very website](/usecases).

### Blog

This is the category you'd end up in via the blog itself, as it's used
for commenting!

### Code of Conduct

The [Code of Conduct
category](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/conduct/25) is reserved for
transparency reports made by our [code of conduct
committee](/code-of-conduct).

### Meta

The [Meta category](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/meta/3) is the home
for questions and ideas related to the forum itself!

### Antarctic

If you want to discuss R in Antarctic and Southern Ocean science, use
the [Antarctic category](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/antarctic/23)!

<figure class="center">
<a
href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/pink-background-with-speech-bubble-1111369/"><img
src="bubble.jpeg" width="500"
alt="Speech bubble on a pink background" /></a>
<figcaption>Picture by <a
href="https://www.pexels.com/fr-fr/@padrinan">Miguel Á. Padriñán on
Pexels</a>.</figcaption>
</figure>

## How to follow the forum?

- Visiting the forum everyday as part of your morning routine might not
 be exactly doable nor efficient.

- Exploring other topics every time you *post* a job posting or a
 package use question might be a great way to informally keep in touch!

- You can subscribe to each category via the bell icon that's at the top
 right. Then in your email service you could create a filter to have
 all emails from the forum arrive in a folder that you'd open when you
 have time to engage.

- You can add the RSS feed of each category to your feed reader. The
 link to the RSS feed is the URL to the category plus `.rss` e.g.
 `https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/package-development/29.rss` (but if
 you copy-paste the URL
 `https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/package-development/29` in e.g. Feedly
 the actual feed will be found without your help).

- In our [semi-open slack
 workspace](https://contributing.ropensci.org/resources.html#channels),
 there's a channel, `#discuss-ropensci` with all activity from the
 forum, but that's probably not optimal for casual forum use.

- Subscribing to our [newsletter](/news) would mean you indirectly gain
 information from the forum as we summarized recent use cases, and
 digest package development tips.

<figure class="center">
<a
href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-bubble-illustration-1111372/"><img
src="cloud.jpg" width="500"
alt="Thought cloud bubble on a pink background" /></a>
<figcaption>Picture by <a
href="https://www.pexels.com/fr-fr/@padrinan">Miguel Á. Padriñán on
Pexels</a>.</figcaption>
</figure>

## Not forum categories

The following topics used to be forum categories and they're still there
as an archive, but all new discussions have moved.

Discussions about [R-universe](/r-universe) are encouraged in
<https://github.com/r-universe-org/help/discussions> & bug reports to
<https://github.com/r-universe-org/help/issues>.

Discussions about [statistical software review](/stat-software-review/)
have moved to
<https://github.com/ropensci/statistical-software-review-book/discussions>.

## Conclusion

In this post we presented the new streamlined categories used on our
public forum.We hope some are of interest to you and that you'll take
advantage of them and contribute to the conversations!

Do you have an account on the rOpenSci forum?As underlined in our contributing guide, our forum is where we encourage

 Q&amp;A and exploration of ideas on a various range of topics

.Compared to our Slack semi-open workspace, the forum is

 entirely open and much easier to search

, so a great place to gather some collaborative knowledge!We have recently

 streamlined categories

so that it might be

Gather on the rOpenSci Forum

Check out the new and improved Capital as Power Forum.

Blair Fix

Nothing says 1990s like an 'internet forum'. Nothing says 2000s like a
'blog'. And nothing says 2010s like 'social media'. As we contemplate
how social media is ruining our society, let's hearken back to a simpler
day. Yes, I'm writing this on a blog. But today I want to talk about
internet forums --- specifically the [Capital as Power
Forum](https://capitalaspower.com/casp-forum/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}, which has recently relaunched.

The Capital as Power Forum is a place where you can talk about radical
political economy. Yes, you can do that on social media. But internet
forums offer a place where you can go into more detail. There's no
flashy feed. There's no 'promoted' content. There's just people and
their ideas.

### Some history

The [original Capital as Power
Forum](https://capitalaspower.com/forum_archived/){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"} launched in 2013. Since then, it's been home to many
fascinating discussions. The Capital as Power Forum is where I first
discussed my research on [energy use and the growth of large
institutions](https://capitalaspower.com/forum_archived/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=396&sid=3e15f2eb633def49bb3531150f714929){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}. And it's where I first wrote about how [income
inequality relates to the payout of corporate
dividends](https://capitalaspower.com/forum_archived/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=427&p=1147&hilit=inequality&sid=3e15f2eb633def49bb3531150f714929){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}.

Like all good things, the old forum eventually came to an end. The
problem was that the site's code was archaic and impossible to maintain.
After much headbanging, it became obvious that the only option was a
reboot. That's been in the works for a while now, and it's finally
ready.

### The Capital as Power Forum 2.0 {#the-capital-as-power-forum-2.0}

The new forum is up and running. Click the image below to check it out.
We're still ironing out some issues, so if you have a problem let us
know
([`casp.editorial@gmail.com`](mailto:casp.editorial@gmail.com){target="_blank"
rel="noopener"}). I'm looking forward to some interesting discussions!

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<a href="https://capitalaspower.com/forum-new/" target="_blank"
rel="noopener"><img
src="https://i0.wp.com/economicsfromthetopdown.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/forum.png?w=723&amp;ssl=1"
decoding="async" data-recalc-dims="1" /></a>
</figure>

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Nothing says 1990s like an ‘internet forum’. Nothing says 2000s like a ‘blog’. And nothing says 2010s like ‘social media’. As we contemplate how social media is ruining our society, let’s hearken back to a simpler day. Yes, I’m writing this on a blog. But today I want to talk about internet forums — specifically the Capital as Power Forum, which has recently relaunched.

Messaggi di Rogue Scholar

Gather on the rOpenSci Forum

The Capital as Power Forum Lives Again!