Product Positioning¶
AlienCommons is a column publishing platform for Technical Minecraft players. It encourages players to record, discuss, and share Minecraft technical knowledge in written, formal, and moderately academic forms.
Why AlienCommons Exists¶
The Minecraft community already communicates through forums, Discord groups, video and streaming platforms, wikis, and other channels. AlienCommons is not intended to replace them. It provides a format better suited to complete arguments and long-term reading.
Written columns have several advantages:
- They are suitable for presenting opinions, inventions, discoveries, and research results systematically.
- They are easier to preserve, cite, and organize over time.
- Compared with real-time chat or video content, they are easier to translate and can help technical communities communicate across languages.
Built-in translation features are still under consideration. Whether or not the website provides translation tools, translatability is one reason the platform emphasizes written content.
Content Scope¶
The platform welcomes technical Minecraft content, including but not limited to:
- Redstone circuits, survival engineering, and gameplay involving engineering, mathematics, or computer science.
- In-depth investigation of game mechanics, such as modeling arrow motion in Minecraft.
- Community projects such as mods, data packs, shaders, plugins, and launchers.
- Architecture in Minecraft.
- Opinions, introductions, inventions, discoveries, and more complete research results on technical topics.
Target Users¶
AlienCommons primarily serves two groups:
- Readers who want to learn more about Minecraft game knowledge.
- Creators who want to publish their results and views in formal or semi-academic forms.
Product Principles¶
- Columns come first. Formal works are the core of the platform. The home page and search are designed around columns.
- Encourage rigorous writing. The platform should support complete discussion instead of focusing only on immediate interaction.
- Preserve readability. Discovery experiences may draw from established content platforms, while the interface should remain clear and suitable for reading columns.
- Separate formal and lightweight content. Community posts support lighter updates and should not replace formal columns.