Answer Enters Apache Incubator
Tags: opensource, apache, softwaredevelopment
Published: 2023-10-24 15:00:00

On October 9th, the knowledge-based Q&A software Answer, developed by SegmentFault team under [ONES](http://ones.com/).com, passed the vote and was accepted to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) Incubator. 

The discussion regarding the proposal of Answer was initiated on the mailing list of Apache Foundation on September 21st. On October 9th, as per the records of the ASF mailing list, Answer received 22 votes, including 18 binding votes and 4 non-binding votes, with no abstentions or oppositions. On October 18th, the project Answer was formally transferred to the Apache Software Foundation. 

After entering the Apache Incubator, Answer is committed to embracing the Apache way, maintaining openness and transparency, while building a fair, diverse, and inclusive community. We will constantly improve our product for users, and welcome more contributors to join us in advancing the open-source mission.


![Answer Project Incubation Status in Apache Incubator](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/w239we4h0l964u6exfb1.png)

> https://incubator.apache.org/projects/answer.html

## About Answer

Answer is a knowledge-based Q&A platform software suitable for teams of any size. It was open-sourced by the SegmentFault team on October 24, 2022. You can use Answer for free to create your Q&A platform, whether it's for a community forum, a help center, or a knowledge management platform. You can always rely on Answer.

As the largest developer Q&A community in China, SegmentFault has accumulated years of experience in community building, and transformed them into Answer. Answer offers essential features for setting up a Q&A platform, as well as content management, user reputation system, and other features developed based on SegmentFault's insights from community development.

We aim to help every team create their Q&A community, gather collective intelligence, and drive industry progress.

### Milestones
- October 24, 2022 - Answer was released and open-sourced on GitHub.
- October 27, 2022 - Answer topped on GitHub Trending.     
- December 2022 - Answer 1.0 is officially released.
- October 2023 - Answer successfully passes the vote and officially enters the ASF Incubator.

### Features
#### Easy and Intuitive Q&A Community      
Answer is user-friendly, every newcomer can set up a Q&A platform quickly with the help of our documentation. In Answer, asking and answering a question is intuitive, which lets evert community member to become a part of the community effortlessly and boosts community engagement. Enjoy the seamless experience of Answer on your mobile devices, as good as the desktop. 

#### Efficient Content Management    
Administrators can categorize all the questions and content with tags, while community members can find the content they need by searching a tag. By following tags, users can always stay updated on their interested content and display them in the way they need. 

#### Add Wings with Plugin       
Add or extend features in Answer with plugins, and empower your Q&A community. With plugins, users can customize their Answer based on their needs, making it flexible and adaptable to their workflows. 

#### Reputation Scores and Incentives     
Engage users with Answer's reputation system. In Answer, users can gain reputation scores by contributing high-quality content, accepting the best answers, and receiving others' votes, etc. This not only helps to ensure the quality of content and keep it up-to-date, but also motivates users to establish credibility with their professional background. Community members can find collaborative enjoyment and accomplishment.

![Screenshot of Answer](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/0ngpau34i9s8r5p11w3m.gif)

## Answer Community
Over the past year, Answer has gradually built a small community for user interaction and developer collaboration. 

Since the first release, Answer has had a total of 19 releases, 7.9K+ GitHub Stars, and over 10,000 downloads. We have worked in collaboration with 37 code contributors and 59 volunteers from around the world, receiving a total of 221 pull requests. Answer has also been translated into 15 different languages.

The Initial Committers of the Answer project are listed as follows, and big thanks to  their significant contributions to the early phase of the Answer project:
- Ning Qi https://github.com/joyqi
- Feng Dong https://github.com/fenbox
- Fengjun Lv https://github.com/mingcheng
- Enxin Xie https://github.com/LinkinStars
- Guangfu Yang https://github.com/kumfo
- Yubin Ren https://github.com/robinv8
- Shuailing Li https://github.com/shuashuai
- Haitao Jia https://github.com/haitaoo
- Chenyang Ai https://github.com/aichy126
- Bo Jiang  https://github.com/jiangbonadia
- Anna Primma https://github.com/PrimmaAnna

## About Apache Incubator [^1]

![Apache Incubator](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/4r9ksmjj0g0cxwip0hcp.png)

Created in 2002, the Apache Incubator provides services to projects which want to enter the Apache Software Foundation (ASF). It helps those incoming projects (called "podlings") adopt the Apache style of governance and operation and guides them to the ASF services available to our projects, so they can become top-level ASF projects ("TLPs").

The Incubator delegates a few mentors for each podling to act as liaisons with the various ASF teams: Incubator PMC, Infrastructure team, etc., and facilitate the podling’s growth and operations.

Answer will embrace the Apache way with the guidance of the 4 Incubator Mentors:
- Willem Jiang, Director of the Apache Software Foundation and Incubator Mentor.
- tison, Member of the Apache Software Foundation and Incubator Mentor.
- Justin Mclean, Apache Software Foundation VP, and Board Member.
- Christofer Dutz, Board Member of the Apache Software Foundation and Incubator Mentor.

## Acknowledgement
Joining Apache Incubator is a significant milestone of Answer and marks new challenges and beginnings. We would love to express our profound gratitude to our Champion Willem Jiang, as well as our mentors tison, Justin Mclean, and Christofer Dutz, for their support and encouragement during the proposal. 

We would also love to give a big applause and thank you to contributors and volunteers around the world for the contributions and support.


## Join Answer Community
Answer's power comes from the talented contributors in its community. While we celebrate this moment, we would also like to invite more contributors to be a part of our Apache journey. If you are interested in this project, please check out and join us.

Visit Answer's official website: http://answer.apache.org/     
Explore and contribute to our GitHub: https://github.com/apache/incubator-answer       
Check our documentation: https://answer.apache.org/docs          
Join our official community: https://meta.answer.dev/         
Meet us in Discord: https://discord.gg/c537sFxu

Reference:
[^1]: The Apache Incubator: https://incubator.apache.org/