user46764: We have created a new proposal on Area51 for a Stack Exchange site focusing on Bioacoustics. Bioacoustics is a multidisciplinary field focused on sounds produced by or affecting non-human animals, or how sound can be used to better understand animals and their environment. Technology has been rapidly developing for decades and has no intention of slowing down– and as our field continues to expand, our community needs a space to share our knowledge so that upcoming researchers can readily find answer to their questions. Creation of this site will improve efficiency for addressing common problems/questions, it will empower scientists and managers from underserved communities to use GOOD science, and it will facilitate equitable access to our science. While we have initiated the proposal with the experts who have devoted their lives to the study of bioacoustics, we want to embrace enthusiasts who wonder about dolphins or cicadas or coyotes or owls.
This site is different than Biology or Signal Processing or any other site. This site may include programming questions related to digital signal processing or physics questions related to sound propagation. This site may have questions about animal communication or estimating animal populations based on autonomous recorders. This site may have questions related to bird song in their backyard, or how they can build their own device to record bats. During this proposal we intend to define the scope of questions appropriate for the Bioacoustics Stack Exchange site.
We invite anyone with an interest in animal sounds or the effects of noise on animals to join our site and we encourage you to submit example questions you might hope this site would answer, and vote on questions you would like to see answered on this site.
How would YOU use this site??
Join Bioacoustics Stack Exchange Proposal on Area 51

user9943: In addition to the expected niche @BryanKrause alludes to in the comments, I wish to bring up the issue of too much specificity of your proposal in terms of reaching a certain critical mass for the site. Initially I posted all this as comments, but it became a bit cumbersome to read, so I took the liberty to write it up as an answer. If you wish a discussion on chat instead or prefer just comments, let me know. Anyway, to continue:
By excluding human research you have specified your niche a bit, yet it will eliminate a lot of questions. Also note Neuroscience is very much ontopic for Biology.SE, and specific focus of the just graduated Psych & Neurosci SE site. I don't want to be the doom thinker, but I think the overlap with other sites is substantial, yet the niche may be too tight, if this makes sense.
Would simply 'Acoustics.SE' not be a better idea? It's basically the coverage of the journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA), listed under the 'Physics' discipline in Thomson Reuters, yet it covers ENT and animal work as well. It will substantially broaden the scope and define it better, and I quote from the JASA site --

Subjects include:

Linear and nonlinear acoustics
Aeroacoustics
Underwater sound and acoustical oceanography
Ultrasonics and quantum acoustics
Architectural and structural acoustics and vibration
Speech, music, and noise
Psychology and physiology of hearing
Engineering acoustics, sound transducers, and measurements
Bioacoustics, animal bioacoustics, and bioresponse to vibration


The 4 topics in the end are basically what your current proposal would cover now I guess, which makes it a hard-to-define scope and limit the scope to a narrow niche. The above proposed scope may, and possibly will, potentially shift the focus away from Bio and more to Physics, but I guess that may be inevitable in the long run to reach enough people.

46764: <p>We have created a new proposal on Area51 for a Stack Exchange site focusing on <strong>Bioacoustics</strong>. Bioacoustics is a multidisciplinary field focused on sounds produced by or affecting non-human animals, or how sound can be used to better understand animals and their environment. Technology has been rapidly developing for decades and has no intention of slowing down– and as our field continues to expand, our community needs a space to share our knowledge so that upcoming researchers can readily find answer to their questions. Creation of this site will improve efficiency for addressing common problems/questions, it will empower scientists and managers from underserved communities to use GOOD science, and it will facilitate equitable access to our science. While we have initiated the proposal with the experts who have devoted their lives to the study of bioacoustics, we want to embrace enthusiasts who wonder about dolphins or cicadas or coyotes or owls.</p>
<p><strong>This site is different than Biology or Signal Processing or any other site.</strong> This site may include programming questions related to digital signal processing or physics questions related to sound propagation. This site may have questions about animal communication or estimating animal populations based on autonomous recorders. This site may have questions related to bird song in their backyard, or how they can build their own device to record bats. During this proposal we intend to define the scope of questions appropriate for the Bioacoustics Stack Exchange site.</p>
<p>We invite anyone with an interest in animal sounds or the effects of noise on animals to join our site and we encourage you to submit example questions you might hope this site would answer, and vote on questions you would like to see answered on this site.</p>
<p>How would YOU use this site??</p>
<p><a href="https://area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/126698/bioacoustics?referrer=YTJmN2I4OTRlZTAwNjYzMjA1ZDg3N2UxNGVjODExYzdlYmUyNDRiMzQwNmM3OGFmZjM0OTQzZDc1YTNmZWZjNxLSgMh3hPiVehqjMXjwsghTUbhlOdPcjTtxaGqjdzv70"><strong>Join Bioacoustics Stack Exchange Proposal on Area 51</strong></a></p>
 9943: <p>In addition to the expected niche @BryanKrause alludes to in the comments, I wish to bring up the issue of too much specificity of your proposal in terms of reaching a certain critical mass for the site. Initially I posted all this as comments, but it became a bit cumbersome to read, so I took the liberty to write it up as an answer. If you wish a discussion on chat instead or prefer just comments, let me know. Anyway, to continue:</p>
<p>By excluding human research you have specified your niche a bit, yet it will eliminate a lot of questions. Also note Neuroscience is very much ontopic for Biology.SE, and specific focus of the just graduated Psych &amp; Neurosci SE site. I don't want to be the doom thinker, but I think the overlap with other sites is substantial, yet the niche may be too tight, if this makes sense.</p>
<p>Would simply '<em>Acoustics.SE</em>' not be a better idea? It's basically the coverage of the journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA), listed under the 'Physics' discipline in Thomson Reuters, yet it covers ENT and animal work as well. It will substantially broaden the scope and define it better, and I quote from the <strong><a href="https://asa.scitation.org/jas/info/about" rel="nofollow noreferrer">JASA site</a></strong> --</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Subjects include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Linear and nonlinear acoustics</li>
<li>Aeroacoustics</li>
<li>Underwater sound and acoustical oceanography</li>
<li>Ultrasonics and quantum acoustics</li>
<li>Architectural and structural acoustics and vibration</li>
<li><strong>Speech, music, and noise</strong></li>
<li><strong>Psychology and physiology of hearing</strong></li>
<li><strong>Engineering acoustics, sound transducers, and measurements</strong></li>
<li><strong>Bioacoustics, animal bioacoustics, and bioresponse to vibration</strong></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>The 4 topics in the end are basically what your current proposal would cover now I guess, which makes it a hard-to-define scope and limit the scope to a narrow niche. The above proposed scope may, and possibly will, potentially shift the focus away from Bio and more to Physics, but I guess that may be inevitable in the long run to reach enough people.</p>
