I have obvious conflicts of interest, but in the end, the value of the project will be decided by its success: how many regular users they get (not at launch, but in the medium term), how long they spend on the site(s), how much they create, etc.

I have no idea what the ‘user need’ was that this project was created for, but I suggest that if it is proven a great success, that us nay-sayers give an apology and a fair chance to projects we’re not involved with in the future.

On the other hand, if it isn’t a success, I think we should have an inquiry into how/why projects like this are funded, and how we can get smaller budgets into more innovative ‘just enough’ projects that aren’t backed by national institutions.