There are a few minimum requirement to reach before a site can be considered for graduation. They are outlined here:

When will my site graduate?

But the blog post "Does this site have a chance of succeeding?" talks about not watching those Area 51 statistics too closely. They do not represent some sort of “report card” filled with pass/fail grades. We do not close down sites if certain areas continue to 'need work', nor do we simply graduate sites when everything lights up with 'excellent.'

That's not how it works. You're only concern should be to provide a great end-user experience to those who come here for help.

###So when do we graduate? Graduation basically occurs when we can determine that the site has become completely self-sustaining and scalable. We watch to see that the scope of the site is well defined. When an incoming user asks a question, there should be a reasonable expectation they will receive a good answer with plenty of vetting and ongoing quality improvement throughout much of the content. Graduation means the site has a proven track record of steady, sustainable growth with no sign of abatement. It means a core community has formed that can take care of and maintain the site through their own self-governance; that they can host successful moderator elections and the meta community is both engaged and responsive.

Graduation comes with a degree of "lock in". It means all the pieces are in place for continued and sustained success where quality, community, and growth can be maintained for as long as care to speculate on such things.

There are a few minimum requirement to reach before a site can be considered for graduation. They are outlined here:

When will my site graduate?

But the blog post "Does this site have a chance of succeeding?" talks about not watching those Area 51 statistics too closely. They do not represent some sort of “report card” filled with pass/fail grades. We do not close down sites if certain areas continue to 'need work', nor do we simply graduate sites when everything lights up with 'excellent.'

That's not how it works. You're only concern should be to provide a great end-user experience to those who come here for help.

So when do we graduate?

Graduation basically occurs when we can determine that the site has become completely self-sustaining and scalable. We watch to see that the scope of the site is well defined. When an incoming user asks a question, there should be a reasonable expectation they will receive a good answer with plenty of vetting and ongoing quality improvement throughout much of the content. Graduation means the site has a proven track record of steady, sustainable growth with no sign of abatement. It means a core community has formed that can take care of and maintain the site through their own self-governance; that they can host successful moderator elections and the meta community is both engaged and responsive.

Graduation comes with a degree of "lock in". It means all the pieces are in place for continued and sustained success where quality, community, and growth can be maintained for as long as care to speculate on such things.