See http://i.imgur.com/cGtm5.png. I'm not the question's author; I recently searched for this question, specifically pros/cons. Seems nowadays that about 5% of the questions on SO I look up and are perfectly legitimate to me are found to be locked, with a warning to others to knock it off. This is up from ~0% when I started using the site. Every forum I've loved eventually gets lock-happy mods. What does HN think? Am I the unreasonable one? I don't see how this question is unworthy according to the FAQ that SO refers to.
Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
1–10 of 71 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
#2I noticed the same and I'm not sure if there's a commentary as to why this trend has continued to increase.
Programming isn't a syntax only problem and has many steps before, and after it that are relevant in software engineering.
Maybe the mods are taking too much of a narrow programming syntax only approach. To me, that may exacerbate the issues of poor software because people are only searching for a means to the ends instead of understanding why to do things a certain way.
Re: Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
#3I noticed the same and I'm not sure if there's a commentary as to why this trend has continued to increase. Programming isn't a syntax only problem and has many steps before, and after it that are relevant in software engineering. Maybe the mods are taking too much of a narrow programming syntax only approach. To me, that may exacerbate the issues of poor software because people are only searching for a means to the…
> Maybe the mods are taking too much of a narrow programming syntax only approach.
With the 400+ vote count for that question, and 50+ people taking the time to reply, I say yes indeed they are. It is definitely a programming question in my book, one whose answers could save me & others a lot of work/time.
Re: Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
#4I left stack overflow about a year ago when they banned my account for a week for spamming. I posted a similar answer to a few similar question (like 3 honest) and they banned me. I was so outraged I quit the site completely.
That being said I thought about building a site to compete, but stackoverflow basically owns the market. I have no way of collecting users like they do.
Re: Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
#5Well, its mods sure, and all the rest of its users.
But no, AFAICS it's a programming technique memoizer. The important questions have mostly been answered. There will be new important questions, and they will be asked and answered. But between now and then it will mostly be black noise. The color illiteracy and aspiration. Asking how to reverse a linked list?
Re: Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
#6This is an old topic that was discussed in many different questions on meta.stackoverflow.com. All questions such as these have been given a special archive status where the question is locked, voting is removed and they are popped off the question list.
That lock-happy mod is the one of many fighting to keep these questions somewhere for people like you who push these silly conspiracy theories.
Stop it. It's annoying.
Re: Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
#7I left stack overflow about a year ago when they banned my account for a week for spamming. I posted a similar answer to a few similar question (like 3 honest) and they banned me. I was so outraged I quit the site completely. That being said I thought about building a site to compete, but stackoverflow basically owns the market. I have no way of collecting users like they do.
If they keep it up you'll have a ready & sizable market.
Re: Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
#8I think they made the right call on this example -- the whole point of SO is to get specific answers to specific questions. This question is vague and without the context that a reasonable person would need to give a specific answer.
There are plenty of examples of good questions being closed because they are perceived as generating too much discussion (esp. on the "programmers" se site). IMO, you've given us an example of SO moderation working.
Re: Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
#9Moderating any online community is extremely difficult. Rules are generally guidelines and not always set in stone. So, this leaves things up to the discretion of moderators. It can be quite difficult to determine if something is or is not within rules. Was this locking a mistake? Probably, but one question locked means nothing. Moderators always have to watch out for 'rules creep' where the rules are stretched just a little bit over and over again until they are virtually non-existent.
In the SO case, can the moderators be a bit strict sometimes? Sure, in my opinion. But I don't think this is indicative of any broad problem on SO.
Re: Ask HN: Is StackOverflow being ruined by its mods?
#10If you enjoyed this question about "Storing Images in DB - Yea or Nay?" posted on Nov 28 '08 at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/3748/storing-images-in-db... here are some other questions you might enjoy:
Storing images on a database - Jul 1 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1071636/storing-images-on...
Save image in database? - Apr 30 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/805519/save-image-in-data...
store image in database or in a system file? - Apr 19 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/766048/store-image-in-dat...
Where should I store photos? File system or the database? - Oct 9 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1546485/where-should-i-st...
To Do or Not to Do: Store Images in a Database - May 2 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/815626/to-do-or-not-to-do...
Store images in database or on file system - Dec 28 '10 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4550197/store-images-in-d...
Store pictures as files or in the database for a web app? - Feb 18 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/561447/store-pictures-as-...
Storing a small number of images: blob or fs? - Nov 28 '08 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/325126/storing-a-small-nu...
How to store images in your filesystem - Oct 7 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/191845/how-to-store-image...
User images - database vs. filesystem storage - Feb 25 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/585224/user-images-databa...
Should I store my images in the database or folders? - Apr 3 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/713243/should-i-store-my-...
Would you store binary data in database or in file system? - Mar 19 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/662488/would-you-store-bi...
storing uploaded photos and documents - filesystem vs database blob - Jul 9 '09 - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1105429/storing-uploaded-...
I came in here prepared to write an impassioned criticism of StackOverflow's aggressive moderation, but frankly you've made me understand exactly why they do it.