Why don't they use LLM chatbots to encourage great questions and make it easier to ask them?
Somehow adding LLMs to the side of the answers feels incorrect to me in this particular case.
Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
61–70 of 298 posts
Re: Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
#62If I were the semi benevolent dictator of the world, I'd make a law that said: all middle managers up to the CEO must spend 20% of their time doing entry level work in the company. Same with politicians. If you are insulated from what your company does, or constituents do, you can't effectively wield the power granted to you. Which leads me to an even more unpopular "authoritarian" opinion: the richest people are the…
> There should be no billionaires.
This just means, “people shouldn’t be able to own large companies”. You’re going to need strong evidence that relinquishing ownership of any successful company to the government (or whoever you give the absconded shares to) is a way to run a sustainable company.
What large country (50m+) has successfully eliminated billionaires without eliminating most of their own economy?
Re: Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
#63The author is wrong. The CEO perfectly understands Stack Overflow. What the author of this blog doesn't understand is that the CEO is pursuing a perfectly valid strategy: maximize its short-term gains by squeezing it unsustainably with the latest hype, and take the money, and run. The good of the community and the well-being of the users are completely irrelevant in this strategy.
You have a pretty strange definition of ‘valid’.
“not outright illegal in every jurisdiction”
Re: Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
#64ChatGPT and Discord communities replaced SO for me.
It's way faster to get answers.
Re: Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
#65I have a hard time feeling sorry for Stack Overflow. They had most developers in the world visiting frequently. They have detailed information on exactly which languages, libraries, toolchains, and platforms those developers use and their pain points. All of their content is given to them for free by volunteers. All of their moderation is done for them for free by volunteers. The only thing they have to serve is text…
Having a lean and mean company doesn't make for happy investors. The company was finished in 2020 when they raised $85M in a Series E. The fall after that is inevitable. Even the $40M they took in 2015 is a questionable decision for the very reasons you detail. What did they need tens of millions in investments for?
This happens so, so often; companies raising too much money at too high a valuation, based on unrealistic “moonshot” expectations, which then fails and they’ll have to pivot and refocus and they’ll be a mere shell of their former self.
Raising at too high a valuation is not a position you want to be in. Unless you’re planning to cash in sooner than the ship will start burning.
Re: Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
#66> In May I wrote about Stack Overflow's business, which lost $42 million over 6 months and had just laid off 10% of its employees. Since then, the company's fiscal year-end results came out. Despite growing revenue, it lost $84 million over the year ending on March 31, 2023. Thank god Wikipedia isn’t run like Stack Overflow. As an end user, they have pretty much the same value proposition: user generated answers to m…
> Any question could easily include a Reddit-style discussion tab to facilitate discussion. This exists in the form of chat, and extended comment discussions migrate there. That being said, any question that requires extensive discussion is likely not a very good fit for SO because it's probably ambiguous, unclear or otherwise hard to answer exactly.
This exact type of discussion comes up on GitHub issues, and quite often some combination of replies hides a true solution.
Re: Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
#67I have a hard time feeling sorry for Stack Overflow. They had most developers in the world visiting frequently. They have detailed information on exactly which languages, libraries, toolchains, and platforms those developers use and their pain points. All of their content is given to them for free by volunteers. All of their moderation is done for them for free by volunteers. The only thing they have to serve is text…
I'm a senior dev. The only thing I found useful in the last years was the job market on SO. They closed that down recently. Now I don't even go there at all.
Why.. why did they closed this down? I remember this was my single most successful place to find good software developers / run job ads. We spent thousands and thousands on these ads, and I always felt this was their chicken that laid golden eggs.
Re: Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
#68>> which lost $42 million over 6 months and had just laid off 10% of its employees
most tech companies lay offs have been around 10% mark - and it started before general public's orgasmic-adoption of A.I.
like all platforms, Stack Overfloow, overflowed their market. layoffs and restructuring is a way to address that.
if you account the rise of "tech streaming" platforms like youtube, twitch, and elearning orgs like udemy etc, it's no surprise that students & professionals choose alternatives to Stack.
Re: Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
#69I have a hard time feeling sorry for Stack Overflow. They had most developers in the world visiting frequently. They have detailed information on exactly which languages, libraries, toolchains, and platforms those developers use and their pain points. All of their content is given to them for free by volunteers. All of their moderation is done for them for free by volunteers. The only thing they have to serve is text…
I'm a senior dev. The only thing I found useful in the last years was the job market on SO. They closed that down recently. Now I don't even go there at all.
I can’t believe this is gone. They had the highest quality job posts and search every time I’ve looked for jobs.
Re: Stack Overflow's CEO Doesn't Understand Stack Overflow
#70Earlier quoted context omitted.
> their median user is a junior dev who really just needs to serialize a Java object and isn’t going to pay or put up with any LLM-generated nonsense. (Un?)Ironically, one of my main uses of ChatGPT is to replace StackOverflow (it's great at turning vague guesses about what I want into fast ideas, and when it's wrong it's still less wrong than the combination of SO content and the search engines connected to it); and…
> one of my main uses of ChatGPT is to replace StackOverflow I'm pretty sure it's the main usage of almost all the programmers who use ChatGPT.
That and translating short messages into neurotypical-appropriate management-impressing emails, lol. Example, the message "tl;dr":
Dear [Recipient's Name],
I trust this email finds you well. I am writing to express my appreciation for the time and effort you invested in composing the recent email you sent my way. Your commitment to clear communication is commendable, and I value the insights you often bring to our exchanges.
However, I must admit that due to the current demands on my schedule, I have not had the opportunity to read through the entire content of your email in its entirety. Recognizing the importance of your message, I feel it necessary to be transparent about my current time constraints and commitments.
With a view to ensuring that I can fully grasp the essential points you wish to convey, I would be grateful if you could kindly provide a condensed version or a summary of the key takeaways from your original message. Rest assured that your efforts in doing so will be highly appreciated and will enable me to offer the attention and consideration your thoughts deserve.
Please understand that my intention is not to diminish the significance of your communication but rather to ensure that I can respond meaningfully and efficiently to your input. I truly value our professional collaboration and the valuable contributions you consistently make to our discussions.
Thank you for your understanding, and I look forward to receiving your condensed version of the email at your earliest convenience. Should you have any questions or require further clarification on this matter, please do not hesitate to reach out.
With warm regards,
[Your Name] [Your Title/Position] [Company Name] [Contact Information]