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The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

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Re: The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

#131

Post by rubber_duck »

douche wrote: post #114
martinald wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. I usually use 'site:stackoverflow.com [[query]]' in Google with search terms limiting pages that have been updated in the last year or so. Filters a lot of the very old answers out which often can send you on a totally wrong direction because the ecosystem has changed so much. Perhaps SO will end up getting overtaken by a new similar site, not because it is intrinsically better, just because they reset the co…

This is really a much smaller problem if you stick to languages outside the churn'n'burn whizzbang web world. A lot of answers from the Java 1.6 era, or about .Net 3.5, or Python 2.7 are still largely relevant. Best practices in C/C++ have been even more static, aside from a few additions in recent modern standards that few seem to actually use.

C# changed a decent amount since 3.5 to dotnet core, similar to python 2 to 3 which also changed a lot of stuff.

And C++11 is practically a new backwards compatible language compared to legacy C++.

Java is more stable but at the same time it's also the slowest to evolve which is why many developers prefer C# even if it wasn't cross platform in the past - the language was just superior because of how fast it is evolving, considering that at 1.0 they were basically equivalent.

Re: The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

#132

Post by chipperyman573 »

hjnilsson wrote: post #79
dismantlethesun wrote: post #4

I've found that if you go to Stackoverflow for a fast-moving topic like Javascript, the first answer isn't correct in modern terms. The next set of answers, without check marks, are likely more correct. So you have to read the entire page to get a glimpse of the truth. This can be bad if you're just looking for an immediate solution, however for learning its fantastic because it shows you a recorded history of how th…

I think the crusade against duplicates worsens this problem. If duplicates were more accepted, it would both make it more welcoming for newcomers to ask questions, and encourage people to update the answers to old questions (by answering the new questions).

I've found that if I acknowledge the duplicate (which is very easy considering when you post a new question it shows you similar posts) and state a reason it doesn't work any more (even if that is just, "has anything changed?") it rarely gets flagged as a dupe.

Re: The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

#133

Post by Melchizedek »

samastur wrote: post #113
tlogan wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SO is in decline. And decline is caused by its own success. - The SO was great because answers for noob questions where hard to find. At this point of time (thanks to SO and their knowledge database) there are so many other resources to get these noob questions answered or they are already answered. And some of these other resources are updated to reflect the most recent technology changes while SO answers are st…

> Now people start asking hard stuff - but engineers (I intentionally do not say developers) who know answers on these questions are not interested in answering. I can't speak for others, but in my case it is not for lack of interest. I don't have enough 'reputation' to be allowed to answer questions and am too busy to find earning it a good use of my time.

Most actual experts don't have the time or interest to amass points on some website. Just like with Reddit moderators, the type of person that is willing to devote a substantial amount of time to rule over an Internet fiefdom often has some personality problem. Add to this the fact that Asperger-like personalities are quite common in the IT field to begin with.

Re: The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

#134

Post by marcosdumay »

Dowwie wrote: post #10

I disagree with this. SO helped me with Python, Postgres, and SQL countless times. If we are going to consider the value of SO, I would argue that it is a cornerstone .

I've found the Postgres docs almost always more informative, clearer, and more correct than anything I find on SO. The only exceptions are for "how can I achieve this goal" questions, instead of the much more common "how can I implement this idea" ones.

Most useful info about Python from SO are pointers to the official docs in content-free answers. What is very valuable, because the docs are hard to navigate, but not what is expected.

About Haskell, C, or Perl, I currently ignore SO links, it's just less bother to go to the next result, and way more likely to get something useful.

But for Javascript, .Net, MS SQL, and a lot of other random stuff, SO is unbeatable.

Re: The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

#135

Post by Veedrac »

exstudent2 wrote: post #72
sklivvz1971 wrote: post #34

Disclaimer: I work in the Q&A team at Stack Overflow. What people don't understand is that SO serves literally all developers. No matter what choices we make there will be upset people. Do we reduce moderation? Help vampires take over. Do we keep moderation as is? People complain we are too strict (or not enough). Do we allow only English? We are elitist. Do we allow SO in other languages? We are fragmenting the comm…

> Do we reduce moderation? Help vampires take over. Every moderator on every site will tell you this; without this narrative they wouldn't exist. Is there any proof that this is the case though? To me SO is super useful with ~20% of great threads killed for being off topic. Voting puts good topic on top, no need for administrator intervention.

The new questions queue (http://stackoverflow.com/questions) should convince anyone that help vampires are real.

Even if not, most experienced answerers regularly see literal copy-pasted homework questions (often several duplicates from different students) and people circumventing question bans to write yet more horrible questions.

Help vampires aren't just real, they're everywhere. If they didn't exist, it wouldn't be necessary to enlist high-rep users to engage in moderation.

Re: The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

#136

Post by nojvek »

I've some very bad experiences with stack overflow. They are very hostile towards new users and the 50 point system that doesn't allow commenting is very absurd. If I ask a question, I should be able to comment for a clarification right?

I wonder if they ever A/B test their point system. I only use stack overflow when Google points me to it.

I think SO can do a much better job at making users actually ask/answer questions rather than just use it as a read only site.

Re: The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

#137

Post by exstudent2 »

Veedrac wrote: post #135
exstudent2 wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Do we reduce moderation? Help vampires take over. Every moderator on every site will tell you this; without this narrative they wouldn't exist. Is there any proof that this is the case though? To me SO is super useful with ~20% of great threads killed for being off topic. Voting puts good topic on top, no need for administrator intervention.

The new questions queue ( http://stackoverflow.com/questions ) should convince anyone that help vampires are real. Even if not, most experienced answerers regularly see literal copy-pasted homework questions (often several duplicates from different students) and people circumventing question bans to write yet more horrible questions. Help vampires aren't just real, they're everywhere. If they didn't exist, it wouldn'…

Almost all of those have zero answers and many have been downvoted. Not sure I'm seeing a problem.

Better UI can make this even less of a problem. Punishing the entire community isn't helpful. See the link to my response to the mod down thread if you want an example of the real problem on SO.

Re: The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

#138

Post by CaptSpify »

joekrie wrote: post #15
Latty wrote: post #3

People always talk about how SO is so terrible, and yet it's still the best resource by a mile. People have just forgotten that the lack of that carefully curated environment created the complete mess that was all the forums we used to have before. Sure, it's not ideal - SO could do better in terms of helping people understand the site's goals and enforcing the rules in a less hostile way, but they are working on tha…

I find it to be a great resource if someone has already answered your question, especially if I find it via Google. As for asking questions, it's a bit off-putting to be immediately downvoted without explanation, and to not get a single answer. Point is, it's good resource to free-ride but not actively participate.

I've always thought this described it best: SO is a great place to find answers to your questions, but SO is a terrible place to ask questions.

Re: The decline of Stack Overflow (2015)

#139

Post by vram22 »

Latty wrote: post #3

People always talk about how SO is so terrible, and yet it's still the best resource by a mile. People have just forgotten that the lack of that carefully curated environment created the complete mess that was all the forums we used to have before. Sure, it's not ideal - SO could do better in terms of helping people understand the site's goals and enforcing the rules in a less hostile way, but they are working on tha…

>help vampires

What is that?

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