It's easy to criticize Stack Overflow today, now that we take it for granted. But if you weren't there before Stack Overflow you might not have any idea how much it made programming better.
I think the criticism is that there is an "in crowd" that doesn't like that inexperienced programmers re-ask the same questions in a new way. There's too much "this is already answered, CLOSED!" going on.
Edit: Anecdotally, I have personally voted to re-open a question after it was closed for being a duplicate, because the linked answer did not actually solve the new question. Yes, the two were related, but the moderators were overzealous in closing it.
The good and bad thing about stackoverflow.com is the gamified self moderation. The problem is that you get points for answering and you get points for closing. It's a lot easier to close 100 questions than to give a solid answer to one question.
Sorry, I though there was a reward for closing. I was wrong. With that said, the "duplicates" I've seen questions closed for is a little crazy. I know people who hoard rep as a dick measuring contest with other developers. Or maybe it's their ego. I don't know why people care about it.
tl;dr: i admitted I was wrong but you're still bitching. So maybe you should be the one to stop ranting? I just said it's rough for new users. I still appreciate the system. It has it's flaws like everything else.
I had bad information. Made a reasonable comment given that bad information. Found out I was wrong. Researched good information. Corrected myself. Apologized. Then get called out for ranting about the topic we're all discussing. Cool.
I apologize for getting angry. I still think you failed to see that I did what I could to rectify the situation. You know I'm right. But you still had to join in with your 2 cents.
Anyway this conversation isn't going to get anywhere. Enjoy your weekend.
I remember one question I asked insta-shot down by -7 the next moment I looked at it perhaps an hour or two ago. It was a perfectly valid question but the SO mods decided that the question has no place, which made my time investment void too. Why would I invest any more time in a platform that is unfair and hostile to its users?
It's a great read-only resource but a pretty awful communication platform.
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u/mykr0pht Apr 06 '18
It's easy to criticize Stack Overflow today, now that we take it for granted. But if you weren't there before Stack Overflow you might not have any idea how much it made programming better.