There is a common misconception about Stack Overflow that it is there to help the people asking questions. While it doesn't sound nice to say it, that isn't re

There is a common misconception about Stack Overflow that it is there to help the people asking questions. While it doesn't sound nice to say it, that isn't really the purpose. Stack Overflow is here to help all the future people who see the question. This is why someone who posts a lot of highly-upvoted questions but no answers is still a valuable asset and receives a high "reputation". This is the great value in Stack Overflow, really. Answers you see there are generally not targeted specifically for the asker, but rather are helpful to broader uses and many more people. Questions used to be closed merely because they were too specific and unlikely to be helpful to future readers. Stack Overflow is meant to create a library of question/answer combos that make (theoretically) all future programming questions redundant. If your question is unhelpful in that ambition either because it already exists, it lacks clarity or specificity, etc., it will be closed. Granted, SO has the nasty people that come with any community-run site, but there are also many, many helpful and friendly people who will take the time to explain things either about your question or why the question doesn't fit the guidelines of the site. Without seeing your posts, it is impossible for me to say what was wrong with them if anything. I can only speak from personal experience. My first question was posted after weeks of research and headaches. I read the help pages that were linked for me. It took two bounties before I got an answer, but I got one. While waiting for that answer, I decided to see if there was some way I could pay back for the answer I expected to receive. I learned a lot about the site by seeing the responses to other people's questions. I also, incidentally, learned a lot about programming by how others responded to my answers. By the time I posted another question, I knew the site pretty well. I have now posted 11 questions, and my only downvote was on a post with 10 upvotes.