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Some personal thoughts: I got downvoted for answering some simple questions at stackoverflow.com for encouraging low quality questions. This was discussed in t

Some personal thoughts: I got downvoted for answering some simple questions at stackoverflow.com for encouraging low quality questions. This was discussed in the article. I can see why some people can get hostile as some questions are framed as please solve this for me. Usually people ask the posters to tell them what they had done but the tone of that request can be harsh. I think the elitism is most prevalent in stackoverlow. The other stack websites seem less hostile.

Pamar 8y ago
About your last comment: I respectfully disagree. I dabble in a handful of other stack sites, but the only one I have some real experience with (apart from SO itself) is the one devoted to tabletop roleplay gaming. (I have a score of ~3500 on SO and ~2800 on RPG - i.e. respectively top 7% and top 13% just to give you an idea). On the RPG site, especially in the last couple of years at least, there seems to be a certain fanatism among moderators in sticking to the most literal interpretation of the "rules" (e.g.: if a question is about "what system you would use simulate movie X?" it is strictly verboten to answer unless you describe having extensive experience with the system you suggest). Rules and "quality" are fine, except that while I can understand that SO is used almost exclusively for job-related questions, so the quality of a question can potentially cost you much... I doubt that anyone will have their career ruined if they pick the wrong edition of D&D to replay Game of Thrones or - perish the though - miss some important errata on elvish footgear when creating their next character. (I also dabble in a few more, like japanese language and martial arts but they are either less strict in general, better mannered or maybe there is so little traffic that moderators have no reason to obsess about "quality").
pugworthy 8y ago
Have been down voted as well for the "easy ones", I sympathize. Not all stacks are elitist, but some definitely are. I like the slow pace of some of the little ones like Arduino, etc.

Pamar 8y ago

About your last comment: I respectfully disagree. I dabble in a handful of other stack sites, but the only one I have some real experience with (apart from SO itself) is the one devoted to tabletop roleplay gaming. (I have a score of ~3500 on SO and ~2800 on RPG - i.e. respectively top 7% and top 13% just to give you an idea). On the RPG site, especially in the last couple of years at least, there seems to be a certain fanatism among moderators in sticking to the most literal interpretation of the "rules" (e.g.: if a question is about "what system you would use simulate movie X?" it is strictly verboten to answer unless you describe having extensive experience with the system you suggest). Rules and "quality" are fine, except that while I can understand that SO is used almost exclusively for job-related questions, so the quality of a question can potentially cost you much... I doubt that anyone will have their career ruined if they pick the wrong edition of D&D to replay Game of Thrones or - perish the though - miss some important errata on elvish footgear when creating their next character. (I also dabble in a few more, like japanese language and martial arts but they are either less strict in general, better mannered or maybe there is so little traffic that moderators have no reason to obsess about "quality").

pugworthy 8y ago

Have been down voted as well for the "easy ones", I sympathize. Not all stacks are elitist, but some definitely are. I like the slow pace of some of the little ones like Arduino, etc.