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I've soldiered on through several experiences like that, and sort of assumed it was the usual (being non American, I guess I just assumed it was cultural differ
by kace91 7y ago
I've soldiered on through several experiences like that, and sort of assumed it was the usual (being non American, I guess I just assumed it was cultural differences with Americans or my English being annoying). I changed my mind after asking some questions on the math stack exchange, and seeing how answers there were night and day compared to what's usual in stackoverflow. People with phds in areas I couldn't even spell treated me with a level of kindness and patience that I really wasn't expecting... So I guess it isn't just the format of SO.
- olooney 7y agoStack Overflow is basically under siege 24/7 by every yahoo with a keyboard. The smaller, more specialized stack exchange sites have less nonsense (maybe a 2:1 ratio of bad to good questions compared to Stack Overflow 10:1) to deal with so can afford to be generally friendlier and more helpful. Although sometimes they can be persnickety about what is "on topic" for the given site.
- na85 7y agoMaybe the site needs rebranding? It sounds like you don't want it to be "the place where everyone can ask questions" so much as "the place where only good questions get civil responses". If SO/SE were rebranded to be less inviting it wouldn't be "under siege".
- olooney 7y agoElsewhere on this thread I argue that they are already not a site where everyone can get their questions answered, in practice or by design, and give examples of how the question-asking experience could be improved.
- JeremyBanks 7y agoThe contributors to the site have been begging for changes like that for more than five years. The operators of the site refuse because it would limit their advertising reach. Both sides have become more entrenched over time, and the result is a unhappy disintegrating mess.