5 ms·

Anybody else noticing StackOverflow is not the number one source to get answers anymore?

by chrshawkes 7y ago

recursive 7y ago
Have not noticed this. If not SO, then what? MDN?
- chrshawkes 7y ago
  GitHub. 90% of my non noob questions are now found on GitHub issues. I work in web so basically anything NPM related (most of the web in my field) is all on GitHub. Much faster than StackOverflow for sure over the past few years. I now read SO mostly to shoot the crap. GitHub has a hold of the latest issues by far. JS being the wild west with guns blazing in the air, has done really well for GitHub. I also think people raise good points about Microsoft acquiring SO. They are buying up all the developer circles. Personally, I hope the license thing bites Mr. Spolsky. I think he deserves it after speaking out publicly about getting companies to squash our creative freedoms at home. I'm sorry Joel, not everybody wishes to work 14 hour days for somebody else's vision. StackOverflow's surplus of dickhead programmers doesn't help either. We don't hide behind usernames on GitHub.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - jodrellblank 7y ago
    Personally, I hope the license thing bites Mr. Spolsky. I think he deserves it after speaking out publicly about getting companies to squash our creative freedoms at home. What did he say / where could I read it?
  - recursive 7y ago
    I'm not really sure how this could work. Which repo do you file an issue on to understand the difference between double-equals and triple-equals? For help with libraries, it makes sense kind of. But I personally wouldn't want to file an issue unless I was sure there was an actual issue. "I don't know how to use it" isn't an issue.
    - cookie_monsta 7y ago
      If you think that SO will give you anything useful to a question about the difference between double-equals and triple-equals I suggest posting one (and then running for cover)
      - goto11 7y ago
        Just for fun I googled it: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/359494/which-equals-operator-vs-should-be-used-in-javascript-comparisons https://stackoverflow.com/questions/359494/which-equals-oper... I don't really see what is so horrible about these answers?
        cookie_monsta 7y ago
        No doubt there are some great answers there, but the test isn't to google it (which is what you should be doing with such a basic question, btw), it's to post it and see what happens.
        recursive 7y ago
        Presumably, it will be closed as duplicate since it's already answered.
      - recursive 7y ago
        Here's the last language question I asked on SO: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50704766/elementof-can-i-accomplish-this https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50704766/elementof-can-i... I got a clear, concise, and correct answer. I've heard a lot of noise about the toxic community on SO, but I never see it whenever I'm there. Or maybe it's me. Anyway, SO is a very useful resource for me, even at this late date.
        cookie_monsta 7y ago
        Agreed. When you have a legit question SO can be great. Maybe I'm being harsh on your example but it's just not the place to get the basics explained to you like your comment infers.
rejschaap 7y ago
That's not my experience at all, what is the number one source for you and which tech stack are you working in?
itronitron 7y ago
it's still the number one source for finding questions that have been marked as off-topic or duplicates...
- ryandrake 7y ago
  I got a chuckle out of this one recently. Everything that’s wrong with StackOverflow: https://i.redd.it/per2eihv0jn31.png https://i.redd.it/per2eihv0jn31.png
  - Paperweight 7y ago
    At least it's not as bad as web forums, where if you post your opinion to an old thread it's deleted as "necroposting", but when you post it as a new thread it's deleted as a "dupe", so you shoehorn it into a closely-related thread but it's deleted as "off-topic", and when you point out your predicament to a mod you're "ignored", so finally you complain and then you're "banned". :)
    - zone411 7y ago
      On my forum, we encourage posting in old threads.
      - wyclif 7y ago
        I've never understood why posting to old threads upsets mods when the newest post rises to the top. In reality, it keeps things efficient and topics easy to search and find, since more of the content is in one thread instead of scattered all over.
aloer 7y ago
I feel like I find more useful answers in GitHub issues (also through google) now than a year or two ago
- fjp 7y ago
  I have the same experience for anything hyper-library or distro-specific - like "why is x package not working on alpine 3.whatever". More generally, I use async Python features and libraries, which are developing and changing very quickly. Most stack overflow answers on things like this are at least partially outdated, many more-so. I tend to go to prominent async libraries source code & Github issues to see how the leading users of async features are doing it.
- harrisonjackson 7y ago
  SOP used to be to direct devs to Stack Overflow and keep GH Issues clear. I wonder if this switch was intentional or inevitable as devs reported "maybe a bug? Halp!" I agree though, far more searches lead to a helpful Issue thread than in the past - and more often than SO at least for my searches.
- bluedino 7y ago
  Nothing like the Github repo saying "do not use stackoverflow for help, their answers are out of date" I love reading the docs and using issues.
- axiom92 7y ago
  I think this could be a function of what you have been working on. If you're working on cutting edge/niche things, github might be better. For good ol' tech stack, Stackoverflow is still golden.
abledon 7y ago
what?! ...maybe for project-specific errors. But for general questions about language behavior, and well known established frameworks, it reigns supreme.

Anybody else noticing StackOverflow is not the number one source to get answers anymore?

recursive 7y ago

Have not noticed this. If not SO, then what? MDN?

chrshawkes 7y ago
GitHub. 90% of my non noob questions are now found on GitHub issues. I work in web so basically anything NPM related (most of the web in my field) is all on GitHub. Much faster than StackOverflow for sure over the past few years. I now read SO mostly to shoot the crap. GitHub has a hold of the latest issues by far. JS being the wild west with guns blazing in the air, has done really well for GitHub. I also think people raise good points about Microsoft acquiring SO. They are buying up all the developer circles. Personally, I hope the license thing bites Mr. Spolsky. I think he deserves it after speaking out publicly about getting companies to squash our creative freedoms at home. I'm sorry Joel, not everybody wishes to work 14 hour days for somebody else's vision. StackOverflow's surplus of dickhead programmers doesn't help either. We don't hide behind usernames on GitHub.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- jodrellblank 7y ago
  Personally, I hope the license thing bites Mr. Spolsky. I think he deserves it after speaking out publicly about getting companies to squash our creative freedoms at home. What did he say / where could I read it?
- recursive 7y ago
  I'm not really sure how this could work. Which repo do you file an issue on to understand the difference between double-equals and triple-equals? For help with libraries, it makes sense kind of. But I personally wouldn't want to file an issue unless I was sure there was an actual issue. "I don't know how to use it" isn't an issue.
  - cookie_monsta 7y ago
    If you think that SO will give you anything useful to a question about the difference between double-equals and triple-equals I suggest posting one (and then running for cover)
    - goto11 7y ago
      Just for fun I googled it: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/359494/which-equals-operator-vs-should-be-used-in-javascript-comparisons https://stackoverflow.com/questions/359494/which-equals-oper... I don't really see what is so horrible about these answers?
      - cookie_monsta 7y ago
        No doubt there are some great answers there, but the test isn't to google it (which is what you should be doing with such a basic question, btw), it's to post it and see what happens.
        recursive 7y ago
        Presumably, it will be closed as duplicate since it's already answered.
    - recursive 7y ago
      Here's the last language question I asked on SO: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50704766/elementof-can-i-accomplish-this https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50704766/elementof-can-i... I got a clear, concise, and correct answer. I've heard a lot of noise about the toxic community on SO, but I never see it whenever I'm there. Or maybe it's me. Anyway, SO is a very useful resource for me, even at this late date.
      - cookie_monsta 7y ago
        Agreed. When you have a legit question SO can be great. Maybe I'm being harsh on your example but it's just not the place to get the basics explained to you like your comment infers.

rejschaap 7y ago

That's not my experience at all, what is the number one source for you and which tech stack are you working in?

itronitron 7y ago

it's still the number one source for finding questions that have been marked as off-topic or duplicates...

ryandrake 7y ago
I got a chuckle out of this one recently. Everything that’s wrong with StackOverflow: https://i.redd.it/per2eihv0jn31.png https://i.redd.it/per2eihv0jn31.png
- Paperweight 7y ago
  At least it's not as bad as web forums, where if you post your opinion to an old thread it's deleted as "necroposting", but when you post it as a new thread it's deleted as a "dupe", so you shoehorn it into a closely-related thread but it's deleted as "off-topic", and when you point out your predicament to a mod you're "ignored", so finally you complain and then you're "banned". :)
  - zone411 7y ago
    On my forum, we encourage posting in old threads.
    - wyclif 7y ago
      I've never understood why posting to old threads upsets mods when the newest post rises to the top. In reality, it keeps things efficient and topics easy to search and find, since more of the content is in one thread instead of scattered all over.

aloer 7y ago

I feel like I find more useful answers in GitHub issues (also through google) now than a year or two ago

fjp 7y ago
I have the same experience for anything hyper-library or distro-specific - like "why is x package not working on alpine 3.whatever". More generally, I use async Python features and libraries, which are developing and changing very quickly. Most stack overflow answers on things like this are at least partially outdated, many more-so. I tend to go to prominent async libraries source code & Github issues to see how the leading users of async features are doing it.
harrisonjackson 7y ago
SOP used to be to direct devs to Stack Overflow and keep GH Issues clear. I wonder if this switch was intentional or inevitable as devs reported "maybe a bug? Halp!" I agree though, far more searches lead to a helpful Issue thread than in the past - and more often than SO at least for my searches.
bluedino 7y ago
Nothing like the Github repo saying "do not use stackoverflow for help, their answers are out of date" I love reading the docs and using issues.
axiom92 7y ago
I think this could be a function of what you have been working on. If you're working on cutting edge/niche things, github might be better. For good ol' tech stack, Stackoverflow is still golden.

abledon 7y ago

what?! ...maybe for project-specific errors. But for general questions about language behavior, and well known established frameworks, it reigns supreme.