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Same goes for stackoverflow. Since the stackoverflow database is freely available I cannot see a single good reason why they haven't been outcompeted years ago

Same goes for stackoverflow. Since the stackoverflow database is freely available I cannot see a single good reason why they haven't been outcompeted years ago.

the_af 7y ago
So I have my own beefs with stackoverflow and the stackexchange network at large, but... ...at some point you have to ask yourself, why haven't they been outcompeted? For every post complaining about stackoverflow moderation or policies, there are probably thousands of people using it every day to do their jobs, and it hasn't been outcompeted! So if we're honest, we cannot rule out the possibility they are doing something right. They set out to replace closed sites like "Expert Sex Change" -- ok, sorry for the joke, expertsexchange -- and also reduce low quality noise. They succeeded and they are now the gold standard. So why hasn't anyone simply taken their data and forked it? A great example: softwareengineering.stackexchange -- formerly programmers.stackexchange -- has a troubled history. At times it has decided everything was off-topic there (I'm not joking, there were times where every question on the home page was closed as off-topic), and some long time "inclusionist" and well-intentioned contributors declared they would fork it, and their fork would include everything even tangentially related to programmers and people wouldn't be censored for asking questions about anything. Where are those forks now?
- sillysaurusx 7y ago
  First mover advantage. It's like asking why no one has created another Reddit, or another HN. When the original exists, a derivative doesn't gain traction unless something goes seriously wrong. The sole time that Reddit was in danger was when their front page was blacked out over the moderator rebellion. Luckily for them, Voat's servers completely died under the load. Then Reddit came back online, and the rest was history. I would imagine your questions have straightforward answers along those lines. No one switches because inertia, not quality. In general, a new thing has to be fundamentally different in some way. It's rare that an internet product is out-competed by someone else doing literally the same thing. Even Reddit was fundamentally different from digg. They were both link aggregators, but that's about where the similarities stopped.
  - eitland 7y ago
    > First mover advantage. It's like asking why no one has created another Reddit, or another HN. When the original exists, a derivative doesn't gain traction unless something goes seriously wrong. Good point, yet here we are: - slashdot feels like a shadow of its former self - reddit replaced digg - lobste.rs is a healthy alternative in addition to hn - stackoverflow replaced expertsexchange I still think someday someone will create a better q/a site and if I was an a position to do a startup to change the world for the better that would probably be high on my list of ideas. I admit I could be wrong, but I am surprised that nobody has tried as far as I can see: after all the early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese, and there's a lot to be learned from what works and doesn't work today.
  - the_af 7y ago
    Agreed about the first mover advantage. Do note StackOverflow is only relatively a first mover: expertsexchange came first, and StackOverflow killed it. Evidently, they did something better. Wikipedia also had challengers. I don't remember their names (heh) but many years ago there were forks. I don't mean Wikia, but actual alternatives to Wikipedia. Nobody uses them. > In general, a new thing has to be fundamentally different in some way. It's rare that an internet product is out-competed by someone else doing literally the same thing. Possibly right, too! But if an inclusionist attitude is not something "fundamentally different" enough to succeed, then might it be that it wasn't important enough to say that deletionism is killing Wikipedia/StackOverflow? If people don't flock to inclusivist forks, maybe inclusivism isn't important enough?
pjscott 7y ago
The Stack Overflow database may be freely available, but the Stack Overflow user-base will probably keep on going to Stack Overflow because that's where the rest of the Stack Overflow user-base goes. Network effects are tough sometimes.

Same goes for stackoverflow. Since the stackoverflow database is freely available I cannot see a single good reason why they haven't been outcompeted years ago.

the_af 7y ago

So I have my own beefs with stackoverflow and the stackexchange network at large, but... ...at some point you have to ask yourself, why haven't they been outcompeted? For every post complaining about stackoverflow moderation or policies, there are probably thousands of people using it every day to do their jobs, and it hasn't been outcompeted! So if we're honest, we cannot rule out the possibility they are doing something right. They set out to replace closed sites like "Expert Sex Change" -- ok, sorry for the joke, expertsexchange -- and also reduce low quality noise. They succeeded and they are now the gold standard. So why hasn't anyone simply taken their data and forked it? A great example: softwareengineering.stackexchange -- formerly programmers.stackexchange -- has a troubled history. At times it has decided everything was off-topic there (I'm not joking, there were times where every question on the home page was closed as off-topic), and some long time "inclusionist" and well-intentioned contributors declared they would fork it, and their fork would include everything even tangentially related to programmers and people wouldn't be censored for asking questions about anything. Where are those forks now?

sillysaurusx 7y ago
First mover advantage. It's like asking why no one has created another Reddit, or another HN. When the original exists, a derivative doesn't gain traction unless something goes seriously wrong. The sole time that Reddit was in danger was when their front page was blacked out over the moderator rebellion. Luckily for them, Voat's servers completely died under the load. Then Reddit came back online, and the rest was history. I would imagine your questions have straightforward answers along those lines. No one switches because inertia, not quality. In general, a new thing has to be fundamentally different in some way. It's rare that an internet product is out-competed by someone else doing literally the same thing. Even Reddit was fundamentally different from digg. They were both link aggregators, but that's about where the similarities stopped.
- eitland 7y ago
  > First mover advantage. It's like asking why no one has created another Reddit, or another HN. When the original exists, a derivative doesn't gain traction unless something goes seriously wrong. Good point, yet here we are: - slashdot feels like a shadow of its former self - reddit replaced digg - lobste.rs is a healthy alternative in addition to hn - stackoverflow replaced expertsexchange I still think someday someone will create a better q/a site and if I was an a position to do a startup to change the world for the better that would probably be high on my list of ideas. I admit I could be wrong, but I am surprised that nobody has tried as far as I can see: after all the early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese, and there's a lot to be learned from what works and doesn't work today.
- the_af 7y ago
  Agreed about the first mover advantage. Do note StackOverflow is only relatively a first mover: expertsexchange came first, and StackOverflow killed it. Evidently, they did something better. Wikipedia also had challengers. I don't remember their names (heh) but many years ago there were forks. I don't mean Wikia, but actual alternatives to Wikipedia. Nobody uses them. > In general, a new thing has to be fundamentally different in some way. It's rare that an internet product is out-competed by someone else doing literally the same thing. Possibly right, too! But if an inclusionist attitude is not something "fundamentally different" enough to succeed, then might it be that it wasn't important enough to say that deletionism is killing Wikipedia/StackOverflow? If people don't flock to inclusivist forks, maybe inclusivism isn't important enough?

pjscott 7y ago

The Stack Overflow database may be freely available, but the Stack Overflow user-base will probably keep on going to Stack Overflow because that's where the rest of the Stack Overflow user-base goes. Network effects are tough sometimes.