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One of the interview questions I ask is, "if you run in a problem you can't solve, where do you go online to find answers?" Anyone that doesn't answer Stack Ov

One of the interview questions I ask is, "if you run in a problem you can't solve, where do you go online to find answers?" Anyone that doesn't answer Stack Overflow is - in my opinion - either lying or very, very new to the industry. (This is for .Net/C# jobs so maybe it's different for other languages.)

MrOxiMoron 6y ago
to be honest, I use my search engine of choice, yes stack overflow often comes up in the results, but also GitHub issues of people having a similar issue, often for other projects that use the same tools/libraries I do. so I go to my search engine for answers, not stack overflow directly.
- lostcolony 6y ago
  Yeah. I'd raise an eyebrow at Stack Overflow if they didn't also include Google. Google will get me official API docs, blog posts diving in deep about it, Github issues, as you say, -as well as- anything relevant on Stack Overflow. Maybe they meant to go -ask- questions? Which...I rarely ever do, despite being in this game for over a decade. The few times no one has asked the question I have, it usually has to do with a library or missing functionality, and that tends to get resolved (at least with an answer of "yeah, that isn't supported") via an email.
- bryanrasmussen 6y ago
  right, often if it is a particular error message Github issues for the library and version you're using is more useful.
busterarm 6y ago
I've been in this industry around 20 years and I can't remember the last time I looked at SO to answer one of my own questions. Other people's, sure, but usually I look at the source code for answers to my questions. The results are more consistent. Now Github Issues on the other hand...
mgkimsal 6y ago
1. web search (google/bing/ddg) - often that will lead to SO, but also turn up some other relevant forums. 2. docs on package X. If I'm reasonably certain a problem is with a specific package, I'll search for a forum or issue tracker (often GitHub) for that package. 3. language-specific community. there are some lang-spec sites/forums that help with the nitty-gritty sometimes that SO and similar sites don't always get (or, more often, SO is out of date but still marked 'best'). That SO often tends to be where you end up doesn't, imo, mean you should always start there. If the same SO links are at the top of many search engines, that's probably a very good indicator, but you almost always need to broaden out when researching.
- sumtechguy 6y ago
  and lord help you when you are on page 6 of a google search and not finding it... :(
  - bckr 6y ago
    I would take that as evidence that I'm not doing something common, which is soft evidence that I'm not doing it the right way. I haven't had to do anything really novel, mostly I just have to do various forms of plumbing.
    - sumtechguy 6y ago
      Oh no disagreement there. I usually end up there because of some odd error code from some code someone else wrote. If I am lucky I have the source code (not always). But 99% of the time whatever you are doing wrong is in the first 5 or so posts returned. But you get desperate sometimes :)
scaladev 6y ago
Why would I go to Stack Overflow? If it has any decent answers, they'll be right at the top of Google (or whatever) search results. If it doesn't, I just saved myself the need to do a second search.
methodin 6y ago
Search is the only correct answer. SO may be the first click often but limiting your problem solving to that is not something an experienced dev will do.
- anaerobicover 6y ago
  Not to mention that Stack Overflow's own search is absolutely horrible.
Lichtso 6y ago
I disagree. From your perspective I must be a liar, and that is fine by me. As, I can't recall the last time I found anything helpful on that platform, that any of my questions were actually answered and certainly not that I copied & pasted any code. I am not claiming that it never happened. It is just so rare that I wouldn't answer your interview question that way. To me that platform is an internet points farm combined with Groundhog Day of basic questions. I might be an extreme outlier of our craft. Just keep in mind that we exist and that not everybody answering the question "incorrectly" is a liar or an idiot. In fact, I would say that only those candidates who answer differently are truly interesting.
reidrac 6y ago
Searching online to find help to solve a problem doesn't equal to use Stack Overflow, at least in my experience. It may be the type of problems, but I can't even remember the last time that DDG took me to SO and it was actually the answer that I was looking for. I think I've found more answers searching for open issues in GH than anything else.
sergiotapia 6y ago
Eh depends on the language. For elixir I go to the elixirforum not stackoverflow
bryanrasmussen 6y ago
it really depends on the severity/depth/weirdness of the problem. I often run into things I don't know the names of or need documentation for how to do with a particular library/framework, those almost end up being solved on Stack Overflow - if I actually have a problem that I cannot 'solve', Stack Overflow is almost never actually helpful (some times it helps to try to write out a question that is clear enough for Stack Overflow to accept, because then you might think of what you actually have to research)
koyote 6y ago
I assume this is for more junior roles? It's been a long time since I've needed to use SO for something in my day job. I mostly end up on the github/microsoft issues sites scrolling down to see whether the compiler/library bug I just reproduced has been fixed yet or at least has a workaround... I think a better question would be "How do you go about finding a solution to a roadblock you've encountered while writing code?", that will test for people who go straight to colleagues for each little issue instead of spending 10 minutes looking up a solution themselves. It also gives you an idea of their problem solving process.

MrOxiMoron 6y ago

to be honest, I use my search engine of choice, yes stack overflow often comes up in the results, but also GitHub issues of people having a similar issue, often for other projects that use the same tools/libraries I do. so I go to my search engine for answers, not stack overflow directly.

lostcolony 6y ago
Yeah. I'd raise an eyebrow at Stack Overflow if they didn't also include Google. Google will get me official API docs, blog posts diving in deep about it, Github issues, as you say, -as well as- anything relevant on Stack Overflow. Maybe they meant to go -ask- questions? Which...I rarely ever do, despite being in this game for over a decade. The few times no one has asked the question I have, it usually has to do with a library or missing functionality, and that tends to get resolved (at least with an answer of "yeah, that isn't supported") via an email.
bryanrasmussen 6y ago
right, often if it is a particular error message Github issues for the library and version you're using is more useful.

busterarm 6y ago

I've been in this industry around 20 years and I can't remember the last time I looked at SO to answer one of my own questions. Other people's, sure, but usually I look at the source code for answers to my questions. The results are more consistent. Now Github Issues on the other hand...

mgkimsal 6y ago

1. web search (google/bing/ddg) - often that will lead to SO, but also turn up some other relevant forums. 2. docs on package X. If I'm reasonably certain a problem is with a specific package, I'll search for a forum or issue tracker (often GitHub) for that package. 3. language-specific community. there are some lang-spec sites/forums that help with the nitty-gritty sometimes that SO and similar sites don't always get (or, more often, SO is out of date but still marked 'best'). That SO often tends to be where you end up doesn't, imo, mean you should always start there. If the same SO links are at the top of many search engines, that's probably a very good indicator, but you almost always need to broaden out when researching.

sumtechguy 6y ago
and lord help you when you are on page 6 of a google search and not finding it... :(
- bckr 6y ago
  I would take that as evidence that I'm not doing something common, which is soft evidence that I'm not doing it the right way. I haven't had to do anything really novel, mostly I just have to do various forms of plumbing.
  - sumtechguy 6y ago
    Oh no disagreement there. I usually end up there because of some odd error code from some code someone else wrote. If I am lucky I have the source code (not always). But 99% of the time whatever you are doing wrong is in the first 5 or so posts returned. But you get desperate sometimes :)

scaladev 6y ago

Why would I go to Stack Overflow? If it has any decent answers, they'll be right at the top of Google (or whatever) search results. If it doesn't, I just saved myself the need to do a second search.

methodin 6y ago

Search is the only correct answer. SO may be the first click often but limiting your problem solving to that is not something an experienced dev will do.

anaerobicover 6y ago
Not to mention that Stack Overflow's own search is absolutely horrible.

Lichtso 6y ago

I disagree. From your perspective I must be a liar, and that is fine by me. As, I can't recall the last time I found anything helpful on that platform, that any of my questions were actually answered and certainly not that I copied & pasted any code. I am not claiming that it never happened. It is just so rare that I wouldn't answer your interview question that way. To me that platform is an internet points farm combined with Groundhog Day of basic questions. I might be an extreme outlier of our craft. Just keep in mind that we exist and that not everybody answering the question "incorrectly" is a liar or an idiot. In fact, I would say that only those candidates who answer differently are truly interesting.

reidrac 6y ago

Searching online to find help to solve a problem doesn't equal to use Stack Overflow, at least in my experience. It may be the type of problems, but I can't even remember the last time that DDG took me to SO and it was actually the answer that I was looking for. I think I've found more answers searching for open issues in GH than anything else.

sergiotapia 6y ago

Eh depends on the language. For elixir I go to the elixirforum not stackoverflow

bryanrasmussen 6y ago

it really depends on the severity/depth/weirdness of the problem. I often run into things I don't know the names of or need documentation for how to do with a particular library/framework, those almost end up being solved on Stack Overflow - if I actually have a problem that I cannot 'solve', Stack Overflow is almost never actually helpful (some times it helps to try to write out a question that is clear enough for Stack Overflow to accept, because then you might think of what you actually have to research)

koyote 6y ago

I assume this is for more junior roles? It's been a long time since I've needed to use SO for something in my day job. I mostly end up on the github/microsoft issues sites scrolling down to see whether the compiler/library bug I just reproduced has been fixed yet or at least has a workaround... I think a better question would be "How do you go about finding a solution to a roadblock you've encountered while writing code?", that will test for people who go straight to colleagues for each little issue instead of spending 10 minutes looking up a solution themselves. It also gives you an idea of their problem solving process.