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Interesting that the article mentions SO being better for noobs but really, the quality is so variable that it is hard for a noob to tell a good answer from a w

Interesting that the article mentions SO being better for noobs but really, the quality is so variable that it is hard for a noob to tell a good answer from a workaround from a terrible answer. If they fixed the reputation system so it more accurately reflected quality, it would be easier but some people have 10K+ reputation for asking a simple question that lots of people upvoted and others who have added high quality replies to more specific questions might only have a few hundred.

rognjen 5y ago
> hard for a noob to tell a good answer from a workaround from a terrible answer While that's true the noob questions often have multiple answers and they're simpler to try out in sequence.
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  That's the thing though: you don't try out SO answers. Either you understand them and know if they address your problems, or you need to continue your research. Programming is not like baking cookies, you can't just copy a snippet and hope it'll work out OK.
  - rognjen 5y ago
    Well I don't speak for all noobs but I do know that when I was one (and still am in some ways) I did _try out_ and try to understand them. And to be frank that's kind of an elitist way of looking at someone who is still learning.
  - da_chicken 5y ago
    > Programming is not like baking cookies, you can't just copy a snippet and hope it'll work out OK. Wait, why not? Isn't the entire notion of a library or framework literally a book of common recipes? Don't most languages ship with a standard library, common classes, or a common framework? Sure, thoughtlessly mixing mismatched patterns will get you haggis or oatmeal raisin, but that really doesn't mean the method is flawed.
da_chicken 5y ago
> If they fixed the reputation system so it more accurately reflected quality, it would be easier but some people have 10K+ reputation for asking a simple question that lots of people upvoted and others who have added high quality replies to more specific questions might only have a few hundred. How exactly do you tell the difference?
stemlord 5y ago
The problem I had as a noob was posting a question. Many downvotes and nitpicks about making it more a "mimimum reproducable example" definitely felt like a form of gatekeeping. I remember spending a good hour or so at a time putting together a good question just for it to get downvoted without any mentioned reason. Then the pressure from tech-jargon-filled comments to go read up on every word they just used for another 30 mins in order to give a half witted response because if I ask them to dumb it down they'll ignore and move on, or accuse me of being lazy...

rognjen 5y ago

> hard for a noob to tell a good answer from a workaround from a terrible answer While that's true the noob questions often have multiple answers and they're simpler to try out in sequence.

TeMPOraL 5y ago
That's the thing though: you don't try out SO answers. Either you understand them and know if they address your problems, or you need to continue your research. Programming is not like baking cookies, you can't just copy a snippet and hope it'll work out OK.
- rognjen 5y ago
  Well I don't speak for all noobs but I do know that when I was one (and still am in some ways) I did _try out_ and try to understand them. And to be frank that's kind of an elitist way of looking at someone who is still learning.
- da_chicken 5y ago
  > Programming is not like baking cookies, you can't just copy a snippet and hope it'll work out OK. Wait, why not? Isn't the entire notion of a library or framework literally a book of common recipes? Don't most languages ship with a standard library, common classes, or a common framework? Sure, thoughtlessly mixing mismatched patterns will get you haggis or oatmeal raisin, but that really doesn't mean the method is flawed.

da_chicken 5y ago

> If they fixed the reputation system so it more accurately reflected quality, it would be easier but some people have 10K+ reputation for asking a simple question that lots of people upvoted and others who have added high quality replies to more specific questions might only have a few hundred. How exactly do you tell the difference?

stemlord 5y ago

The problem I had as a noob was posting a question. Many downvotes and nitpicks about making it more a "mimimum reproducable example" definitely felt like a form of gatekeeping. I remember spending a good hour or so at a time putting together a good question just for it to get downvoted without any mentioned reason. Then the pressure from tech-jargon-filled comments to go read up on every word they just used for another 30 mins in order to give a half witted response because if I ask them to dumb it down they'll ignore and move on, or accuse me of being lazy...