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I’ve seen really good answers who were despite being correct were downvoted in favor of someone with a higher SO score. I posted an answer to a question like 1

I’ve seen really good answers who were despite being correct were downvoted in favor of someone with a higher SO score. I posted an answer to a question like 10 years ago before dynamic or anonymous types existed in .NET. It was valid and I later prefixed it to say another answer is now correct but mine was correct for the version of .NET in question. Still has people downvoting today. It really sucks answering questions and investing time when people downvote for silly stupid reasons. I’ve also seen questions asked which were good questions with examples and such. But downvoted because “that’s now how you do it” despite “I can’t do it that way because of constraints in the system” Part of SO is really good! It’s been a game changer. But it’s really a different community now than when it started. I miss the early days.

senderista 5y ago
I once answered a question on SO and included a link to some sample code (production-quality actually) that I had written several years before. The answer was (I thought) on-topic, clear, and helpful (it gave the questioner everything they needed to solve their problem). It was downvoted to oblivion, apparently because I included the link. Then I removed the link and just pasted the 150 lines or so of sample code directly into the answer, but my “reputation” is still negative as a result so I can’t answer any questions. As a result, I have zero interest in ever trying to contribute to SO again.
- BeFlatXIII 5y ago
  If you did ever have interest in contributing again, that’s what new accounts are for.
teh_klev 5y ago
> I posted an answer to a question like 10 years ago before dynamic or anonymous types existed in .NET. It was valid and I later prefixed it to say another answer is now correct but mine was correct for the version of .NET in question. > Still has people downvoting today. Aye that sucks. I have a PHP answer that is the accepted answer, but the PHP wonks got all up in arms about it because the immediate solution for the OP was to use the global keyword in their class method to get access to an array that's being created/modified in the global scope. I did caveat by letting them know this isn't a fantastic solution. But it looks like their app had a shedload of bigger problems that weren't going to be solved in my answer. I also miss the early days. Apropos my previous reply, I wasn't having a go at you, though re-reading it does seem that way, so I do apologise. I'd had a couple of wines and whenever stuff like this comes up I do feel slightly hacked off at all the effort I'd put into help build that empire (I was a <500 beta user, and was also a diamond mod). And all I got was a lousy mug and some crappy pens :)

senderista 5y ago

I once answered a question on SO and included a link to some sample code (production-quality actually) that I had written several years before. The answer was (I thought) on-topic, clear, and helpful (it gave the questioner everything they needed to solve their problem). It was downvoted to oblivion, apparently because I included the link. Then I removed the link and just pasted the 150 lines or so of sample code directly into the answer, but my “reputation” is still negative as a result so I can’t answer any questions. As a result, I have zero interest in ever trying to contribute to SO again.

BeFlatXIII 5y ago
If you did ever have interest in contributing again, that’s what new accounts are for.

teh_klev 5y ago

> I posted an answer to a question like 10 years ago before dynamic or anonymous types existed in .NET. It was valid and I later prefixed it to say another answer is now correct but mine was correct for the version of .NET in question. > Still has people downvoting today. Aye that sucks. I have a PHP answer that is the accepted answer, but the PHP wonks got all up in arms about it because the immediate solution for the OP was to use the global keyword in their class method to get access to an array that's being created/modified in the global scope. I did caveat by letting them know this isn't a fantastic solution. But it looks like their app had a shedload of bigger problems that weren't going to be solved in my answer. I also miss the early days. Apropos my previous reply, I wasn't having a go at you, though re-reading it does seem that way, so I do apologise. I'd had a couple of wines and whenever stuff like this comes up I do feel slightly hacked off at all the effort I'd put into help build that empire (I was a <500 beta user, and was also a diamond mod). And all I got was a lousy mug and some crappy pens :)