4 ms·

Whenever I saw vBulletin used for programming questions (the most common option before SO), my heart ached. vBulletin may be good software for discussions, but

Whenever I saw vBulletin used for programming questions (the most common option before SO), my heart ached. vBulletin may be good software for discussions, but it sucked as a programming Q&A site. I always wondered why we, programmers, do not have an amazing software to ask questions about our craft? Jeff gave us the answer in Stack Overflow and it was everything I would have hoped for. And then some. I love the fact that Stack Overflow (and sister sites) attracted experts in their field and following their answers, I learned a lot. Thank you Jeff and I wish you all the best for your next adventure. :)

cryptoz 15y ago
> vBulletin may be good software for discussions, You know, I really think it's not. It may have been in the '90s, but the times have changed and it hasn't. Sites like HN and Reddit are much better software for discussions, but I'm sure these forms are just temporal as well.
- ShardPhoenix 15y ago
  The Reddit/HN style is better when there are small number of most interesting or most correct replies, forums are better when there are a large number of valuable contributions. They're also better for long-running events and the ongoing discussion of broad topics. Basically, Reddit style is better for "New Star Trek Movie announced", forums are better for "Let's talk about Star Trek".
  - whichdan 15y ago
    I get where you're coming from, but I really don't think this is the case. I can churn through 400 reddit comments quickly, but 20 pages * 20 threads/page with [bulletin board software] is nothing short of a pain - not to mention the quote within a quote within a quote and tons of wasted space for avatars/signatures, which can only be disabled on some forums. I can see the benefit for long-running events (a reddit thread over the course of a few weeks would be hard to read chronologically) but I think there's a lot of room for improvement, much of which is probably up to the designers as much as the developers. Also, I think the barrier to entry in a 400 comment thread is largely different as well - with reddit, the issue is whether your comment will receive any visibility, whereas, IMO, in a [bulletin board] thread, catching up on 400 comments of discussion seems daunting and almost pointless.

cryptoz 15y ago

> vBulletin may be good software for discussions, You know, I really think it's not. It may have been in the '90s, but the times have changed and it hasn't. Sites like HN and Reddit are much better software for discussions, but I'm sure these forms are just temporal as well.

ShardPhoenix 15y ago
The Reddit/HN style is better when there are small number of most interesting or most correct replies, forums are better when there are a large number of valuable contributions. They're also better for long-running events and the ongoing discussion of broad topics. Basically, Reddit style is better for "New Star Trek Movie announced", forums are better for "Let's talk about Star Trek".
- whichdan 15y ago
  I get where you're coming from, but I really don't think this is the case. I can churn through 400 reddit comments quickly, but 20 pages * 20 threads/page with [bulletin board software] is nothing short of a pain - not to mention the quote within a quote within a quote and tons of wasted space for avatars/signatures, which can only be disabled on some forums. I can see the benefit for long-running events (a reddit thread over the course of a few weeks would be hard to read chronologically) but I think there's a lot of room for improvement, much of which is probably up to the designers as much as the developers. Also, I think the barrier to entry in a 400 comment thread is largely different as well - with reddit, the issue is whether your comment will receive any visibility, whereas, IMO, in a [bulletin board] thread, catching up on 400 comments of discussion seems daunting and almost pointless.