There are many examples of SO scrapers that rank higher than SO itself in many cases. Like BigResource.com. So your point is moot. A relevant point is that sho

There are many examples of SO scrapers that rank higher than SO itself in many cases. Like BigResource.com. So your point is moot. A relevant point is that should SO slap a paywall around their content, anyone can grab the data and create a worthy competitor. Hence the death of ExpertSexChange.