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I used to contribute a lot to Stack Overflow, but then I noticed that I’d get flamed for even asking simple questions; stuff that can really stand between actua

by kebman 3y ago

I used to contribute a lot to Stack Overflow, but then I noticed that I’d get flamed for even asking simple questions; stuff that can really stand between actually getting somewhere with your code, and where a helpful comment could really make a difference. At some point regular replies were replaced by administrators and mods who are seemingly far more interested in finding faults with your question rather than to actually answer it. The worst one was probably those times I’d ask a question, and then it got labelled “not a question.” Honestly, this unhelpful, bureaucratic, and down right nasty attitude has really disgusted me with the site. Apparently new users are having even bigger problems, and they get flamed really hard for asking newbie questions. Often people are rudely asked to read the manual, when the entire cause of their problems is that the manual is so poorly written that it’s impossible to make any sense for it—even if answering questions like that is the “raison d’être” of a place like Stack Overflow... Now, with the prevalence of ChatGPT and services that will give you great answers to almost any code-related question, I honestly think that the fall of Stack Overflow is well deserved.

kzrdude 3y ago
Another observation is that sometimes it feels like you get answers to your question in contempt. Someone writes an answer but at the same time assure you that your question is not good enough. Or they answer it but don't upvote the question. (If the question is not worthwhile, why answer it? Probably for rep.)
- cutemonster 3y ago
  (I personally upvote questions because I had the same problem. I've never upvoted a question just because it was well written. More interesting to see "how many has this problem" than "is the question well researched / well written" I think. So I would still be happy, related to that, if I were you :-))
xkcd1963 3y ago
There was a hn post once where OP wrote all questions are already answered on SO. Hence nobody should ask questions (especially newbs)
- kebman 3y ago
  To claim that "all questions are already answered" is super arrogant. Then they could at least do the courtesy of linking to the already answered question. Granted, they do this sometimes, but not always. Anyway, it's simply not true that "all questions are answered." Often when I've read the answer for a purportedly same question, the nuances of the other question is often nowhere near the original one, leading you to never fully having your question answered, which is extremely frustrating. Often what you're looking for is simply a new way to explain an old concept, so that you better learn the inner workings of the problem. People are different, and so different people need different explanations. This is basic pedagogy. And that's also why RTFM does not work for all people. To think so is so arrogant that I'm at a loss for words.
  - xkcd1963 3y ago
    This was exactly my reaction and I only barely had begun using stackoverflow.
SpikyBlackHard 3y ago
This specifically happened to me, the second time I asked a question. It may have been warranted, sure, but I put a lot of effort into that question and I got shut down hard. I never logged in again. My first question turned into a well thumbed tumbleweed.
palata 3y ago
Same experience: a few months ago I wrote both the question and the answer (I used to do that a lot for tricky things I figured out after a lot of research). My question got closed, with bullshit reasons. I kept asking to reopen over a few months, just to see what would happen (because clearly it was a good question and a good answer). After 3 months it got voted to be reopen. Since then I got badges for "popular question" and many upvotes there. Pretty clearly I was closed by people who did not understand the question and probably had not even realized that I had answered it myself.

by kebman 3y ago

kzrdude 3y ago

Another observation is that sometimes it feels like you get answers to your question in contempt. Someone writes an answer but at the same time assure you that your question is not good enough. Or they answer it but don't upvote the question. (If the question is not worthwhile, why answer it? Probably for rep.)

cutemonster 3y ago
(I personally upvote questions because I had the same problem. I've never upvoted a question just because it was well written. More interesting to see "how many has this problem" than "is the question well researched / well written" I think. So I would still be happy, related to that, if I were you :-))

xkcd1963 3y ago

There was a hn post once where OP wrote all questions are already answered on SO. Hence nobody should ask questions (especially newbs)

kebman 3y ago
To claim that "all questions are already answered" is super arrogant. Then they could at least do the courtesy of linking to the already answered question. Granted, they do this sometimes, but not always. Anyway, it's simply not true that "all questions are answered." Often when I've read the answer for a purportedly same question, the nuances of the other question is often nowhere near the original one, leading you to never fully having your question answered, which is extremely frustrating. Often what you're looking for is simply a new way to explain an old concept, so that you better learn the inner workings of the problem. People are different, and so different people need different explanations. This is basic pedagogy. And that's also why RTFM does not work for all people. To think so is so arrogant that I'm at a loss for words.
- xkcd1963 3y ago
  This was exactly my reaction and I only barely had begun using stackoverflow.

SpikyBlackHard 3y ago

This specifically happened to me, the second time I asked a question. It may have been warranted, sure, but I put a lot of effort into that question and I got shut down hard. I never logged in again. My first question turned into a well thumbed tumbleweed.

palata 3y ago

Same experience: a few months ago I wrote both the question and the answer (I used to do that a lot for tricky things I figured out after a lot of research). My question got closed, with bullshit reasons. I kept asking to reopen over a few months, just to see what would happen (because clearly it was a good question and a good answer). After 3 months it got voted to be reopen. Since then I got badges for "popular question" and many upvotes there. Pretty clearly I was closed by people who did not understand the question and probably had not even realized that I had answered it myself.