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IME ChatGPT provides more useful results than SO, especially because ChatGPT doesn't try to guess what I'm asking and takes my request at face value (by its ver
by dpkirchner 3y ago
IME ChatGPT provides more useful results than SO, especially because ChatGPT doesn't try to guess what I'm asking and takes my request at face value (by its very nature). If ChatGPT struggles with a particular topic, companies like OpenAI could hire some subject matter experts (SMEs) to write material that could be used for future training. I don't see how SO can survive much longer.
Two things SO could do to beat ChatGPT as it exists now:
1) Require all questions and answers to include the names of tools and their version numbers. Hide Qs and As until those are added. This is so critical, I have no idea why it wasn't required since day 1.
2) Discourage answers that don't answer the question, through moderation. If you don't know the answer, don't post, or at least leave your notes as a comment.
Bonus: Stop removing chats. The number of times we see someone link to a chat that 404s is too damned high. Cf: complaints from folks about the unsearchability of Discord chats wrt software tools.
- em-bee 3y agoi never understood why new users are allowed to post answers but not comments. it doesn't make sense. i mean it makes sense to restrict what new users can do, but the current mode results in new users posting comments as answers, and it irritates me every time i see one. on the other hand maybe it avoids answers as comments. but in the end maybe it should just be easier to convert between the two. i like your idea of including versions.