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Good. Lay off everyone. Only reddit beats SO in terms of being made to feel inadequate, stupid, etc. when asking others for help on technical issues. SO made t

Good. Lay off everyone. Only reddit beats SO in terms of being made to feel inadequate, stupid, etc. when asking others for help on technical issues. SO made their bed. Enjoy the snark, mistreatment, and power trips while it lasts. There are definitely gentler and better communities out there.

corethree 3y ago
Grow some skin. Other then the snark it's a good resource. I agree that the snark shouldn't be there but stack overflow is a good resource for lurkers and people who don't care and aren't so hurt by online mistreatment. It's just randos on the internet.
- ram4jesus 3y ago
  I don't need to grow skin on the internet where mistreatment is abundant. I just don't engage. Offline people can't treat you like shit because then they're gonna get treated like shit. Respect begets respect and good manners beget good manners. The way SO folks talk to you ... I'll just say: try that offline and I'll pull your card no ifs or doubts.
  - corethree 3y ago
    Thats not the point. The point is who cares about the mistreatment. The objective is to get the relevant info. I'm one of the highest ranked people on SO. And guess what? All I do on SO is ask stupid ass questions. One time someone scolded me, said I should know better for asking a certain question that was against policy of something given that my rank was so high. You know what I said to him? Nothing. I just didn't give a shit. Stackoverflow is one of the few places on earth where you can ask the dumbest questions with zero consequence. The consequence is just in your head. Better to launch that dumbass question in stackoverflow than on your company slack. I probably have 10 questions with negative points. My highest ranked question was likely the stupidest one I ever asked.
    - ram4jesus 3y ago
      I care. And it's not "in my head." Read the comments here, others have had similar experiences to mine: I'm not just making it up; it's a real downside with real impact. Now as for me: I don't mind being stupid (look at how often I get downvoted here in HN: water off a duck's back). I want to be treated in a dignified way. And if that's not happening and there are better sources out there, then I don't have to play the game of reading someone's snark or passive aggressive bs. I don't want to read it not because it affects me in some psychological way (the internet is full of cruelty and I can handle it ok), but because it's tiresome: I've seen it before and have had it happen to me so many times that it's just boring. If you treat me like shit but help me solve the problem, ok thank you. The problem is solved. Now on to the next. But if you treat me like shit and don't solve my problem, well then, I'll look elsewhere for the solution.
      - corethree 3y ago
        Well there's no alternative. People will think you're dumb if you ask a dumb question that's just society. If they aren't talking shit to your face then they're thinking it. Can't change human nature. What better source is there? Stackoverflow is the best IMO. I'm up for a better resource if a better one actually exists.
    - bombcar 3y ago
      The problem isn't the people asking questions, there will always be an infinite number of those. It's the moderation scaring away the people who answer questions. Just because they haven't shooed away everyone doesn't mean they haven't had an impact. I know that I no longer browse relevant SO topics "for fun" anymore.
      - wizzwizz4 3y ago
        Funny, it's the lack of moderation that scared me away from answering. (And I say that as someone who's… kinda been scared away from asking by excessive moderation.) It's the age-old question: how can Stack Overflow be all these different things to all these different people, simultaneously?
- TheRealDunkirk 3y ago
  Spoken like someone who lurked in #Linux on EFNet. There's a way to foster new people who are interested in your field. There's a time to explain something, and a time to say you're at a point where you should be able to grasp this, and point them in a direction, and wish them well. There's never a time to make someone feel stupid for simply asking a question, even if it really is a stupid question.
  - corethree 3y ago
    Sure, but given no better alternative, just use it and who cares.
matkoniecz 3y ago
It is quite ironic to snark while complaining about snark.

corethree 3y ago

Grow some skin. Other then the snark it's a good resource. I agree that the snark shouldn't be there but stack overflow is a good resource for lurkers and people who don't care and aren't so hurt by online mistreatment. It's just randos on the internet.

ram4jesus 3y ago
I don't need to grow skin on the internet where mistreatment is abundant. I just don't engage. Offline people can't treat you like shit because then they're gonna get treated like shit. Respect begets respect and good manners beget good manners. The way SO folks talk to you ... I'll just say: try that offline and I'll pull your card no ifs or doubts.
- corethree 3y ago
  Thats not the point. The point is who cares about the mistreatment. The objective is to get the relevant info. I'm one of the highest ranked people on SO. And guess what? All I do on SO is ask stupid ass questions. One time someone scolded me, said I should know better for asking a certain question that was against policy of something given that my rank was so high. You know what I said to him? Nothing. I just didn't give a shit. Stackoverflow is one of the few places on earth where you can ask the dumbest questions with zero consequence. The consequence is just in your head. Better to launch that dumbass question in stackoverflow than on your company slack. I probably have 10 questions with negative points. My highest ranked question was likely the stupidest one I ever asked.
  - ram4jesus 3y ago
    I care. And it's not "in my head." Read the comments here, others have had similar experiences to mine: I'm not just making it up; it's a real downside with real impact. Now as for me: I don't mind being stupid (look at how often I get downvoted here in HN: water off a duck's back). I want to be treated in a dignified way. And if that's not happening and there are better sources out there, then I don't have to play the game of reading someone's snark or passive aggressive bs. I don't want to read it not because it affects me in some psychological way (the internet is full of cruelty and I can handle it ok), but because it's tiresome: I've seen it before and have had it happen to me so many times that it's just boring. If you treat me like shit but help me solve the problem, ok thank you. The problem is solved. Now on to the next. But if you treat me like shit and don't solve my problem, well then, I'll look elsewhere for the solution.
    - corethree 3y ago
      Well there's no alternative. People will think you're dumb if you ask a dumb question that's just society. If they aren't talking shit to your face then they're thinking it. Can't change human nature. What better source is there? Stackoverflow is the best IMO. I'm up for a better resource if a better one actually exists.
  - bombcar 3y ago
    The problem isn't the people asking questions, there will always be an infinite number of those. It's the moderation scaring away the people who answer questions. Just because they haven't shooed away everyone doesn't mean they haven't had an impact. I know that I no longer browse relevant SO topics "for fun" anymore.
    - wizzwizz4 3y ago
      Funny, it's the lack of moderation that scared me away from answering. (And I say that as someone who's… kinda been scared away from asking by excessive moderation.) It's the age-old question: how can Stack Overflow be all these different things to all these different people, simultaneously?
TheRealDunkirk 3y ago
Spoken like someone who lurked in #Linux on EFNet. There's a way to foster new people who are interested in your field. There's a time to explain something, and a time to say you're at a point where you should be able to grasp this, and point them in a direction, and wish them well. There's never a time to make someone feel stupid for simply asking a question, even if it really is a stupid question.
- corethree 3y ago
  Sure, but given no better alternative, just use it and who cares.

matkoniecz 3y ago

It is quite ironic to snark while complaining about snark.