The idea of a question/answer site as a meritocracy is not monopolized by Stack Overflow. We forget that there is more than one way to solve this problem, and t

The idea of a question/answer site as a meritocracy is not monopolized by Stack Overflow. We forget that there is more than one way to solve this problem, and this is a particular solution with particular tradeoffs. I myself find Stack Overflow a bit unpleasant to contribute on; I always feel like it's a race, and it's very hard to separate one's desire to be helpful from one's desire to win points by playing the game faster or harder. It's easier and possibly more rewarding overall (just in terms of points) to focus on answering broadly, frequently and with speed than with quality. As a man, and a not particularly competitive one, I don't know if what chafes me about it is also what chafes women, but I think there is definitely room for other interpretations of social question answering. Either deep changes or simply different reward schedules, combined with a different initial community, ought to produce a site with a completely different "feel." Whatever it is that women are reacting to about Stack Overflow, there is bound to be a different solution they would like better, and the competition between sites could be beneficial.