4 ms·

How can anyone answer "really useful but are unknown to most programmers"? They are so useful we don't know about them? Aren't the answers, by definition, kno

by YZF 13y ago

How can anyone answer "really useful but are unknown to most programmers"? They are so useful we don't know about them? Aren't the answers, by definition, known, to a lot of programmers? Useful for what exactly? I think I heard this criticism of SO for about 1 million times and this is the 1 million + 1 that tripped my fuse, so apologies for that. This question, and the answers, though IMO are bits of trivia and opinions more suited to a blog post. Does it have some marginal usefulness in exposing some people without background to some random data structures or algorithms- maybe. The question is still there, it wasn't deleted, so SO is acting as the resource that you'd like it to be. If it's your first exposure to data structures I think there are better options out there (text books, online courses). If you are looking to solve some particular problem this is probably not the best resource. So it just stands as a (maybe interesting) bit of computer science trivia. There are endless subjective topics that are tangentially related to programming and may be fun/amusing/interesting but SO is about things that have answers, not about discussions. I like it that when I have a question I can search and get a good answer for it, not just someone's opinion. For entertainment value and interesting things I go to other places, such as HN...

kintamanimatt 13y ago
> The question is still there, it wasn't deleted, so SO is acting as the resource that you'd like it to be. Try asking such a question today, or any time in the last couple of years! > So it just stands as a (maybe interesting) bit of computer science trivia. Just because you label it trivia doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't important to the asker or the thousands of people that read, commented, and upvoted. Just like people asking about jQuery, the asker had a question in mind and wanted to crowdsource the answer. > but SO is about things that have answers An opinion can be an answer too. > For entertainment value and interesting things I go to other places, such as HN... Why must the answers on SO be bland as tofu? You seem to give the impression that learning and the SO answers must be plain and dull, and any hint of entertainment must be quickly quashed. I see nothing wrong with being entertained and educated at the same time, especially as things that are entertaining tend to be more readily recalled.
- Shish2k 13y ago
  > Why must the answers on SO be bland as tofu? Why do we have vegetarian restaurants when the majority of the world wants meat?
- oneeyedpigeon 13y ago
  Why do meat eaters have such a desire to disparage vegetarians in completely irrelevant contexts?
  - kintamanimatt 13y ago
    I didn't disparage vegetarians, and not even their diets. Tofu on its own is bland and that's really hard to refute. Tofu with other stuff is delicious.

by YZF 13y ago

kintamanimatt 13y ago

> The question is still there, it wasn't deleted, so SO is acting as the resource that you'd like it to be. Try asking such a question today, or any time in the last couple of years! > So it just stands as a (maybe interesting) bit of computer science trivia. Just because you label it trivia doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't important to the asker or the thousands of people that read, commented, and upvoted. Just like people asking about jQuery, the asker had a question in mind and wanted to crowdsource the answer. > but SO is about things that have answers An opinion can be an answer too. > For entertainment value and interesting things I go to other places, such as HN... Why must the answers on SO be bland as tofu? You seem to give the impression that learning and the SO answers must be plain and dull, and any hint of entertainment must be quickly quashed. I see nothing wrong with being entertained and educated at the same time, especially as things that are entertaining tend to be more readily recalled.

Shish2k 13y ago
> Why must the answers on SO be bland as tofu? Why do we have vegetarian restaurants when the majority of the world wants meat?
oneeyedpigeon 13y ago
Why do meat eaters have such a desire to disparage vegetarians in completely irrelevant contexts?
- kintamanimatt 13y ago
  I didn't disparage vegetarians, and not even their diets. Tofu on its own is bland and that's really hard to refute. Tofu with other stuff is delicious.