Stack overflow is almost dead

a year ago by abobla to c/programming

Today, Stack overflow has almost as few questions asked per month, as when it launched back in 2009. A recap of its slow, then rapid, downfall.
load all comments
timhh 8 points a year ago path: 0 17190855, hotness: undefined, score: 8, children: 2
Markaos 3 points a year ago

The question asks for "the best" way to do it (making it opinion based) and forbids a potential solution without explaining why (it's clearly some kind of assignment, but that doesn't matter here). And it has plenty of answers both using Boost and in pure C++, so I'm not sure why that wasn't enough for you. Just because it's closed doesn't mean the answers already provided are bad.

path: 0 17190855 17202143, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 1
timhh 3 points a year ago

By that measure basically every StackOverflow question asking how to do something is opinion based - the very nature of the site is questions asking for the best solutions. The "opinion based" rules is NOT meant to prevent questions like this. This is the kind of useless pedantry that killed StackOverflow.

I think it comes from a fundamental disconnect. You have something like:

  1. People ask questions like "which programming language is best" or "what's the best game engine" or "should I use tabs or spaces"?
  2. Someone decided they didn't want StackOverflow being used to debate these things, so they made a rule against opinion-based questions.
  3. People later come along and blindly apply the rule to ban anything that is worded as if it is an opinion, even if it's a perfectly suitable question.

not sure why that wasn’t enough for you

I never said it wasn't; just that it shouldn't have been closed.

Just because it’s closed doesn’t mean the answers already provided are bad.

Again, I never said otherwise. The point is it shouldn't have been closed.

path: 0 17190855 17202143 17205788, hotness: undefined, score: 3, children: 0
programming
programming

@programming.dev

login for more options
28840
3725
3332

Welcome to the main community in programming.dev! Feel free to post anything relating to programming here!

Cross posting is strongly encouraged in the instance. If you feel your post or another person's post makes sense in another community cross post into it.

Hope you enjoy the instance!

Rules

Rules

  • Follow the programming.dev instance rules
  • Keep content related to programming in some way
  • If you're posting long videos try to add in some form of tldr for those who don't want to watch videos

Wormhole

Follow the wormhole through a path of communities !webdev@programming.dev


go to feed...