[megaman22]

I always wonder if people that complain about SO being nasty missed out on the shitshow that was programming forums before the current era. I recall some monumental flamewars back in the day on various sites I used to frequent.

[nt8eo923nt45]

Oh yeah, definitely. Especially on Usenet. You'd get flamed for asking a "stupid" question. You'd get flamed for using a "stupid" technology. You'd get flamed for doing things the way you did them, even if they worked just fine. I recall it mostly being constant flaming and hazing.

[dingaling]

But at least on Usenet you had the chance to ask 'stupid’ questions, and repeatedly, compared to having them close as off-topic or belonging on obscure-niche.stackoverflow.com