[ChrisArchitect]

Yeah, what is this all about SO changing things overnight. Exaggering by far. It took years and years before SO became a more useful resource and for a long time (maybe even still I'd argue) was a joke that it was a haven for lame Q's and dangerous A's.

Everyone was referencing blogs and google groups (usenet before) and searches.. hitting sites like ExpertsExchange etc. What code languages/scenes were active around then too -- Ruby/Rails stuff = blogs/groups. PHP? = forums, even the comment sections of the PHP docs.

Alot of what changed gradually around then was the rise in better documentation out there. So much better/more emphasis on writing proper docs etc