[xnorswap]

Here's an experiment:

Visit new questions: https://stackoverflow.com/questions?tab=Newest

Scroll until you find an upvoted question. Count how many downvotes you see on the way. You can often get to page 2 with dozens of downvotes before the first upvote.

Hard mode: Scroll until the net upvotes are more than the net downvotes.

[matsemann]

What should that prove? If anything, it backs up my point: the amount of noise is huge.

But I tried: scrolled two pages. Most questions were at 0 votes. But I checked every down voted question, and they were all useless. No code, just a vague statement of trying to do something.

[muzani]

"But I checked every down voted question, and they were all useless. No code, just a vague statement of trying to do something."

That's exactly it. Someone out there is asking for help. They don't know how to ask or where to start. Then they get shut down by the community for being useless and vague instead of guided on the right questions to ask.

This is the first downvoted question I see: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/75396340/java-17-switch-...

It's someone who does not understand switch and wants to know why their code doesn't match with their understanding of switch. There's no given reason for the downvote.

ChatGPT at least takes the effort to make sense of the question and verifies that this is what the asker intended.

[amne]

that question now has an answer. I'm not using Java but I did learn why I don't: java treats a switch either as a statement or as an expression.

[411111111111111]

Do you see stack overflow as a resource for total beginners? Such a question has no place on SO from my perspective. A chat with a more experienced person would be much more helpful and chatgpt could be the next best thing in this context.

[aflag]

I do. Why would a Q&A site not be a good place for total beginners? The only reason it's not is the toxicity of the community.

[xnorswap]

And yet compare to one of the oldest questions on SO: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/746/format-string-to-tit...

Today that question would be downvoted as a bad question, and so would many of the answers.

It's kicking out the ladder after you've climbed it and is hostile to anyone learning to program today.

All those questions you deride as "useless" is someone who is struggling to do something, who takes the time to ask for help and gets downvoted and hostility in return.

[nurettin]

Veiled insult right there!

[matsemann]

Not sure what you mean?

[izacus]

I believe it was sarcasm :D