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by nottorp 780 days ago
> Hence the myriad Stack Overflow users who are frustrated after asking insane questions and getting pushback, who then dig their heels in after being told the entire approach they’re using to solve a problem is bonkers and they’re going to run into endless problems continuing down the path their on.

The problem is, SO can't tell someone who asks an insane question from someone who asks the same question but has constraints that make it sane. *

So in time, sane people during unusual stuff stop asking questions and you're left with homework.

* For example, "we can't afford to refactor the whole codebase because some architecture astronaut on SO says so" is a constraint.

Or another nice one is "this is not and will never be a project that will handle google-like volumes of data".
1 comments
andybak 780 days ago
> The problem is, SO can't tell someone who asks an insane question from someone who asks the same question but has constraints that make it sane.

Stack Overflow is not there to help you solve your use-case. It's there to create a body of knowledge that everyone can refer to. You need to spell out your specific reasons so that the question and answers become useful to others.

A lot of the friction on Stack Overflow comes from people thinking it's a free help website rather than an attempt to create a collaborative knowledgebase.

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shkkmo 780 days ago
I think a lot of SO's problems comes from it trying to pretend it was building a knowledge base when it was really only ever a question and answer site.

It was nice to use early in its life when every answer was fresh. These days, the stale knowledge outweighs the fresh and the top answer is usually no longer correct.

If SO wants to be a knowledgebase, it needs to to be redesigned as it's current structure is not well suited to it.

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nottorp 780 days ago
There's no more friction, I've stopped trying to give answers :)

I was dumb and was trying to help people, not build a 'knowledge base'.

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andybak 778 days ago
> I was dumb and was trying to help people, not build a 'knowledge base'.

It is about helping people - but helping multiple people for the same effort it takes to help one person.

As we descend further into "Need help? Just ask on our Discord!" hell - it's a lesson that I wish resonated with more people.

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