Anyone here use StackOverflow? And hate it as much as I do? (Page 1/2)
Cliff Pennock JAN 16, 08:39 AM
StackOverflow (and all its related sites) used to be great. I would get good answers on most questions I had.

Nowadays, it's a bit different. I haven't had a decent answer for the past 10-15 questions I asked. And most answers I got were "You are in the wrong section" or a lot of people asking for the question to be closed/deleted simply because they don't like the way I ask a question.

StackOverflow has become as useful as a tanning bed in the desert. I ask a simple question like: "How can I change the UserAgent header in a HTTP request using HTTP::Request?" (this is not a real question I asked but it's similar). It gets closed with:



Really? Everything you need to know to answer the question is already in the question. Code example? What for?

It's like asking "If I drive from A to B with my car, are there any gas station on the route?", and then it gets closed because "You didn't provide the make and model of the car. Also, please provide a reason why you would need a gas station".

I hope ChatGPT kills StackOverflow with fire.
82-T/A [At Work] JAN 16, 11:58 AM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:StackOverflow (and all its related sites) used to be great. I would get good answers on most questions I had.

Nowadays, it's a bit different. I haven't had a decent answer for the past 10-15 questions I asked. And most answers I got were "You are in the wrong section" or a lot of people asking for the question to be closed/deleted simply because they don't like the way I ask a question.

StackOverflow has become as useful as a tanning bed in the desert. I ask a simple question like: "How can I change the UserAgent header in a HTTP request using HTTP::Request?" (this is not a real question I asked but it's similar). It gets closed with:





THIS... yes... and I also used to use Experts Exchange. This is exactly the reason why I stopped using Stack Overflow. It became so useless simply because you spend more time being forced to figure out how to ask the question in a way that it doesn't upset the moderators. They've incentivized people to punish you for asking a question... which is totally wild. I used it may three times in the past 4 years... and every situation was exactly like you describe above... so now I no longer use it. The question is, do they realize it? Or are they so oblivious to this?
Cliff Pennock JAN 17, 07:27 AM
And it's not only Stack Overflow. It's sites like Reddit as well.

I posted a question on r/nvidia yesterday. This is the Reddit description:



I replaced my old NVidia card with a newer one and now G-Sync no longer works. I tried all kinds of things but nothing worked so I asked what this could be on Reddit. Actually within an hour or so, someone responded with a few things to try. I tried it, didn't work. I made a post what exactly I tried and he gave me another thing to try. I tried that too and wanted to post the result only to be greeted with this:



Without any explanation, my question was removed.

This is the reason I created PFF 25 years ago. Because I hate moderators on a power trip.
TheDigitalAlchemist JAN 17, 12:07 PM

quote
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
THIS... yes... and I also used to use Experts Exchange.



I used EE back around 2009. Very useful. Peeked in on them a few years after, and it was not the same. "Community-run" sites are hit-or-miss.

Maybe check out https://www.daniweb.com/forums ? I recall that was a good site back in the day, maybe they are still good...
Cliff Pennock JAN 30, 02:41 AM
I hate forums. No, no, no, I don't hate this forum or the forum format in General, I hate the way other forums are over moderated.

I hardly ever visit forums if I have some sort of problem I need an answer to because I know I always end up without an answer and usually the thread ends in a flame war. Yesterday was no exception. I was on a very well known tech forum. Let met tell you how the conversation went.

There was a section called "Intel Processors". So I asked a question about which processor would be best for a certain task. The very first answer was from a moderator telling me it was against forum rules to ask such a question because they didn't want a thread turning into a review. Ok fine. So I said "Okay, I understand. Well if anybody still wants to recommend one, they can send me a PM". I got another response from another moderator: "You are not allowed to ask for people sending you private messages".

Wait... What?

So my third question was "Am I allowed to ask questions?". I'm guessing that will get me banned.

I can understand why most forums have become ghost towns...
82-T/A [At Work] JAN 30, 08:02 AM

quote
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock:

I hate forums. No, no, no, I don't hate this forum or the forum format in General, I hate the way other forums are over moderated.

I hardly ever visit forums if I have some sort of problem I need an answer to because I know I always end up without an answer and usually the thread ends in a flame war. Yesterday was no exception. I was on a very well known tech forum. Let met tell you how the conversation went.

There was a section called "Intel Processors". So I asked a question about which processor would be best for a certain task. The very first answer was from a moderator telling me it was against forum rules to ask such a question because they didn't want a thread turning into a review. Ok fine. So I said "Okay, I understand. Well if anybody still wants to recommend one, they can send me a PM". I got another response from another moderator: "You are not allowed to ask for people sending you private messages".

Wait... What?

So my third question was "Am I allowed to ask questions?". I'm guessing that will get me banned.

I can understand why most forums have become ghost towns...




Should have just taken the train.


(JOKE! I'm kidding... yeah, I totally agree... it's so ridiculous.)
williegoat JAN 30, 10:04 AM
A few years ago, I was asked to moderate a Harley-Davidson forum. The forum used the name with the blessing of the MoCo so they had to toe a certain line. I quickly learned what a bunch of whiny children a bunch of self described "bikers" could be. I don't go there anymore.
Valkrie9 FEB 04, 11:12 PM


Patrick FEB 05, 01:33 AM

If I squint a bit while reading Valkrie9's posts, I can just make out uhlanstan.


quote
Originally posted by uhlanstan Here:

Im not a pam anderson fan but I would crawl thru 100 yards of chocolate pudding (to old for the barb wire now) just to rumage thru her laundry basket and sniff the yeasty smelly stuff on her panties. can,t say what I might really do in the laundry basket because children sometimes read the forum


Valkrie9 FEB 05, 06:24 AM

Preoccupation with Bosoms !
Whispering waves on sandy beaches reminded you of Pam Anderson's soiled laundry ?
A wonderful young woman in a bikini Overflowing with bountiful Stack, has you back in '08, that filthy moment.
Sad, a world of your own imagination, more like the skanks on East Hastings, the fentanyl hos, fishnets on tranks, spike heels.
A wonderful trip up to the clouds, up high on great pillowed cumulus, billowing clean in bright sunlight, heavenly.
A song heard as you soar, sounds like a choir of angels singing the love songs that she likes.
The photographer a skilled man with a camera, shortening the focal length, to blur the background beach, enhancing the sharp lines of the 'obviously' too small top.
Stack Overflow, seen on the site to remind those who endeavor to great code, making the world better, cleaner, crisper, clicking and snapping.
That there is a pillow, just for them.