On the “Decline of StackOverFlow”, John Slegers laments the decline of contribution and the extremely draconian moderation that is pervading the site. He also criticizes the toxicity of its community towards newer members and their questions in general. It’s a concerning trend since Stack is when my code runs into issue or I have trouble debugging. One quick search on Stack and my problem will either be quickly solved or the answer will lead me to the right direction.
Even in the most popular topics on Stack, there is a huge issue of contents becoming outdated. There are numerous answers for language and framework that only applies to a version from a couple of years ago. Answers to deprecated methods is common especially in mobile development with Android in a constant flux of change and swift 3.0 officially being released just this month. Problem is even more frustrating in JavaScript, and many times it’s not even the fault of Stack. New versions are constantly being released breaking things left and right. In one blog I read last week for Angular2, it states that “Stackoverflow posts that are older than 6 weeks old are no longer relevant and probably deal with an issue from an old version that I’m no longer using.” The problem is exacerbated even further in much more obscure languages and also proprietary software. Where even getting a decent answer can be a matter of luck.
However, despite all of its flaws and people commenting on its “decline”, Stack is still a great website to solve your problem. Most of the common problems have been answered and is only one google search away. The strict moderation has led to mostly very well phrased questions and answers that not only solve the problem but help people understand the issue. Outdated answers (which are sometimes edited to reflect current version: thank you to all the people who goes back and update), even if outdated, can lead you in the right direction to understand your problem. Stack despite all the issues above, is still pretty damn good, and is and will continue to be an invaluable resource for all programmers.
The decline of stackoverflow:
https://hackernoon.com/the-decline-of-stack-overflow-7cb69faa575d#.2xjk5bv0z
A counter argument to stackoverflow decline:
http://techblog.bozho.net/i-stopped-contributing-to-stackoverflow-but-its-not-declining/
Further Reading:
release of typescript 2.0:
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/typescript/2016/09/22/announcing-typescript-2-0/
Developer Certifications:
http://techbeacon.com/developer-certifications-friend-or-foe
Testing tips:
https://eev.ee/blog/2016/08/22/testing-for-people-who-hate-testing/
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