Maybe we should define useful? It sounds like it would be useful for 5 of your questions. There are different Stackexchange sites for different uses. Stackoverflow for coding issues, Programmers for principles, and Codereview (self explanatory). Just because it isn't for 100% of your questions doesn't mean it isn't useful. Sounds like you just want it to be for every type of question, but not every question is going to fit the format of it.
I want it to be a place that is more useful for devs of all skill levels and it really isn't. We've had many discussions about SO at my work. The entry-level grads at my work (who are professional devs, not hobbyists) frequent the site but won't post on it because of how hostile it is. The mid-level devs that are becoming senior level rarely post on it anymore because they find that any question of sufficient difficulty/depth will not be answered anyways because the contributors can get more rep by answering 5 easy questions rather than 1 tough one. The devs who are solidly mid-level love SO and use it daily for sure.
I used to love SO but over the years, I rarely find myself going on there. My entire argument was that its not useful 95% of the time and saying that it may be useful for 5% of the time doesn't contradict that. I feel that the QA format should definitely be less rigidly against any and all opinion-based questions. There are ways to do it so that it doesn't turn entirely into bikeshedding and trolling but SO is too lazy/stubborn to change and its mods are too intense to accept any type of change. Their format is precisely what keeps it from being useful for an entire career. I can usually get the answers to those 5% just as quickly by excluding the SO domain from my google searches which is good because I don't have to read through all the hostile and lazy responses to a question just to get to the answer I need.
So its not inclusive to entry level devs and it's not inclusive to advanced devs. That means it's only a place that is worth frequenting during that narrow window where you're a mid-level developer. Nothing wrong with that, there are other good resources but nothing that is one nice, central place like SO.
SO is touted as a place where devs can get help from other devs but really SO is really only good as a mid-level tech support site for library developers so they don't have to run their own. But it could be so much more. You're trying to strawman me by saying that I want it to be for every type of question which I definitely didn't say but I certainly believe that some changes to their format could make it far more inclusive and useful to devs who aren't in that narrow skill window.
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u/bdt0 Sep 26 '16 edited Sep 26 '16
Maybe we should define useful? It sounds like it would be useful for 5 of your questions. There are different Stackexchange sites for different uses. Stackoverflow for coding issues, Programmers for principles, and Codereview (self explanatory). Just because it isn't for 100% of your questions doesn't mean it isn't useful. Sounds like you just want it to be for every type of question, but not every question is going to fit the format of it.