AI didn't kill Stack Overflow (opens in new tab)

I've always used SO as a source of code snippets, like when I forget how to check the length of an array in JavaScript (I change languages too often to keep it straight). So SO is still useful to me. I suppose I could use an LLM for that, but it's such a quick search, it doesn't seem worth changing my workflow.

I did encounter a math problem once that I asked on math overflow. No one answered it. But then a couple years later I faced the same math problem, so I spent a day to solve it. A couple years later, I ran into the question again, and math overflow helpfully still had my answer.

SO is incredibly toxic and this is from someone who tries to answer at least one question a day.

While I use the site daily, I would never ask a question and in fact I hesitate to answer some questions I feel are good as there are people who will punish good answers to bad questions.

That issue alone is a perfect example of the toxic space SO has become. I realize that some people cling to the notion that there should only be good questions and good answers but what they are doing is human gatekeeping SEO.

There is nothing SO and draconian moderation can do here that noindex unfollow on noncanonical content could not do.

Let any question within reason get asked and get rid of downvotes. Let mods flag posts for SEO interest.

When I ask chatGPT a question the first thing it says is what an insightful question I asked. On SO you are most likely to be down voted and told you are an idiot for having dared to ask.