January 27th, 2021 at 4:09 AM
I gave it a second chance. I spent the day posting answers and solutions on S/O, and sadly, hasn't much changed. They are good at finding quick solutions to complex, properly formed questions (though "properly formed" is surrounded by miles of red tape), but that's about it. As we knew, the entire atmosphere is still unbelievably elitist. 
And I don't say that as someone who "failed" at it. I got a fair amount of reputation/badges/accepted (I'd say) answers within my first day. I'm not salty. If anything, I'm reflecting after having figured it out.
But it wasn't a pleasant experience. A lot of people downvote things with no explanation. People will answer the same question you've answered, then downvote your answer just so that theirs rises to the top. They will close questions for no reason or judge questions they deem to be "too simple" or otherwise below their level. They will edit answers and change your posts just for the rep bonus they get for doing so. It's just... a very toxic environment.
I did some research and dug up discussions about S/O's atmosphere, and they are very quickly triggered if someone dares to say that they are too elitist. They defend it vehimeitely. It's very much a part of their culture. And granted, there is a lot of stupid stuff that gets posted, but if you aren't interested in letting a beginner be a beginner, don't bother going onto a Q/A site to begin with?
That being said, there is one thing I can't defend. And that's people who post their homework there without even trying to understand the problem. Those people deserve to be downvoted. But the vast majority of other people whose questions get the boot have asked genuine questions, only to have their posts closed for some nondescriptive reason or because an obscure, barely-related duplicate was found from 6 years ago. It's a maze to try to get around that place.
But perhaps most shockingly, I noticed that they tend to wield their influence in the harshest of ways to keep newcomers like myself "in line" with the culture. And I answered some questions that, evidently, others found too "stupid" for the site, and I got downvoted for "encouraging stupid questions" (though they were entirely legitimate questions that weren't stupid at all). This, to me, is the worst part of the entire experience. They quite literally punish you for even trying to not be toxic at the community. If you don't fit in, you're cast out.
Shark tank is pretty much the right way to describe it. Very toxic.
And I don't say that as someone who "failed" at it. I got a fair amount of reputation/badges/accepted (I'd say) answers within my first day. I'm not salty. If anything, I'm reflecting after having figured it out.
But it wasn't a pleasant experience. A lot of people downvote things with no explanation. People will answer the same question you've answered, then downvote your answer just so that theirs rises to the top. They will close questions for no reason or judge questions they deem to be "too simple" or otherwise below their level. They will edit answers and change your posts just for the rep bonus they get for doing so. It's just... a very toxic environment.
I did some research and dug up discussions about S/O's atmosphere, and they are very quickly triggered if someone dares to say that they are too elitist. They defend it vehimeitely. It's very much a part of their culture. And granted, there is a lot of stupid stuff that gets posted, but if you aren't interested in letting a beginner be a beginner, don't bother going onto a Q/A site to begin with?
That being said, there is one thing I can't defend. And that's people who post their homework there without even trying to understand the problem. Those people deserve to be downvoted. But the vast majority of other people whose questions get the boot have asked genuine questions, only to have their posts closed for some nondescriptive reason or because an obscure, barely-related duplicate was found from 6 years ago. It's a maze to try to get around that place.
But perhaps most shockingly, I noticed that they tend to wield their influence in the harshest of ways to keep newcomers like myself "in line" with the culture. And I answered some questions that, evidently, others found too "stupid" for the site, and I got downvoted for "encouraging stupid questions" (though they were entirely legitimate questions that weren't stupid at all). This, to me, is the worst part of the entire experience. They quite literally punish you for even trying to not be toxic at the community. If you don't fit in, you're cast out.
Shark tank is pretty much the right way to describe it. Very toxic.
