I have been continuously feeling that SO nowadays discourages Q&A writing on SO.
I come across a problem, and I do:- Search (Google, Bing, etc.)- Find similar a question and answers that links to some SO old question and answers- Then I read this Q&A, take the answers.- But, often- the given answers don't apply directly- are incomplete or not properly explain- don't address a little different use case
I develop my own solutions to my problem, and whenever it seems appropriate, I post the solution to the SO as a new question and answer. I tend to- provide details (concise, but with more information with less verbosity).- Provides input, output, and screenshots- Provide an explanation of a little different use case.
I do all this, so it is helpful to me and also to others, and it is documented on SO whenever I come across a similar problem. A code on my hard drive gets lost some way and is too difficult to find after a few years.
It takes me another 2-3 hours to put a good solution together. But SO continuously discourages me by downvoting the questions immediately, closing the question in a few hours.Downvoting the answers in a few hours.
These SO bots or gatekeepers think I am here to increase my reputation and write banal answers. I have a better way of spending my time.
Just take a look at this post:
This post answered the question with needed details, clarity, and examples. It's based on other question and answers, but I had to read through them, work (write the code) on it myself, clean it out, test it, and put it there on SO.
It got downvotes in less than an hour, even though I posted it with an answer. And it's not the first time it happened.
SO really is going to be replaced with ChatGPT. There are not enough people writing answers, and all it's doing is discouraging those who are putting in honest efforts.
Why is SO discouraging questions and answers writing?