stackoverflow
Not having much luck with that site...
I seriously have been trying to make good posts... I even used their post 'Wizard'!
Anyone else having bad luck?
Last edited on
I assume you mean, your posts get closed or downvoted? Yeah, that'll happen.
It's a case-by-case thing, so it's hard to say exactly why, but a large part of it stems from the fact that stack overflow is meant as the be-all and end-all "FAQ" encyclopedia kind of site. It's full of stuck-ups. :)
If you ask questions on ephemeral issues that only you are having, others won't see the value in these kinds of questions. As in, your question (and its answer) isn't adding to the library of collective knowledge that the site is trying to achieve.
But it could also be that you aren't doing things like giving a Minimal, Reproducible Example. It's hard for others to help you with a runtime issue if they can't even compile your code. And, often, when you force yourself to produce a minimal reproducible example, it's likely you'll narrow down the issue on your own.
I don't think I've used their post wizard, but have you looked at https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask? The advice in that article seems OK to me. I would also take a look at a random sampling of downvoted 'New' questions and upvoted 'Active' questions from the site's main page. Compare things in common with questions that get downvoted, and things in common with questions that get upvoted.
___________________________________
On the other hand, the users of this once-great forum don't have grandiose delusions of compiling the perfect C++ problem encyclopedia. The advice given in the above article can definitely still be applied here, and you should try to search for your question to see if it's a common/existing one, but the people here probably don't mind helping to solve one-off issues that probably only affect you. At worst, your question just won't be answered if nobody wants to trudge through it.
It's a case-by-case thing, so it's hard to say exactly why, but a large part of it stems from the fact that stack overflow is meant as the be-all and end-all "FAQ" encyclopedia kind of site. It's full of stuck-ups. :)
If you ask questions on ephemeral issues that only you are having, others won't see the value in these kinds of questions. As in, your question (and its answer) isn't adding to the library of collective knowledge that the site is trying to achieve.
But it could also be that you aren't doing things like giving a Minimal, Reproducible Example. It's hard for others to help you with a runtime issue if they can't even compile your code. And, often, when you force yourself to produce a minimal reproducible example, it's likely you'll narrow down the issue on your own.
I don't think I've used their post wizard, but have you looked at https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask? The advice in that article seems OK to me. I would also take a look at a random sampling of downvoted 'New' questions and upvoted 'Active' questions from the site's main page. Compare things in common with questions that get downvoted, and things in common with questions that get upvoted.
___________________________________
On the other hand, the users of this once-great forum don't have grandiose delusions of compiling the perfect C++ problem encyclopedia. The advice given in the above article can definitely still be applied here, and you should try to search for your question to see if it's a common/existing one, but the people here probably don't mind helping to solve one-off issues that probably only affect you. At worst, your question just won't be answered if nobody wants to trudge through it.
Last edited on
StackOverflow is intended for reading. Contributing is hard, contributing a question is extra hard. In 14 years there, I only contributed 14 questions (half of which suck), 552 answers, and a couple thousand comments.
But I found, and keep finding, many more useful answers by searching issues I encounter, and learned a lot by reading other people's answers to recent accepted questions.
But I found, and keep finding, many more useful answers by searching issues I encounter, and learned a lot by reading other people's answers to recent accepted questions.
Last edited on
Thank you for your opinions, advice and help.
I'm a slow learner and a horrible problem solver. I spend hours tinkering with my code and searching for solutions on google.
I really like stackoverflow for its wealth of knowledge. There have been many times where I found answers to my questions. I usually post questions when at last resort...
Thanks again for the warm welcome from you guys.
My post didn't just get down voted or closed... it got deleted. I barely had a chance to review my question end revise it before it got downvoted... My account has been banned from posting questions. What a load of BS.
SO is really for specific technical questions that haven't been previously answered. Before posting you are expected to do your own research on SO for similar previously asked questions. Asking 'how to' type questions are often frowned upon as it's not a tutorial site.
Ask a specific question re some short provided code that hasn't been asked before and you'll probably receive some replies.
Ask a specific question re some short provided code that hasn't been asked before and you'll probably receive some replies.
Topic archived. No new replies allowed.