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So I got an answer on Stack overflow

Answerer basically said "finding the error is tedious so I re-wrote your code"

They changed about 15 lines in their answer. I combed over it and found that I needed just one.

I put an answer myself, saying which line was missing (as the other answer didn't highlight the actual solution, and rather re-implemented my code)

My clear, concise answer was deleted by moderator for "Not adding anything new" (Except what the exact answer was to my problem, I guess)

Not my fucking problem. Make your own Q&A site harder to use, as if I give a fuck.

Comments
  • 12
    @bashleigh there was a way better answer that came along this morning, fortunately, which actually explained a ton. I had the cathartic experience of upvoting and accepting that.
  • 14
    @bashleigh I agree with @AlgoRythm he may have put time into making it work, but apparently he didn't know either what the actual problem was. Having a concise answer will help everyone else having the same question.
    Also: I want an answer to my question, not working code. I won't learn anything that way.
  • 17
    UPDATE: The other answer got deleted, so now my answer is deleted for exactly 0.0 reasons.
  • 7
    @AlgoRythm Why on earth is not adding anything new an acceptable reason for deletion? Just downvote that shit and move on, that way it'll be at the bottom, out of the way for finding the popular answer but still visible in case the moderator's concept of meaningful contribution is flawed.
  • 6
    @Lor-inc beats me, and as far as I am concerned, I did add something of substance.

    Their answer was: "It could be a, b, or c, but it's too tedious for me to tell you which"

    My answer clarified: "it's b"

    That way, users can go directly to my answer without wasting time on the first answer's riddle/ trial and error prompt.
  • 4
    @AlgoRythm Yes but I'm talking in general. You were victim of a dumb moderator, which is sad but happens time to time. The easiest way for them to solve the issue would be to write the possible reasons for deletion in such a way that it doesn't rely on the moderator's private opinion.
  • 1
    I was asking a question on stack code review "I think". The question was specifically about using a Functional approach to a certain problem. They renamed the question to make it look like I was asking about the what the code did. I wanted to attract Functional programmers, not people who would review how the code worked. It was more about style than functionality. Now looking back I wonder if the guy who changed the title didn't know what I meant by the word "functional". I lost interest in conversing with other devs on SO after that.
  • 7
    I recall you can modify the answers by other people, but I'm not sure how that works. Maybe you could have modified the answer to this form:

    Here is the one you need to fix:
    (the line you found that you needed to fix)

    You can also implement it this way:
    (the reimplementation they posted)
  • 4
    Yep, SO is quite toxic (if you don't know the written and unwritten rules).
    But the only one root cause for that is their gamification system.

    There are points and people with more points have more rights than people with less points. So like any other system where you have points it became a competition.
    People get mad if their questions or answers are downvoted. People also get mad if someone else writes a more accepted answer than they did. They aren't there to help. They are there to climb the ladder - either for the points or for the power that comes with them.
    And that is indeed a problem. And it is the same problem, that the Wikipedia suffers from (they just got there by another path).

    I still like looking on Wikipedia and SO first though...
  • 2
    I hat how fckng savage it is on stack overflow, why make it so hard to get answers? Or to even show your own best answer!?
  • 2
    Now if someone else has the same question they’re just going to see all the extra code & stay confused rather than learn the small line that fixed the problem and move on.
    This seem counterproductive if you ask me. . I wonder if they’re hiring for moderators!?
  • 1
    @EDragon Yes but you need a high score, which is basically only possible if you're a pompous dick.
  • 3
    What is a high score? Want to gauge my dickness.
  • 1
    @EDragon
    No they don't hire for moderators. They invented their points system mostly, so they never need to hire anyone to do the job of a moderator.

    You get enough points -> BAM, you can delete questions now (using such power also costs points though).
  • 2
    ngl, I'm already impressed you got an answer to begin with...
  • 1
    @Lor-inc well’p I’m out then
  • 1
    @Oktokolo that’s true you can only basically do anything if you have enough rep points. Seriously savage it’s the worst. Even asking a question can be bad wth
  • 1
    @EDragon
    Yes, but the only somewhat credible source of massive amounts of solutions to pretty specific problems is the Stack Overflow cluster.
    There is a reason for the fact, that SO became so big so fast. Their administrative system is flawed - but it really scales well and seems to be deadlock proof (at least for the bigger communities).
    It also seems to be extremely stable as it gets harder to get points as the community (and therefore the set of solved problems) grows.

    You could still get massive amounts of points pretty fast by inventing problems or answering them for high-profile tools.
    But the easy and intermediate questions for all the current languages and tools have already been asked and answered.
    So you would have to hunt for tools that aren't highprofile yet but will be in some days or weeks...

    I think, it really is a pretty stable and attack-resistant system.
    And there just isn't any serious competition in sight when it comes to self-government of huge knowledge bases.
  • 1
    I just got to add my 2 cents...

    When I first started using SO, oh my days I was a happy little developer.

    Forward to now...
    You have to list all the other SO posts you have read detailing why they are different to your question and hope some f-tard mod STILL doesn't close it as duplicate.
    Still get some nonces, who know very little, searching for your question and closing as duplicate cus there were more than 0 search results.
    Lot of good members have fled cus of all the point system/moderator bollox.
    Posts keep getting edited by point hungry mod-wanna-bes. IME, sometimes for the worse.
    As of late, they appear to have let some marketing types loose. Now SO keeps getting changes that are of no use or degrade the site.
    List goes on...

    RIP SO
  • 2
    I don’t use SO. The problems I have trouble with aren’t there and when I post them nobody knows the answers so I always go back and post the answer myself. SO never, and I mean NEVER helped me.
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