Being under 1000 rep on stackoverflow is elo hell. All you get are downvotes for non-duplicate, sensible and well explained questions. I think most of SO community is pretty fucking toxic towards people trying to learn programming.

Can't really agree to that tbh.
I'm at 400 but got answers to my questions and nice feedback and even help in the comments of another persons question when I was interested in something mentioned.
I more over think its about how you ask and respond. Providing code snippets with only the relevant stuff and only the informations that are needed without a lot of bloat stuff always gets answers.
Too specific stuff can't be answered all of the time but even then you sometimes get recommendations where to ask for more help.

@Tokimimo Well not in my experience, I come across a newly posted question in the java tag (because that is where the noobs usually are) and I see someone with 20rep get downvoted straightaway, not even enough time has been spent reading the question to see what is required. The SO and SE community is so big now that they don't need to attract audience so they don't care about the toxicity.

@px06
Wow that's sad to hear. I myself post in the java section since it is my work environment.
True i voted some closes or downvoted but only when it is really really stupid ( no code and just a question like can you give me code example? ), even then though I comment how to improve questions.

Next time if you post an question let me know :) Maybe I can help

Okay, let the game begin!
Actually post the links to the questions.
Im sure we find the answer to why your questions aren't answered.
Until I see some proof I call BULLSHIT.

^This. Post the links to the questions, I'm sure there is a very valid reason why people get downvotes.
One thing has to be said though: If you are a beginner and don't have a clue what a piece of code does or just copy and paste without researching beforehand will almost certainly open the door to hell for you.

Seriously, guys... I understand most of you are trying to reflect your reputation on SO, but @px06 has a point. People get downvotes and smashed for just poor english skills even though the question is crystal clear, legit, and is only missing a comma.
Regarding the issue on newbies: u cant decide for other people if they have to research "more" for rookie mistakes they arent experienced enough to notice them. Everyone has a different learning approach. U cant interfere with that... SO on the other hand classifies them. Quite the opposite of what it was all about when it started

@amjo we have all been there, but if rookies wouldn't be bashed for not giving a shit (and the line between not giving a shit and genuinely not knowing can become blurry really quickly) then more people would feel like they could get away without even trying. It's harsh, but I think it's harsh for a reason.

@thecritic it krs a grey area indeed. Hard to spot, but I would never prefer to jump into bashing someone just because there's a chance that this person is careless.
Btw, I am totally with you; I guess people have a different approach

Also you need to fail big time in English to get down voted for that. Most of the time someone will even fix the spelling and rewrite it so it's grammar is correct. I stand my point until I get some proof / links. I just see too many SO rants atm, all stating the same without providing some examples.

I've asked 5 questions on SO and answered 5. Never a single downvote. No rudeness. Respect the community and they'll respect you. There are over 6 million users on SO too. You'll eventually run into someone who is rude for nothing. But it's not the norm.

@iguana
Amen