Let go of StackOverflow; communities must take ownership
16 days ago
- #Community Moderation
- #Tech Communities
- #StackOverflow
- The article critiques StackOverflow's moderation system, highlighting a misalignment of incentives between community growth and moderation by non-invested individuals.
- It narrates a fictional story about Joe Pointsman, who earns 'Good Boy Points' by not answering questions, symbolizing the counterproductive moderation practices on StackOverflow.
- The author advocates for leaving StackOverflow in favor of alternative, community-owned platforms like mailing lists, Discord channels, and Slack groups, where incentives align better with helping and growing the community.
- Examples of alternative channels include the TLA+ mailing list, Lean zulip chat, Idris discord, and others, emphasizing the importance of community ownership over gamified, faceless platforms.
- The article concludes by urging readers to delete their StackOverflow accounts to support more invested and welcoming communities, despite acknowledging that community ownership isn't a perfect solution.