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The Fall of Stack Overflow (observablehq.com)

submitted 11 months ago by trashhalo@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

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Over the past one and a half years, Stack Overflow has lost around 50% of its traffic. This decline is similarly reflected in site usage, with approximately a 50% decrease in the number of questions and answers, as well as the number of votes these posts receive.

The charts below show the usage represented by a moving average of 49 days.

What happened?

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[-] CloverSi@lemmy.comfysnug.space 10 points 11 months ago

It really doesn't work as a replacement for google/docs/forums. It's another tool in your belt, though, once you get a good feel for its limitations and use cases; I think of it more like upgraded rubber duck debugging. Bad for getting specific information and fixes, but great for getting new perspectives and/or directions to research further.

[-] blueson@feddit.nu 1 points 11 months ago

I agree! It has been a great help in those cases.

I just don't believe that it can fullfill the actual need for sites like StackOverflow. It probably never will be able to either, unless we manage to make it learn new stuff without reliable sources like SO, while also allowing it to snap up these obscure answers to problems without burying it in tons of broken solutions.