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tytyty
4,974 PointsWhat languages are needed to make a community like Stack Overflow but more simplified and helpful?
I think the voting up system is fine. I'd eliminate the voting down BS in a big way and think of a better solution to improve question quality rather than have the system auto-ban. I think earning rep points system is fine but could be vastly improved. There needs to be a more modern iOS/Android centric community that focuses on actually helping budding programmers with less focus on senior programmers trying to earn rep points so they can show-off to their prospective employers. I'd like also incorporate a Twitter account that is like a live code snippet answer system.
How could I do this?
2 Answers
Ryan Duchene
Courses Plus Student 46,022 PointsFor your front-end, you'll obviously need HTML and CSS, maybe throw some Sass in there. You'll need some kind of back-end MVC framework like Rails (Ruby), Laravel (PHP), or Django (Python). And you'll probably need some client-side JavaScript action, whether that comes through a full-fledged framework like Angular or Ember, or just a few simple jQuery Ajax calls to the server.
For the most part, your tools won't change much from Stack to your own creation, just the ideas that you have for them.
As a side note, I kind of like the way Stack Overflow is set up right now. I do think they can be jerks sometimes, but frankly, I don't think I've come across a situation yet where I've run into a problem that Stack hasn't solved at one point or another. The answers are always very well explained and include examples and links to documentation. On top of that, even answers from years ago are still constantly updated to make sense regarding newer technology.
I think that the Stack people get really tired of answering questions that have already been asked, which is something that all beginners do. All the beginner has to do is Google his question, and chances are that he'll get answers, probably even a couple from Stack. That's the big reason why I've never asked a question on Stack; I just always Google it. If Stack has already answered it, it will almost always be the first result.
Anyway, just my two cents on the topic. Good luck with your project!
tytyty
4,974 PointsThere's a problem with that method. It assumes you can intuitively figure out the syntax needed for your specific code. This assumes you already have a fair amount of experience to get to that point. For the answers that do fit your specific code yes SO/Google is fine but if you're someone like myself who is a total noob (TreeHouse is my first exposure to programming ever) and you're building an app that has a lot of computational code for filter algorithms this won't work. Many of the senior programmers on SO don't even know the answers to my questions. The same 2 guys have been answering me. I've had to create multiple accounts simply because the systems bans for unanswered questions. Mods complain of too much code or not enough code. They're schizophrenic. There is no consistency and SO is not an environment that people actually want to visit. People are only going there to get quick answers. It's not a community to help per se. It's a rep based community that people use on resumes etc.
I'd love to develop a community that budding programmers actually want to visit and not avoid visiting.
Yes there would need to be a better way to manage repeated questions but down-voting or banning is not the answer. Why not just ignore answering the question? Seems simple enough. You might say, "Well then SO will become flooded with questions but actually it's already flooded with people like me creating multiple accounts.
The mods/senior programmers assume that new SO users have even basic exposure to programming when it's not the case.
If you Google "alternatives to Stack Overflow" you will see that there is a big problem and people want alternatives in a big way.
Ryan Duchene
Courses Plus Student 46,022 PointsMaybe I miscommunicated my point. I don't disagree with your argument. We do need a community to help budding programmers. But Stack was never intended to be that community, even from the beginning. My opinion is that it's a place for professionals to answer each others' questions, not for beginners to ask questions on how to get into the language.
I mean no offense to any beginners out there when I say this. I was a beginner once too, and still am in many ways. :)