It’s not me, it’s definitely you
I’m a software engineer with 8 years experience under my belt. I never graduated from university. Everything I know about programming I’ve googled at one point or another.
It’s only a thirst for tinkering that allowed me to cobble together a couple of iPhone apps that formed a portfolio I took to the interview that secured me a job in the industry.
Making those apps was a painstaking process. I was flat broke and working 14 hour shifts in a bar. I’d get home in the early hours of the morning and sit at the computer until sunrise. Then I’d snatch a few hours in bed before repeating the process.
At that time, Stack Overflow was a godsend. It’s a Q&A site with laser focus on technical answers to technical questions. Rambling opinions and subjectivity is banned, so it’s easy to get to the heart of an issue. “How do I push and pop a view controller in one action?” stands out as one of the first things I asked and it’s representative of the kind of questions for which the site is perfect. It’s non-trivial, i.e. it’s not something that’s covered in the standard reading. There’s also a canonical, self-contained answer, i.e. there’s a correct way to do it that doesn’t invite opinion. It’s been viewed 24,000 times, so it seems I’m not the only person who wanted an answer to this question.
Stack Overflow was so powerful that a whole network of sites, called Stack Exchange, sprung up based on the same concept.
I’m currently building a little Internet of Things device. It needs to be easily configured so I want to change network settings at the push of a button. I’ve researched the network settings, I’ve built the hardware and I’ve written the software. The only thing I’m struggling with is switching between configuration files without rebooting the device.
I’ve spent probably 10 hours reading, learning and understanding Linux networking but I can’t find the missing piece. I need to ask someone to point me in the right direction. ServerFault, another Stack Exhange site, is for “professional systems and network administrators”. Perfect, a collection of people who have the skill-set to help with my obscure corner case!
However, within 3 minutes of me posting a question, it’s blocked by a moderator. It’s labelled as “off-topic” because it’s not professional and not about server-grade hardware. I left a comment clarifying that my question is about networking so I’ve come to bend the ear of a group of people who will know the answer. I was told that it’s not fitting for the site and I should try the Raspberry Pi site with its tiny audience or the Unix & Linux site which is “for users [not administrators] of Linux”.
I’m not one to argue with the internet so, despondent, I’ve deleted the question and reposted on Unix & Linux. Unfortunately, I haven’t had an answer yet.
The most frustrating part is that there are people on ServerFault that know the answer. I feel like a door has been slammed in my face by a community that was once very open and vibrant.
“You’re not worthy of asking here, mere mortal”
It’s a very subtle distinction between a question that wouldn’t be asked by a professional systems administrator and a question that a professional sysadmin couldn’t answer. The moderators are making decisions in favour of the site bylaws rather than in favour of the users.
I’m angry. I don’t care if I find the answer to my question. I care that Stack Exchange has changed from a place that taught me programming to an elitist club with a high barrier to entry.
Shame on you Stack Exchange, let’s just hope tomorrow’s curious bartenders find a community more welcoming to help land their first job!
