What makes StackOverflow so useful are tags. Tags are the single most important feature. Here is a snippet of what you see when you search tags for Delphi:
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| StackOverflow Tag Search - Delphi |
By following this link you get a list of which users have answered the most questions and which users have asked the most questions relating to this tag. By drilling down onto the users profile, you can see all the answers and questions this user has participated in.
You can very quickly build a list of your favorite StackOverflow Delphi users. Reading answers by these users will most definitely increase your knowledge about Delphi.
Delphi Tags Top Users
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/delphi/topusers
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/delphi-xe5/topusers
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/delphi-xe4/topusers
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/delphi-xe3/topusers
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/delphi-xe2/topusers
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/delphi-xe/topusers
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/delphi-2010/topusers
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/delphi-7/topusers
FireMonkey Tags Top Users
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/firemonkey/topusers
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/firemonkey-fm3/topusers
http://stackoverflow.com/tags/firemonkey-fm2/topusers
Semper Fi,
Gunny Mike
end.
The experts on stackoverflow are Nazi's and do not give new or naive users a break, always down voting them and making sarcastic remarks. Its a horrible site! They stick together and never down vote each other. They are not there to help, they lurk and wait to prey upon the new users.I left Experts exchange because stackoverflow was free. But it didn't take me long to go back to experts-exchange. Ken White is the HITLER of SO!
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that sometimes they are taking it a bit too serious you very often see new users don't invest any time into researching something on their own and not putting any effort into asking a question. And also sometimes it seems some people are there to farm points and climb the ladder. Not every SO user with a high score is a Jon Skeet.
ReplyDeleteAnyway you could at least have the balls to post with your real name if you calling them names.
One big problem that new users (pepole with litle programming expirience) have is that they simply don't know how to ask right question. So many times their questions might seem quite wierd.
DeleteAlso quite often new users don't exactly know what they want which makes finding solution on their own even harder.
And the worst thing is if you have poor knowledge on programming terminoligy.
I myself had quite a bit of problems due to that since I don't have any education in computer science whatsoever.
Becouse of that I myself am much more tolerable to newice programmers becouse I still remember my hard starts in programming.
And I belive that others should also become much more tolerable to newice Delphi/Objective Pascal programmers.
If we all don't become more tolerable to newice Delphi/Objective Pascal programmers we will quickly drove them away from using Delphi/Objective Pascal into using other programming languages.
I completely agree that SO is not a newbie friendly place. But it's not trying to be so it's fine. Fortunately at least for german speaking Delphi developers we have some excellent forums which are a better place for novices but I don't know about other languages.
DeleteThe Nazis, under Hitler, committed genocide. Delphi experts on SO are not comparable. If you prefer EE, that's fine. Each to their own.
ReplyDeleteI hardly vote to close anything, but I agree with David. Comparing the actions of people on SO with Hitler or even the Nazis is not just a little hyperbole, it is ridiculous.
DeleteTo the others: if I want to know more about a forum like SO, I first look at some other questions and answers and see how these are done before I ask something. I also try to solve my problem on my own and only ask if I have a specific question.
Ken White can give a bit tongue lashing at times, but the secret to sites like Wikipedia and SO is to try and ignore such individuals and to persevere.
ReplyDeleteI've had plenty of heated arguments with Ken on SO, mostly down to my excessively pedantic nature. I will absolutely defend him here. His comments on SO should not be ignored. He gives sound advice to people that ask poor questions. They should heed that advice. He doesn't sugar coat the advice. But so what? Most people, if they get some frank criticism when asking poor questions, take a bit more care the next time they ask. A job well done.
DeleteI completely agree with you David.
Delete@David: fully agreed. One of my first answers on a newsgroup was also (IMO) rudely commented on, for being pretty poor and for severe overquoting. I was upset at first, but then, when talking to the guy, learned his was sound advice and was grateful to him for teaching me.
DeleteWell, I guess what Hitler and the Nazis did is really uncomparable with most (99,999999999%) of things that happen today that we should just stop *every* comparision that coinvolves them.
ReplyDeleteOr do you seriously think that killing millions of people is comparable with insulting, mobbing, voting down??
The SO/Nazi analogy is a curious one … You don’t need to commit genocide to be a Nazi. When a small group of people impose their opinions on the majority or a minority (Jews, Gypsies, …) and interpret rules while exempting themselves from the same standards, then a comparison with Nazis and other past and present despotic regimes would be valid. It is not uncommon for people to engage in discussions they deem worthwhile, only to have a SO Editor arrive on the scene and declare the conversation thread as worthless and close it down. This is not far from Nazis designating art they did not understand or appreciate as degenerate, which led to destruction of masterpieces. Whole discussion threads are sometimes deleted. Isn’t that reminiscent of Nazi book burnings? For people who truly believe in freedom of speech and expression, SO can be a hard pill to swallow. If SO wanted to do it right, it would have a free site and a moderated one that would only incorporate their “approved” discussions. So, SO = Nazi? Not quite, but close enough for today’s World! The real question, however, is: Does that make David H a collaborator? ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the explanations of what a nazi is. I've been wondering for years.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, fully agree with the first poster. Each one of you is a nazi. I know you're going to deny it, but it's true.
I feel like ganging up on a newbee user on SO. Let's do a mass downvote like we always do. Who's with me? :)
@NMAD SO threatens no freedoms. You opt to post to SO of your own volition. If you want to write something that will not be deleted by SO mods, host your own blog. Comparing SO to Nazism is deeply offensive. You don't like SO? Feel free to leave.
ReplyDeleteSO is a great resource. Before systems like SO, you had to go to the library or the book store to find the solutions you needed. SO makes it very convenient to get answers. We are fortunate that people like David Heffernan, Ken White and so many others give their time and energy to this community.
ReplyDeleteI've personally learnt a lot from some of the people that post on this page. I really appreciate the that they're willing to share their knowlegde and give experienced advice for free.
ReplyDeleteWould've been even cooler if they didn't do mass genocide in their spare time though. I was not aware of that before somebody informed us on this page. I find it a bit lame that they're trying to deny it now.
Yeah, whodathunk that.
DeleteWith all due respect David, and I do like your posts, it all depends on the definition of "freedom" and "close enough." I pointed out why some may perceive SO as such. Do I think SO are Nazi's? Definitely no. Are there historic analogies to allow a comparison? Yes unfortunately. Has SO violated at least people's freedom of speech and expression? I would say yes also. Forums that are larger and more popular (SO, Wikipedia, etc.) carry a bigger responsibility to minimize censorship than others. It is like getting rid of net-neutrality and saying if you don't like it, leave the internet. Democracy and freedom of speech should not be taken for granted and I doubt that humanity has seen its last genocide yet. My last sentence above was just a banter and was not meant to be offensive in any way! Sincere apologies if I offended you in any way! Not all collaboration is bad (Oskar Schindler ;-). However, deleting posts such as a broad discussion about Delphi IDE features, ... is at least arrogant if not offensive. Best, Navid Madani
ReplyDeleteThere is no "freedom" on private forums. They decide which kind of questions or remarks or answers are allowed and which are not. And they have every right to make such decisions or to allow others to make such decisions on their behalf. It is their site, not yours. You are free to say what you like on your own site, but not necessarily on the site of others. They are free to kick you off, if they wish.
DeleteComparing the "policing" done on SO with Nazis does not only lack a sense of decorum, it severely lacks a sense of scale.
The actions of people on SO are in no way comparable to the actions of the Nazis in WW2. No one is killed or imprisoned on SO. People write on SO out of their own volition, unlike many of the victims of the Nazis. Calling people who downvote or vote to close a question Nazis is not only offensive to those people, it is also highly offensive to those who actually suffered badly from the actions of real Nazis, like both my parents.
We're now at a disappointingly low average of 3.57 godwins per reply on this page.
ReplyDeleteI'm off to down-vote newbies on SO.
@NMAD So is not a forum for discussion. That's the point that I think you are missing. It is trying to be a resource for programmers and trying to cut down on the superfluous. You certainly do have freedom of speech on the internet. But not on SO. Moderators will censor what you write there. Do you believe that every website carries on obligation to allow anybody to post whatever they like on that website? I don't. If it's my website, I believe I have a right to stop others posting on it. If it's your site, you can post what you like, and if you won't let me post there, that is your prerogative. That is freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteSO is hard place for someone starting in new technologies. I have found usefull help from there, but I had to adapt quickly to Nazi attacks.
ReplyDeleteI am now thiking 10 times before posting a question!
Of course there are abuse from the newbies, just asking whitout thinking, before not even doing the homework.
Other common mistake are the closed to me non constructive questions. So funny. I have found a lot of USEFUL information specially on those non constructive.
I wonder if there is a way to convert each upvote on these non constructive questions in downvote for those that closed them. I think it would make them think more before doing that...
But for other side these difficulties made me think more, do my homework first and search for answers. That made me grow in learning and when I have to ask it is direct to the point.