StackOverflow questions down 66% in 2023 when compared to 2020 I've been delving into some data, and it appears that GPT is killing StackOverflow really fast. Here are the numbers of questions for the past five years: 2019 - 1,744,299 2020 - 1,904,694 2021 - 1,445,042 2022 - 1,278,496 2023 - 633,163 (which is a 66% decrease from 2020) Does anyone think StackOverflow will be able to pivot? |
I don't know that you can correlate a single tool as being the reason SO is declining. There are also more widespread LSP tools out there over this timeframe. I feel like we may have also seen a plateau of new languages/frameworks in this timeframe. Usually those drive lots of new questions.
When I use Stackoverflow now I'm rarely writing a question, I'm usually relying on an answer that already exists.
The alcohol stack is a great example of this. Absolutely dead now because all of the questions have been asked.
Stackoverflow has decided they're a knowledgebase and not a forum, which I think is proving to be a bad decision for them.
A few examples:
1) I ask for the best way to accomplish something. It gets closed for being an opinion based question.
2) I ask how to do something. People ask for code. I post my bad half working solution. My question gets closed for being an opinion based question.
3) I ask how to do something. It get closed as a duplicate but the existing question is out of date and/or doesn't answer my question.
4) If my question is allowed on Stackoverflow, it usually doesn't get a response.
This stuff doesn't happen all the time, but it's often enough that I no longer enjoy using Stackoverflow and just ask on Reddit instead where I get a plethora of comments with answers and opinions.
StackOverflow is filled with old versions of solutions that are no longer relevant, or the right answer is some dumb comment and you have to read three comments down, it's pretty bad.
On contrario, many questions asked to gpt may be redundant... A converging approach would be great (saving and publishing answers from gpt in a SO like site) but I suppose there will be some confidential issue (Please gpt, refomulate this personal letter)...
There's nothing proving GPT caused the decrease?