Revisions to Fastest Gun in the West Problem

Rollback to Revision 12 - Edit approval overridden by post owner or moderator

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edited Nov 14, 2019 at 12:07

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I feel like there's a problem with Stack Overflow, as the number of people prowling it increases.

Each question's answers are sorted by descending score ~~and then by descending time of posting~~. This means that if a person sits down and answers a question in a long, thorough way, going through every nook and cranny, once they post their answer, it will already be one of about seven different ones, some of which have already been upvoted. This wouldn't be a problem if those answers were as thorough as the one this guy's posting, but they usually aren't. Some of them are downright wrong, some aren't even answers to the question asked because their poster didn't bother to read the question all the way through.

This causes a problem I like to call Stack Overflow's Fastest Gun in the West Problem. I've come to a point where I'd rather just send a short, simple, correct explanation, than to go and do some proper research, write a whole blog post about it or even make sure the code I post even compiles, just so it will be noticed, as opposed to the incorrect ones.

I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this and that it despairs many people from even trying to answer questions.

I've long ago learned to try to always raise a problem with a solution in hand, rather than just say "This is a problem, handle it," so my question, after this long tirade, is:

How do you think this can be changed? What would you change in Stack Overflow to make this problem go away without hurting the site?

I promise to vote on answers I like, even if it takes you a long while to post them. :)

I feel like there's a problem with Stack Overflow, as the number of people prowling it increases.

Each question's answers are sorted by descending score. This means that if a person sits down and answers a question in a long, thorough way, going through every nook and cranny, once they post their answer, it will already be one of about seven different ones, some of which have already been upvoted. This wouldn't be a problem if those answers were as thorough as the one this guy's posting, but they usually aren't. Some of them are downright wrong, some aren't even answers to the question asked because their poster didn't bother to read the question all the way through.

This causes a problem I like to call Stack Overflow's Fastest Gun in the West Problem. I've come to a point where I'd rather just send a short, simple, correct explanation, than to go and do some proper research, write a whole blog post about it or even make sure the code I post even compiles, just so it will be noticed, as opposed to the incorrect ones.

I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this and that it despairs many people from even trying to answer questions.

I've long ago learned to try to always raise a problem with a solution in hand, rather than just say "This is a problem, handle it," so my question, after this long tirade, is:

How do you think this can be changed? What would you change in Stack Overflow to make this problem go away without hurting the site?

I promise to vote on answers I like, even if it takes you a long while to post them. :)

I feel like there's a problem with Stack Overflow, as the number of people prowling it increases.

Each question's answers are sorted by descending score ~~and then by descending time of posting~~. This means that if a person sits down and answers a question in a long, thorough way, going through every nook and cranny, once they post their answer, it will already be one of about seven different ones, some of which have already been upvoted. This wouldn't be a problem if those answers were as thorough as the one this guy's posting, but they usually aren't. Some of them are downright wrong, some aren't even answers to the question asked because their poster didn't bother to read the question all the way through.

This causes a problem I like to call Stack Overflow's Fastest Gun in the West Problem. I've come to a point where I'd rather just send a short, simple, correct explanation, than to go and do some proper research, write a whole blog post about it or even make sure the code I post even compiles, just so it will be noticed, as opposed to the incorrect ones.

I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this and that it despairs many people from even trying to answer questions.

I've long ago learned to try to always raise a problem with a solution in hand, rather than just say "This is a problem, handle it," so my question, after this long tirade, is:

How do you think this can be changed? What would you change in Stack Overflow to make this problem go away without hurting the site?

I promise to vote on answers I like, even if it takes you a long while to post them. :)

removed deleted text

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edit approved Oct 17, 2019 at 23:26

user632840

I feel like there's a problem with Stack Overflow, as the number of people prowling it increases.

Each question's answers are sorted by descending score ~~and then by descending time of posting~~. This means that if a person sits down and answers a question in a long, thorough way, going through every nook and cranny, once they post their answer, it will already be one of about seven different ones, some of which have already been upvoted. This wouldn't be a problem if those answers were as thorough as the one this guy's posting, but they usually aren't. Some of them are downright wrong, some aren't even answers to the question asked because their poster didn't bother to read the question all the way through.

This causes a problem I like to call Stack Overflow's Fastest Gun in the West Problem. I've come to a point where I'd rather just send a short, simple, correct explanation, than to go and do some proper research, write a whole blog post about it or even make sure the code I post even compiles, just so it will be noticed, as opposed to the incorrect ones.

I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this and that it despairs many people from even trying to answer questions.

I've long ago learned to try to always raise a problem with a solution in hand, rather than just say "This is a problem, handle it," so my question, after this long tirade, is:

How do you think this can be changed? What would you change in Stack Overflow to make this problem go away without hurting the site?

I promise to vote on answers I like, even if it takes you a long while to post them. :)

I feel like there's a problem with Stack Overflow, as the number of people prowling it increases.

Each question's answers are sorted by descending score ~~and then by descending time of posting~~. This means that if a person sits down and answers a question in a long, thorough way, going through every nook and cranny, once they post their answer, it will already be one of about seven different ones, some of which have already been upvoted. This wouldn't be a problem if those answers were as thorough as the one this guy's posting, but they usually aren't. Some of them are downright wrong, some aren't even answers to the question asked because their poster didn't bother to read the question all the way through.

This causes a problem I like to call Stack Overflow's Fastest Gun in the West Problem. I've come to a point where I'd rather just send a short, simple, correct explanation, than to go and do some proper research, write a whole blog post about it or even make sure the code I post even compiles, just so it will be noticed, as opposed to the incorrect ones.

I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this and that it despairs many people from even trying to answer questions.

I've long ago learned to try to always raise a problem with a solution in hand, rather than just say "This is a problem, handle it," so my question, after this long tirade, is:

How do you think this can be changed? What would you change in Stack Overflow to make this problem go away without hurting the site?

I promise to vote on answers I like, even if it takes you a long while to post them. :)

I feel like there's a problem with Stack Overflow, as the number of people prowling it increases.

Each question's answers are sorted by descending score. This means that if a person sits down and answers a question in a long, thorough way, going through every nook and cranny, once they post their answer, it will already be one of about seven different ones, some of which have already been upvoted. This wouldn't be a problem if those answers were as thorough as the one this guy's posting, but they usually aren't. Some of them are downright wrong, some aren't even answers to the question asked because their poster didn't bother to read the question all the way through.

This causes a problem I like to call Stack Overflow's Fastest Gun in the West Problem. I've come to a point where I'd rather just send a short, simple, correct explanation, than to go and do some proper research, write a whole blog post about it or even make sure the code I post even compiles, just so it will be noticed, as opposed to the incorrect ones.

I'm sure I'm not the only one doing this and that it despairs many people from even trying to answer questions.

I've long ago learned to try to always raise a problem with a solution in hand, rather than just say "This is a problem, handle it," so my question, after this long tirade, is: