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Today, Jeff Atwood and Joel announced a new company/service called stackoverflow.com. Both of their blogs discuss it at length.

Here's an excerpt from Joel:

"When [programmers] can't figure something out, they type a question into Google. And sometimes, the first result looks like it's going to have the answer to their exact question, and they are excited, until they click on the link, and discover that it's a pay site, and the answer is cloaked or hidden or behind a pay-wall, and you have to buy a membership.And you won't even get an expert answer."

But what programmers is he talking about? Is this Python where numerous experts are happy to help you any time at #python? Or Ruby where I can get expert feedback on a dozen different sites within a few hours? Or Rails, where you can watch 100+ free screencasts from an expert on how to implement a myriad range of functionalities?


I can't help but think it's no coincidence that two developers (btw, incredible developers who I respect greatly) from the Microsoft/.NET community are the ones who are behind this.

Yes, it is hard to get answers and there are still some sites that charge money (experts exchange) but these are almost inevitably for Microsoft technologies.

I have been on both sides and I think it's a ton easier to solve problems on the open source side. I really do hope this venture works but I don't know why it's really needed outside of the .NET community.

Thoughts?

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Its definitely easier to find answers for Java or Python problems, but I don't have too much difficulty finding good C# examples. There is actually a fair amount of quality open source C# out there these days. I learned a lot by going through the SharpDevelop code base. SharpDevelop is an open source IDE for .NET.

The MSDN site has a ton of free content including tutorials, FAQs, examples, etc. I'm not sure how much need there is for StackFlow in general, including the .NET world.
I agree that there are some open source code and information available for .NET. For instance, I have always liked Code Project.

But so much of the .NET community is financed by Microsoft and when and where Microsoft does not finance, gaps become problematic and can take a while to be rectified.

While I think open source code is very valuable, often you have questions like how do I do this or that which are not very easily answered by scanning someone else's code. They are ideally handled by stating your specific scenario and requesting targeted response.

I am really into Ruby Forum right now. Here's a concrete example: what's the best way to handle nils in Ruby? I asked the question and a half dozen people offered advice.

The Ruby section has 130k posts with a new post every few minutes. The Rails section has 150k posts with new posts even quicker. And you get big names commenting on these forums - the lead developers for each project routinely provide feedback.

I am not aware of any .NET equivalent with similar abilities. Hopefully, it's there and I just missed it but from I have heard similar comparison from other guys who have done both C# and Ruby.

Thanks for the feedback.

Best,

John
The Ruby section has 130k posts with a new post every few minutes. The Rails section has 150k posts with new posts even quicker. And you get big names commenting on these forums - the lead developers for each project routinely provide feedback.

There is no question the size, enthusiasm and generosity of the ruby community is a huge part of its value. I am not aware of any .NET forums that have that level of activity.

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