Dear new developer,
Stackoverflow (SO) is great for three different kinds of developers (and someone can be all three over time):
- those who are looking for answers, usually via Google (searchers)
- those who are looking to showcase knowledge, usually by answering questions (answerers), and
- those who have a specific question to ask (askers)
Every developer can be a searcher (all you need is Google). But you can look for answers poorly or well. Do it well by reading all the answers, understanding the question that shows up in the search results, and voting up both questions and answers. The voting in particular is a low effort way to add value to the entire developer ecosystem (because you are providing value to other searches). I know it is easier to take the first answer and move on with whatever task you are trying to get done, but try to take a bit more time and help others.
But you should strive to be an answerer or an asker. See if you can answer questions or add comments to clarify them or point to other answers. If you have a question that isn’t answered on SO, take the time to build out a solid question. If you end up finding the answer to your question, self answer it to help other folks out.
It is true that SO is not the most welcoming community, but it’s the preeminent question and answer site and so worth having a presence on. Don’t forget, the smallest amount of help you provide to SO may resound for years. I only have ~3k reputation but have reached almost 950k people. And beyond helping others, it’s a great way to demonstrate competence without venturing too far out of your normal workflow.
Sincerely,
Dan Moore
Originally published at: https://letterstoanewdeveloper.com/2019/01/07/use-stackoverflow-and-use-it-well/
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