For years I could summarize my usage of Stack Overflow as "open a browser tab, search the web for my problem, click on the Stack Overflow result, follow the answer's advice, close the browser tab."
I was a Stack Overflow leech. I never gave any feedback to the useful answers I came across and I certainly never provided any questions or answers of my own.
Eventually it occurred to me that Stack Overflow's success is built on the courtesy of its users. I used the site for years without giving anything back because nothing requires you to do so. Every question, every answer, every helpful comment -- they only exist because someone had the courtesy to write them. Sure, Stack Overflow offers some incentive to help, but the way you earn badges and rep is also totally optional and usually up to other users. For example, if you write a question or an answer, no one is obligated to vote for or against your post.
I had been using this site for years without contributing in the slightest. There were probably dozens of answers I had found helpful but never even upvoted.
It was time for me to start giving back.
One day, while reading through the list of badges, I saw that I could earn a silver badge by visiting the site for 30 consecutive days. I decided this would be the basis of my goal. I would use the site for 30 straight days and try to reach 1,000 rep. But I wouldn't ask any questions, I would only answer them.
As you can see from the chart below, I just barely reached my goal.
I discovered there's an association bonus of 100 rep that you get when you hit 200, but I also had over a week's worth of days where I didn't score any rep at all. It was basically a slow, methodical process of reading and answering enough questions to average the 30 or so rep I would need each day to meet my goal.
Stack Overflow seems like a fairly straight forward Q&A service but spending thirty days immersed in answering questions helped me learn some of the more subtle aspects of the site and its community. Here are some highlights about what I learned:
It did not take me long to discover that questions are asked VERY frequently. It was easy for me to spend a few minutes each day simply refreshing the newest questions page and knocking out a few quick answers. It also did not take me long to discover that there is a lot of friendly (and sometimes not-so-friendly) competition out there!
There were a few lessons I learned by playing the cherry-picking game.
Make sure you understand the whole question.
Read the whole question and make sure you understand what is being asked for. If you don't understand then comment and politely ask for clarification.
It is also very important to read the labels. There was at least one situation where I answered a question incorrectly because I made an assumption about the environment that the user was in and reading the labels would have prevented my bad assumption.
Don't let the speed of your answer sacrifice the answer's quality.
Silly spelling and grammar mistakes won't help anyone and are easily avoided by slowing down and/or reviewing your answer before posting it. Well-written, complete answers get upvotes. Short, sloppy answers do not.
Don't write a quick, incomplete answer just to immediately edit it and fill in the missing details. Too often did I see people do this only to have other viewers, including the OP, ask for clarifications that don't end up making any sense after the answer's details were filled in. This behavior breaks the continuity of the Q&A process.
Read other answers before you post your own.
If it's effectively the same answer that you would write then concede your answer and upvote the other answer. If they missed a detail that you were going to provide then add your additional details in that answer's comments.
There is a certain category of users on Stack Overflow known as Help Vampires. These users "drain the willingness to help from others."
I answered questions for several users who might be considered help vampires and only once did it really become an issue. The user accepted my answer but then continued to spam my answer with comments that asked new, unrelated questions.
My recommendation is to explain to the user what they are doing wrong and what they should be doing to correct it. In my particular case I suggested that the user search SO for the new questions that they have and if no answers were found then they should post new questions instead of asking questions in comments.
The link also provides good responses to most help vampire scenarios. All I have to add is that in cases where the generally accepted answer is to "vote down" or "flag for moderation", consider first commenting on the question and explaining how the asker could correct the issue on their own.
Give help vampires the opportunity to correct their own mistakes. You might help them learn something new about the site. You might even save a moderator some time too!
Pedantic werewolves, a term that I totally just made up, are the flip side of the help vampire coin. They are the once well-intentioned users who have been forever transformed by the help vampires into something sinister.
As I started becoming more aware of the help vampire problem I realized that some users simply called out help vampires in ways that were mean or unhelpful. Comments made by pedantic werewolves include "This is clearly just a homework problem," "Did you even try Googling first?", and "Duplicate."
My suggestion to pedantic werewolves is to try being constructive and helpful at all times. Try following the most popular answer for the help vampire problem. Consider taking my advice on the help vampire problem too!
If you come across a werewolf just ignore them and do what they should have done in response to the help vampire. Set a good example and don't start a flame war in the comments.
When commenting, keep in mind that the original poster may not be a natural at the language in which their question was asked. They might not be as tech-savvy or hip to the same lingo either. Sometimes the question can be clear but the delivery is what needs improvement.
I tried really hard over my thirty days to provide good, detailed answers to questions. At some point though, an interesting thing happened: one of my accepted answers that had zero upvotes ended up getting downvoted.
This downvote haunted me for days. The user who downvoted my answer did not provide any explanation even after I asked for one. My answer was accepted, so clearly it was good enough for the user who asked the question, but I will never know why I took the -2 hit to my rep because of the downvote.
Commenting when you downvote is not required by Stack Overflow and after much lamenting I've concluded that I think this is how the site should work. Commenting after a downvote is just another area of the site where courtesy reigns.
If you are feeling courteous when you downvote, though, you should respond in one of two ways:
- If a comment already exists that explains why you are downvoting, upvote that comment to draw further attention to it.
- If no such comment exists, provide one that constructively explains how the question or answer could be improved.
If you frequent Stack Overflow and don't have an account then create one! If you have an account, login and stay logged in.
When you stumble upon a useful answer, upvote it! This is is the Stack Overflow equivalent of a thumbs-up and is the easiest way to contribute to the SO community.
If the question was well-phrased, upvote it too. If not, add a quick comment explaining what the asker could have done better.
Do these enough and one day you might even find yourself providing answers of your own!