Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Are LLMs making StackOverflow irrelevant?

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

StackOverflow is a website that used to be the developer's best friend. Got a problem or an error code? Search Google, and the answer would come up on StackOverflow. If it didn't, then ask the question yourself, and experienced developers would answer. Answers were rated and discussed and the best usually rose to the top. But what happened? Activity peaked between 2014-17, with another peak in 2020, but have dropped off the charts. Was ChatGPT to blame? Well, despite what this article suggests, the answer is 'no'. It was bad management. It became harder and harder to ask a question, and it just wasn't user-friendly. It was acquired by private equity in 2021, which means users were now wary of being monetized. Also, some time around then Google de-priorized StackOverflow results and began pushing Reddit. Now this may have had something to do with AI. But in general, in the coming months, a lot of bad management is going to blame its failures on AI. Don't always believe them.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

Copyright 2025
Last Updated: Feb 16, 2025 1:58 p.m.

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