Today, Stack overflow has almost as few questions asked per month, as when it launched back in 2009. A recap of its slow, then rapid, downfall.

Four months ago, we asked Are LLMs making Stack Overflow irrelevant? Data at the time suggested that the answer is likely “yes:”

  • EndmakerEnglish
    33•1 month ago

    Even without LLMs, it’s possible StackOverflow would have eventually faded into irrelevance – perhaps driven by moderation policy changes or something else that started in 2014

    💯

    • lurch (he/him)English
      3•1 month ago

      actually, i was surprised it took off at all, because there are plenty less formal alternatives, but the name is catchy with devs. maybe that’s all it took.

      • Eager EagleEnglish
        18•1 month ago

        It took off because searching a specific issue is likely to give you a good and comprehensive answer back with minimal effort, so it kept being ranked well in search engines.

        Other less “pedantic” forums are great for discussion and they encourage new questions, but they don’t perform nearly as well for people searching for the answers or the context they’re looking for.