> nearly 60% would be turned off if they were blocked from accessing Stack Overflow
That number sounds low. Asking the other 40%, why would that NOT turn you off?
That number sounds low. Asking the other 40%, why would that NOT turn you off?
I bet the real reason for the response level here is the difference between "Do you require StackOverflow to do your job?" and "Are you OK with your internet access being censored?". I would guess that most are replying to the latter interpretation, even though StackOverflow was probably attempting to gauge their own importance.
Also, for some niche languages or recent libraries, it can be hard to find answers for very specific issues.
Even when using libraries I've written I frequently still find myself in situation where:
A) I have questions about the programming languages or frameworks I'm using. In my case Javascript, Typescript, Svelte, React, HTML, CSS, Express, Tailwind, Bash. Even having used Javascript, HTML, and CSS for 8+ years, the core language specs and capabilities keep changing as well as the execution environments (the browser or Node)
B) I run into limitations with the libraries I've written that require improvements, and google (A) as well as miscellaneous patterns while seeking to address those limitations in clean, maintainable, and intuitive ways.
But you can read the language spec/notes when they release a new version, you don't go to SO for that you just read the version update when it comes and learn the new things. And if you miss something you can read the language manual/spec later, it is usually more accurate and complete than SO.
> B) I run into limitations with the libraries I've written that require improvements, and google (A) as well as miscellaneous patterns while seeking to address those limitations in clean, maintainable, and intuitive ways.
This shouldn't happen that much after 5 years, at least not improvements that you can find at SO. SO is good to find "hello world" examples for frameworks and function api's, but it isn't much help once you know how to set things up.
But there's a distinction between losing access to SO, which shouldn't be a hardship, and losing access to online material in general. The latter would be unreasonable.
I know you're not the person I asked, but if you also find that you don't need to google things regularly while working I'd love to know the actual tech stack.
I've been using HTML, CSS, and Javascript for more than 5 years for example, and I still google things at minimum once a day, and SO usually has a prominent answer.