I'm not sure I can say how awful that site is.

To focus on one thing, nearly all of the current posts appear to be snippets taken from their books, with prominently placed ads below. These are not questions: they're just advertisements. (I also wonder if the authors were asked about the use of their work in this way.) The posts that aren't by authors are by editors or other O'Reilly employees. The thing is sheer astroturfing, not a QA site.

It's sad to see a company that does something so well (their books are generally excellent) so desperate to capture every market. They feel a bit like Starbucks a few years ago.