Derek Elkins left SE's user avatar
Derek Elkins left SE's user avatar
Derek Elkins left SE's user avatar
Derek Elkins left SE
  • Member for 7 years, 2 months
  • Last seen more than 3 years ago
Stats
24,331
reputation
354k
reached
638
answers
0
questions
Loading…
About

I've decided to permanently stop contributing to all Stack Exchange sites as of 30 September 2019. I give more details here. The high-level reason is over the course of the last two years it has become completely apparent that Stack Exchange no longer sees its community as a partner. That means Stack Exchange is simply an exploiter of that community, and, worse, one that it treats with contempt.

It is commonly pointed out that contributions help people other than Stack Exchange too. I agree, and contributions in other venues and on other platforms will help people too. At this point, I don't think anyone should be contributing to Stack Exchange. If people arrive here with good questions and fail to get answers, they will simply move on to alternative platforms which is exactly what I'd want them to do.

It is possible for Stack Exchange to regain most of the trust lost, but that process is one of years from when they start the process, if they ever do. By that point, however, I will have quite thoroughly moved on.


"The task of the academic is not to scale great intellectual mountains, but to flatten them." - Conor McBride

I'm not an academic, but it is good advice regardless, and it does capture a perennial interest of mine of finding good languages and perspectives for making complicated things more manageable.

1
gold badge
26
silver badges
51
bronze badges
841
Score
239
Posts
37
Posts %
714
Score
273
Posts
43
Posts %
210
Score
52
Posts
8
Posts %
168
Score
64
Posts
10
Posts %
128
Score
26
Posts
4
Posts %
125
Score
49
Posts
8
Posts %
Top posts
View all questions and answers