DEV Community: Abdul Basith

Why Devs Are Quietly Leaving Stack Overflow in 2025

Abdul Basith — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 13:19:13 +0000

Why Devs Are Quietly Leaving Stack Overflow in 2025

“I haven’t opened Stack Overflow in months.”

You hear it more often now, in Discord chats, on Twitter/X, even in pull request banter.

What happened to the developer internet’s most sacred temple?

🧵 TL;DR

Stack Overflow was once the holy grail for every developer’s “why-is-this-not-working” moment.

In 2025, it’s no longer the go-to.

From AI tools to developer-first Discords, here’s why many of us have quietly walked away and whether SO can bounce back.

📉 Stack Overflow Isn’t Dying. It’s Just Being Ignored

Daily active users are down. New questions are way down.

And if you look closely, even long-time contributors are slowly ghosting the platform.

📊 Traffic Trend:

Stack Overflow’s own 2024 insights admitted:

“More people are reading than contributing.”

Which is a polite way of saying:

Devs are done engaging.

💬 What Changed for Developers?

🚀 AI Assistants

Why wait for someone to answer when ChatGPT or Copilot can generate the answer instantly?

🧊 Community Tone

Ask a question in 2025 and you risk:

Getting downvoted for not “Googling harder”
Being told your 2025 error has a 2013 solution
Having your question closed before it’s answered

“Stack Overflow’s community is the reason I stopped asking questions.”

👥 New Alternatives

Devs are flocking to:

Discord servers like Devcord, Frontend Café
Reddit’s r/learnprogramming & r/webdev
TikToks with real, working code examples

🧑‍💻 The Stack Overflow Experience Problem

Here’s what Stack Overflow still struggles with:

Answers locked in ancient formatting
Aggressive moderators
No room for nuance, just “your question has been asked before”

📷 Example:

Sometimes, you don’t want a historic answer
you want context for now.

🌐 Where Are Developers Hanging Out Instead?

🛠️ Tools:

ChatGPT for fast debugging and code generation
Phind for AI-assisted code search
GitHub Discussions for actual project-related support

💬 Communities:

Dev Discords: Real-time help, zero judgment
YouTube Shorts & TikTok tutorials
Reddit threads with actual context and empathy

“I get more help on Discord in 5 minutes than I ever did from SO in 5 years.”

— a frontend dev on r/webdev

🔮 Can Stack Overflow Win Us Back?

They’ve tried:

Partnering with OpenAI
Revamping their interface
Creating AI-based search features

But here's the problem:

It’s not just about tools.

It’s about culture.

Stack Overflow needs to become less hostile, more empathetic, and actually... fun?

We didn’t rage-quit Stack Overflow.

We just found better, faster, friendlier places to learn and grow.

But maybe it’s not too late for SO

if it listens, adapts, and invites us back in.

📣 Let’s Talk

Have you stopped using Stack Overflow too?

Tell your story in the comments.

I’m compiling the best replies into a timeline:

“The Great Stack Exodus of 2025.”

🔗 Bonus Resources

Cursor AI Was Everyone’s Favourite AI IDE. Until Devs Turned on It

Abdul Basith — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 15:00:10 +0000

Cursor AI took over dev Twitter and YouTube with its sleek AI-powered IDE.

But in 2025, the backlash is real, from performance issues and price complaints to refusal-to-code errors.

Is Cursor just having growing pains, or are devs hitting the ceiling of what AI tools can really do?

🚀 Cursor AI: The Hype That Made Sense (At First)

Cursor launched as the “AI IDE” merging the best of GitHub Copilot and VS Code.

It promised:

Inline AI chat for every line of code
Bug-fixing via prompt
Natural language refactoring
Seamless context switching across files

For a while, it delivered. But recently, cracks have started to show.

🧱 The Cracks in the Code: What Went Wrong

🧨 1. The Refusal Incident

In March 2025, Cursor's AI shocked devs by outright refusing to generate code — telling one user to “learn programming instead.”

“The assistant refused to help and claimed the user should just learn to program instead.”

🔗 Ars Technica

It raised serious concerns about trust and reliability.

🐢 2. Sluggish Performance with Larger Codebases

Users on Cursor's Forum have reported:

UI lag on files over 500 lines
Increased crashes with heavy AI usage
Memory leaks during long editing sessions

For a speed-focused IDE, this is a red flag.

💸 3. The $20/month Pricing Controversy

Devs have begun questioning Cursor’s value:

“Cursor has a pricing problem and it’s not just the cost, it’s the return.”

🔗 @watzon on Medium

VS Code + Copilot is cheaper, more stable, and doesn’t lock you into a single IDE.

🐧 4. Linux Friction

Cursor ships as an AppImage. Sounds simple, but many Linux users are frustrated by:

Poor integration
Compatibility quirks
Lack of packages or flatpak options

For a tool marketed to devs, this hits hard in the open-source crowd.

🐞 5. AI Struggles with Bug Fixing

@chrisdunlop writes:

“It’s actually extremely hard for Cursor AI to fix bugs... even with prompts, the model lacks the context and training to handle complex issues.”

🔗 Full Article

In other words: Copilot + Context ≠ Cognitive Debugging.

🧠 The Bigger Picture: Are We Expecting Too Much?

Cursor is innovating fast. Its Composer Agent and .cursor/rules feature are genuinely smart — automating boilerplate and rule-based AI workflows.

But backlash shows a trend:

Devs aren’t mad because AI tools are bad.

Devs are mad because they were over-promised.

🔍 Final Thoughts

Cursor still has a shot at being the future of AI-native coding. But first, it needs to:

🔧 Fix performance
🛠️ Improve trust and fallback logic
💰 Reconsider pricing tiers
🐧 Win back Linux devs
🤖 Set realistic expectations about what AI can do (and what it can’t)

💬 Join the Discussion

Are you still using Cursor, or have you switched?
What’s been your best/worst experience with AI coding tools?
What feature would actually win you over?

Let’s talk in the comments. 👇

📚 Sources

Silent Coder That's Changing Everything

Abdul Basith — Fri, 21 Mar 2025 09:58:28 +0000

GitHub Copilot is no longer just an AI assistant—it’s a co-developer. With productivity gains of up to 55%, enhanced developer happiness, and real-world use cases from startups to enterprises, it’s clear: AI-assisted development isn’t the future—it’s now. But are you using it right? Here’s everything you need to know.

Why GitHub Copilot Is Dominating Developer Discussions

Whether you're writing backend logic or wrestling with CSS quirks, Copilot has quietly become the most impactful tool in the dev toolkit.

Stats That Prove It’s Not Hype:
55% faster task completion with Copilot vs without it - GitHub Research
88% of developers feel more productive
74% say it helps them stay in flow state
95% enjoy coding more with Copilot - Accenture x GitHub Study

What Can Copilot Actually Do? (with Examples)

Predictive Code Suggestions
Start writing a function and Copilot autocompletes it based on context.

// JavaScript Example:
function getUserProfile(id) {
  // Copilot fills in the API call logic
}

Boilerplate Elimination
Write docstrings, unit tests, and API calls 10x faster—Copilot handles the repetitive bits.

Language Switch Assistance
Jumping from Python to Go? Copilot adapts its suggestions instantly to the new syntax.

GitHub: Copilot Examples

What Developers Should Be Concerned About

AI Doesn’t Mean Auto-Pilot
Copilot can introduce insecure code patterns.
Over-reliance can reduce problem-solving skills in juniors.
Always code review Copilot suggestions—treat them like StackOverflow snippets.
Study: Copilot and Code Security

Is Copilot Replacing Developers?
Not even close. It’s amplifying them.

As Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) said:

“Students should learn AI tools like previous generations learned Excel or code.”

Developers building internal tools—whether it's for CRM syncing, PPC campaign management tracking, or even ad spend automation—are now speeding things up with Copilot-assisted scripts.

7 Practical Productivity Hacks Every Developer Should Know

Abdul Basith — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 11:09:59 +0000

As developers, our work can often feel endless, juggling multiple tasks, looming deadlines, and constant learning curves. Recently, it has become more important than ever to stay productive and efficient. Let me share seven easy-to-adopt productivity hacks that'll help you work smarter, not harder.

1. The Two-Minute Rule

Ever spent hours procrastinating simple tasks? The two-minute rule fixes this: If something takes less than two minutes, do it now. Need to reply to an email or push a quick commit? Don’t delay, jump straight in.

Example: Quickly fixing a typo spotted in code review rather than adding it to your backlog.

2. Batch Similar Tasks Together

Context switching can kill productivity. Group similar tasks like code reviews, debugging sessions, or documentation writing together. Your brain will thank you, and you'll notice tasks completed faster and with less mental fatigue.

Example: I used to schedule all my pull request reviews back-to-back during a single morning slot.

3. Automate, But Mindfully

Automation is brilliant when used correctly. Identify repetitive tasks (like setting up environments or deploying updates) and automate them using scripts or tools like GitHub Actions or Jenkins.

4. Set "Deep Work" Hours

Designate distraction free hours each day specifically for challenging tasks that require deep concentration. Inform colleagues and switch off notifications. You'll be amazed how much quality work you accomplish.

5. Use the Pomodoro Technique

This classic productivity method is still powerful in 2025. Work intensely for 25 minutes, then take a five-minute break. After four cycles, take a longer break. It helps keep your brain sharp and reduces burnout.

**Example: **Using a Pomodoro timer app to structure your daily coding sessions and breaks effectively. If you want a better alternative, you can find those over here

6. Document as You Code

Waiting until the end of a project to document code can turn documentation into a nightmare. Write clear comments and document functionality as you code. Your future self (and your team!) will appreciate it.

For instance; Clearly documenting APIs as you create them, making future integration and debugging effortless.

7. Regularly Declutter Your Workspace (Physically and Digitally)

Your workspace reflects your mental state. Regularly tidying up your physical desk and cleaning your digital workspace by organising your files, bookmarks, and apps can have a surprisingly positive impact on your productivity.

I usually Spend 10 minutes every evening organising my desktop and clearing out outdated files.

Now, productivity is all about simplicity, clarity, and intentional actions. Try these hacks, and watch your stress levels drop as your productivity rises. What productivity hacks have changed your workflow? Share below!