DEV Community: Richard Djarbeng

The fall of stackoverflow: Why I Haven't Logged In for Months

Richard Djarbeng — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 16:08:36 +0000

I just realized I haven't been on Stack Overflow in a while.

Before writing this I found a post by dev user @abdulbasithh from 2025 and it's still true today.

According to Google AI (ironic I know)

"Stack Overflow has experienced a significant decline in user engagement and traffic since the rise of generative AI tools like ChatGPT."

The Culture Problem

We’ve all seen the memes. You join the site as a junior, excited to learn, and your first question is met with:

"Thread closed. Not a real question. Also, why are you using that library? You should be using this obscure C++ wrapper instead. Read the docs."

Gonna add my favorite meme from that era here:

Beyond the Copy-Paste Era

But there is a deeper shift happening for me personally.
The toxic gatekeeping that was once a "quirk" of the platform became its Achilles' heel. When better alternatives arrived, the community didn't have enough goodwill left in the bank to keep people coming back.

Maybe I’ve become "entitled," or maybe I’m just evolving as an engineer, but copying and pasting code from online forums feels incredibly backward now. The rise of agentic AI IDEs has also fueled this.

The Shift from Search to Synthesis.

Or maybe it’s not that I'm entitled; it’s that my time is better spent solving high-level problems than debugging a forum user's 2014 syntax.

Conclusion

Stack Overflow will always be a legendary archive of human knowledge, but as a daily tool? It feels like a relic. Perhaps we are moving toward a more conversational, integrated way of building software.

Hope to make a post later about the rise of AI and agentic IDEs.

PS: There is an even more forgotten relic When was the last time you read the documentation?💀😑 Here's a meme:

How to Get a Free Professional Custom Domain Email (steps for beginners on gmail)

Richard Djarbeng — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 13:55:32 +0000

Tired of using a plain @gmail.com for business, newsletters, portfolios, or professional emails? You can set up unlimited custom email addresses (like hello@yourname.com) completely free with no monthly fees for Google Workspace or similar services.
NB: Domain registration comes at a fee

This guide became super popular after a viral X (Twitter) thread, but many people get stuck because they don't have a domain yet, or they try the wrong SMTP settings for sending emails.

This complete beginner-friendly tutorial covers everything from getting your first domain (free or very cheap) → setting up incoming mail with Cloudflare → sending from Gmail. No tech experience needed — follow along step by step.

Why This Setup Is Awesome (and What to Know)

Pros

Totally free after you get the domain (domain can cost $0–$12/year)
Unlimited email addresses/aliases (e.g., info@, support@, yourname@)
Emails arrive in your regular Gmail inbox
Send emails from your custom address directly in Gmail (web, mobile app, etc.)
Perfect for creators, freelancers, students, indie hackers, or side projects

Limitations

Cloudflare handles receiving only — we use Gmail to send
Outgoing emails use Gmail's servers → good deliverability, but not perfect for massive cold emailing (may hit spam folders sometimes)
Gmail free account limit: ~500 emails/day
For super high volume or perfect branding, you could add a cheap SMTP service later

If you're just starting — this is one of the best zero-cost setups in 2026.

Step 0: Get Your Domain Name (Free or Super Cheap Options)

You need a domain name first (like yourname.com). Here's how to get one easily:

Option 1: Free for Students (Best if Eligible)

If you're a student (university, college, bootcamp, etc.):

Go to education.github.com/pack
Sign up or log in with your GitHub account → verify student status (usually with school email or ID)
Once approved (usually instant or 1–2 days), scroll to the "Domains" section
Choose an offer:

Namecheap: Free 1-year .me domain (great for personal sites/emails)
Name.com: Free 1-year on extensions like .dev, .app, .live, .studio, .rocks, etc.
There's also a .TECH offer for one free standard .tech domain for 1 year.

Redeem the offer → follow their instructions to register the domain
Done! You get a real domain for free for 1 year (renewal is usually cheap afterward).

Option 2: Very Cheap for Anyone (~$1–$10 First Year)

Popular beginner-friendly registrars with promos (as of February 2026):

Namecheap (recommended for simplicity): Often $0.99–$6.49 for first-year .com, .site, .online, etc. Use promo codes like 99SPECIAL for 99¢ domains or check current deals at namecheap.com/promos. Free WHOIS privacy included.
Porkbun: At-cost pricing, beginner dashboard, often $5–$10 for .com.
Cloudflare Registrar (if you plan to use Cloudflare anyway): At-cost renewals, no markup (~$10–$11/year for .com).
Hostinger or Wix: Sometimes bundle a free domain for 1 year with cheap hosting (but you don't need hosting here — just the domain).

Steps to register (example with Namecheap):

Go to namecheap.com
Search for your desired name (e.g., rdjarbeng.com or mybrand.online)
Add to cart → apply any promo code at checkout
Create account → pay (credit card, PayPal, etc.)
After purchase, you'll get login access to manage the domain

Tip: Choose .com, .me, .dev, or .app these look professional and are widely accepted.

Step 1: Add Your Domain to Cloudflare & Enable Email Routing (Incoming Mail)

Cloudflare is free and secure — it will handle receiving emails and forward them to your Gmail.

Go to dash.cloudflare.com and sign up for a free account (email + password).
After logging in, click Add a site (or Onboard a domain).
Enter your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com) → Continue.
Cloudflare scans your existing DNS (if any) → select the Free plan → Continue.
Cloudflare gives you two nameservers (something like ns1.cloudflare.com and ns2.cloudflare.com).
Go back to your domain registrar (Namecheap, Porkbun, etc.):

Find "Nameservers" or "DNS" settings
Change from default to Custom → paste the two Cloudflare nameservers
Save

Wait 5–60 minutes (sometimes up to 24 hours) for changes to propagate → refresh Cloudflare dashboard until it says "Active".
In Cloudflare dashboard → select your domain → go to Email → Email Routing.
Click Get started or Enable → Cloudflare adds the needed MX records automatically.
Go to Email → Routes or Custom addresses → Create address.

- Enter email: e.g., `rdjarbeng@yourdomain.com` (or `info@`, `hello@`, etc.)
- Destination: your real Gmail address (e.g., `yourname@gmail.com`)
- Save

Test: Send an email to your new custom address → it should appear in Gmail within seconds!

Note: You can create unlimited addresses — all forward to the same Gmail (or different ones).

Step 2: Prepare Gmail to Send (Must-Do: App Password)

Gmail needs extra security for sending from custom addresses.

Go to myaccount.google.com/security
Turn on 2-Step Verification if not already enabled (use your phone).
Search for App passwords → click it.
Select app: Mail Select device: Other (name it e.g., "Custom Email")
Generate → copy the 16-character password (save it somewhere safe — no spaces).

Step 3: Add Your Custom Email to Gmail (Send From It!)

Important: Do not use Cloudflare's server for sending — use Gmail's.

Open Gmail → click the gear icon → See all settings → Accounts and Import tab.
Under Send mail as → click Add another email address.
Fill in:

Name: Your name or brand
Email: rdjarbeng@yourdomain.com
Uncheck "Treat as an alias" → Next

SMTP settings:

SMTP Server: smtp.gmail.com
Port: 587
Username: Your full Gmail (e.g., yourname@gmail.com)
Password: The App Password from Step 2
Use TLS: Yes (usually default)

Click Add Account.
Gmail sends a verification code to your custom email → it forwards to Gmail inbox.
Find the code → enter it → verified!

Now compose emails in Gmail → click the "From" dropdown → choose your custom address.

Step 4: Boost Deliverability (Optional but Helpful DNS)

In Cloudflare DNS → add/update these TXT records:

SPF (prevents spam flags):

  v=spf1 include:_spf.mx.cloudflare.net include:_spf.google.com ~all

(Name/Host: @)

DMARC (monitor reports):

  v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:your@gmail.com

(Name/Host: _dmarc)

No DKIM from this free setup — that's normal.

Testing & Tips

Send test emails to friends → check inbox/spam.
Set your custom address as default in Gmail if you want.
Mobile: Works perfectly in Gmail app.
Stuck on verification? Regenerate App Password (common issue).
Propagation slow? Wait and refresh — normal for new domains.

Alternatives If You Need More

Zoho Mail free tier: Full features + DKIM (limited storage)
Paid SMTP (e.g., SMTP2GO free tier) for better sending reputation
Self-hosted if advanced

This Cloudflare + Gmail trick is still one of the top free email hacks in 2026. Got it working? Share your custom email or any questions below!

Hope this helps someone. Happy emailing!

Congrats on 10k Pageviews from Cloudflare- Should I be happy?

Richard Djarbeng — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:38:30 +0000

I just got an email from cloudflare where I got my domain for my Blog . Here's the message:

Congrats on passing 10,000 Pageviews from Cloudflare
Getting to 10K is no easy task and we hope you continue to grow and we are glad you chose Cloudflare to provide services for your website.
21981
Pageviews

Then they try to upsell some of the cloudflare services like analytics/Security...

Now, honestly I don't know whether to celebrate or not since I'm not sure if this is human traffic or just bots. 10k seems like a lot (20k actually from pageviews) since July 2025 , but then again it might be a small number for a blog. I just wanted to share this here because I feel some devs might actually know if this is a big deal.

Anyway, I did a careful small celebration🎉🎉, and back to work I go. 🚶🏽
Here's a screenshot of my homepage for today:

Is the COBOL moat dead? A single AI blog post just wiped $30B off IBM

Richard Djarbeng — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:57:50 +0000

We've probably heard the joke that if you learn COBOL, you'll have job security for life because banks are too scared to rewrite their 40-year-old mainframes.

Well, that joke just got a lot less funny for IBM.

Yesterday afternoon, Anthropic proved that their new Claude Code agent can map massive dependencies, document undocumented workflows, and translate archaic COBOL logic into Java/Python with an insane 98% accuracy.

IBM's stock plunged 13.15% in hours. At first I thought legacy codebases were a gold mine for developers now I'm glad that I didn't stake an entire career on that. One AI company comes along and all of a sudden your competitive advantage is gone. I'm still optimistic for software engineering/developers though.

Now they're hosting live demos showing Claude migrating heavily entrenched legacy COBOL systems directly onto modern cloud infrastructure.

A full breakdown is on my blog in case you want a deeper dive.

The Developer's Guide to Payment Platforms: Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, and Paystack

Richard Djarbeng — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 12:19:51 +0000

Sharing my first post here: Building an app is hard. Getting paid for it shouldn’t be.
In this post, we’ll dive into four of the biggest players for payments: Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, and Paystack. The focus is on their pros, cons, and ideal use cases

Published on my blog at- https://rdjarbeng.com/payment-platforms-for-developers/
Cover image is generated by Gemini.

In case you have experience with these or want to suggest another platform for consideration kindly add it in the comments