I see and respect your point, but I have to say I LOVED it, and I found it rather refreshing ... you say it takes attention away from the "real" content i.e. the articles, but when I see, on dev.to:
the umptieth "listicle"
the gazillionth React Hooks intro
another self-serving "article" which is just an ad for someone's Youtube channel
well then give me some of these discussion topics with (generally) great member feedback anytime, over the cookie-cutter robotic drivel which I just mentioned.
Accessibility Specialist. I focus on ensuring content created, events held and company assets are as accessible as possible, for as many people as possible.
It may have got lost in there, but I did also enjoy it from a user perspective, we all know I am an opinionated so and so, so Q&A stuff is right up my street 🤣.
However in a year, when the novelty wears off and the same questions have been asked a million times (and the same problem of seeing the same "cookie cutter" questions rather than articles exists), are you going to keep coming back?
Are you just going to go to Reddit, or Quora. What does DEV then offer?
Maybe it is an issue, maybe not, as I said it wasn't something I have looked at in any depth, just a gut reaction and I could be entirely wrong.
At the end of the day if it helps DEV (and by extension Forem) actually grow then I am all for it.
Also bear in mind I am very biased, I am long form content inclined, so my perspective is also tainted and skewed by that! ❤
Edit: To be fair, I should lean into the new Q & A format and start asking some questions instead of answering them, maybe then I am better positioned to add something meaningful here once I have experienced that side of it.
Dev.to should definitely be a mix, not just a "forum" but of course also articles. But this Q&A format, I find it rather satisfying, interaction (in a good way) is one of the main draws of this site.
On the other hand (like I said) I find the articles becoming more and more one-of-a-kind - a lot of React (I'm more of a Vue fan, don't really understand the infatuation with React), lots of JS rather than other languages, listicles, and so on. Lots of short and simple articles, lots of self-promotion as well. Not all of it, but the more elaborate articles that delve a bit deeper seem to be the ones with less clicks and less visibility.
Let's say that at this time, right now, the Q&A tends to engage me more than the articles do.
P.S. "However in a year, when the novelty wears off ... are you going to keep coming back?" - actually I think I would, a quick visit to dev.to is embedded in my daily morning routine, that's not gonna change easily.
Accessibility Specialist. I focus on ensuring content created, events held and company assets are as accessible as possible, for as many people as possible.
I see and respect your point, but I have to say I LOVED it, and I found it rather refreshing ... you say it takes attention away from the "real" content i.e. the articles, but when I see, on dev.to:
well then give me some of these discussion topics with (generally) great member feedback anytime, over the cookie-cutter robotic drivel which I just mentioned.
It may have got lost in there, but I did also enjoy it from a user perspective, we all know I am an opinionated so and so, so Q&A stuff is right up my street 🤣.
However in a year, when the novelty wears off and the same questions have been asked a million times (and the same problem of seeing the same "cookie cutter" questions rather than articles exists), are you going to keep coming back?
Are you just going to go to Reddit, or Quora. What does DEV then offer?
Maybe it is an issue, maybe not, as I said it wasn't something I have looked at in any depth, just a gut reaction and I could be entirely wrong.
At the end of the day if it helps DEV (and by extension Forem) actually grow then I am all for it.
Also bear in mind I am very biased, I am long form content inclined, so my perspective is also tainted and skewed by that! ❤
Edit: To be fair, I should lean into the new Q & A format and start asking some questions instead of answering them, maybe then I am better positioned to add something meaningful here once I have experienced that side of it.
Dev.to should definitely be a mix, not just a "forum" but of course also articles. But this Q&A format, I find it rather satisfying, interaction (in a good way) is one of the main draws of this site.
On the other hand (like I said) I find the articles becoming more and more one-of-a-kind - a lot of React (I'm more of a Vue fan, don't really understand the infatuation with React), lots of JS rather than other languages, listicles, and so on. Lots of short and simple articles, lots of self-promotion as well. Not all of it, but the more elaborate articles that delve a bit deeper seem to be the ones with less clicks and less visibility.
Let's say that at this time, right now, the Q&A tends to engage me more than the articles do.
P.S. "However in a year, when the novelty wears off ... are you going to keep coming back?" - actually I think I would, a quick visit to dev.to is embedded in my daily morning routine, that's not gonna change easily.
Cool, great seeing the flip side and seeing outside of my narrow perspective, you make some great point!
shame a few others haven’t chimed in with their thoughts! ❤️
Thank you, and I wouldn't say your perspective is narrow, at least that's not the impression I get :)