Most Q&A platforms don't become low-quality because people are "lazy".
They decay because the platform doesn't teach structure.
Here's a simple checklist that upgrades almost any programming question:
Context (stack/version, OS, constraints)
Expected vs Actual (what you thought would happen)
Steps to reproduce (numbered)
Minimal snippet / minimal repro
What you tried (so helpers don't repeat it)
The insight: "Good answers" scale only when "good questions" become the default.
I'm building a small experiment around this idea: chat → refine → publish as clean Q&A (SO-style), with guardrails that nudge people into the checklist above.
If you've used StackOverflow for years:
What's the #1 mechanism you'd add to prevent Q&A quality from decaying?
Top comments (1)
Quick follow-up question:
If you could add one mechanism to prevent Q&A quality decay, what would it be?
(Stronger question templates, reputation incentives, stricter moderation, or something else?)