Once upon a time, answering people's questions on forums was an excellent long-tail payback career strategy. I used to answer many questions, write explainer blog posts based on repeated questions, etc.
In the early-to-mid-2000s, Macromedia paid for my trip to San Francisco, a hotel stay at the W, and a chance to meet the programmers and authors I looked up to -- all because I answered and helped people with their questions on online forums.
Yes, every forum has its early years phase where this occurs. It’s about like trying to catch a wave, you look for a building wave, invest some participation, and you have a fine ride.
Eventually, the “organizers” show up and add too much order to a system that wants to be a balance between loose structure and otherwise chaotic ad hoc interplay.
And if the organizers aren’t the ones that over constrain the system, there’s always a PM somewhere looking to “monetize that asset.”
I think, sadly, SO has passed that inflection point now. I haven’t intuited where the next waves are breaking at.
In the early-to-mid-2000s, Macromedia paid for my trip to San Francisco, a hotel stay at the W, and a chance to meet the programmers and authors I looked up to -- all because I answered and helped people with their questions on online forums.