Yesterday, while waiting at the doctor’s office, I happened to catch a post that went like this:

Can unions in C go on strike, and if so, how can we come to a satisfactory collective agreement? I am a student in a university known for labor unrest, and I'm learning about unions in C. Knowing about the history around these parts, I want to know if unions in C can go on strike. C lacks an effective collective bargaining system, which in theory should make it more likely for unions to strike. There is no mechanism to mediate disputes between unions and the caller, so disagreements are not easily settled. However, C also allows for the caller to refer to unions by their individual members, and as we know, this is a common union-busting tactic. If the caller chooses to separate unions into their constituent parts, there is no hope of collective solidarity. Is there any way to prevent union types from striking? I don't want my code being surrounded by picketers.

Asked by 12thOfNever 2022 January 19, 18:39 UTC

It was immediately followed by plenty of downvoting and comments indicating that it was voted to close because it was, fairly, just a joke.

Which is sad, actually, because it could have garnered some good answers. Computer types used to like jokes, and having fun online.

Best comments:

Unions have never struct before. Wow. Four minutes. <redacted>'s right: we really do hate fun here.

Even one of the closers added the following comment:

Oh it's funny, but SO is known for a complete lack of any sense of humor.

Didn't use to be.


I can easily accept it being closed, though.
But then being immediately deleted — that's a kick in the existential order of things.

SO is killing itself with its own snobby sense of righteousness.


So, so very sad.

I only go there if a web search leads me directly to an answer. I won't post there anymore, not to help, nor to ask. This is not new, though, its been more than 10, maybe even 15+ years of being run by the worst possible combination of hateful, uptight, and Napoleon complex type people.
Hell, they may as well shut down the site. According to the admins, everything is a duplicate question anyway.

I guess people using SO want answers without having to wade through BS; want comedy - look elsewhere :+)

At what point does one limit the humour and still have a usable web resource?

Imagine one was learning how to use a unioun, then found about 10 comical postings and other crap before finding what one really wanted to know.

According to the admins, everything is a duplicate question anyway.

It seems quite tough to ask a question, IMO unless it is about the upcoming standard. All the questions about the current and previous standards have most likely already been asked.

In my mind cppreference and SO are the two main pillars of resource for learning, for professionals and beginners alike.

I guess SO could have a forum for comedy, but then lots would post in serious forum, only to be told to move it to the comedy forum.

And that is fine, their house, their rules etc. But I don't care to go there often anymore ... it feels like somewhere along the way the moderators went from keeping the site useful and on track to looking for the slightest things to go ballistic over.

@TheIdeasMan

You’ve hit the nail directly on the head.


The question in question, as it were, was fairly unique in that it was well-titled and clearly meant only for humor. And the moderators voting to close (and delete) were very much aware of how their position required them to take that sad, sad action.

Most 'net searches I do for C/C++ info have copious links to SO. Asked and answered years and years ago. With lots of "this was asked previously" links as well.

For the most part the only new questions that last at SO are ones dealing with each language standard as it is proposed, debated and then finalized. Once a standard is ratified then any new questions are treated as if they are unwanted and dealt with quite harshly.

IMO SO is not all that useful any more except as a debating platform for cyber-tyrants to rule over others.

SO really is not a site geared towards newbies learning C/C++, asking VERY basic questions. "Reputation points" are hard, nigh um-possible, to get for a noob. CPP here is more "open".

Hard not to be less harsh since there is little active moderation other than for spam bots and the occasional "post the same 'question' on 15 billion programming sites" folks.

How many times have topics here been "hi-jacked" after a bit with semi- to non-related content? More than a few.