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hodgef
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Please consider rethinking your strategy.

There seems to be a push for monetization currently going on at Stack Exchange. A few examples of this:

  1. stackoverflow.com leading to a sales page for unauthenticated users.
  2. The countless UI changes and call to actions aimed at peddling Stack Overflow Teams.
  3. Stack Overflow Jobs.
  4. And now this.

It's gotten to a point where even some moderators are weighing in against these moves.

I think it's time for Stack Exchange to come out and clearly state what it wants to be. Do you want to be a services company or a community?

Wikipedia had to make such a decision regarding this topic, and they opted to hold donation drives instead, which is consistent with their commitment to fostering their community.

I think that, similarly, Stack Exchange has to face such a decision. It would be the honest thing to do, since right now it's staying on the fence and is not sure whether it wants to milk the community or invest in it by providing better moderation tools, etc.

Baiting and Switching

Lastly, I would like to comment on how this move looks like to a mere user like me:

To me, this feels like a bait and switch, similar to what other tech companies are doing as of lately.

All these companies are luring you in with a "community feeling" or "free" stuff, enticing you to spend countless hours of your free time contributing to their product, oftentimes with some numbers, badges or virtual medals as a reward.

All that is perfectly fine. However, it turns out that corporate has not revealed their full plan. See, when the userbase is well established and sizable, their plan is to come in and monetize everything, even if users are against it. Yes, feedback might change a minor thing or two, but the eternal quest will always be: How can we make even more money off our users?

This thread is a perfect example of this, as execs ponder whether to serve ads with JavaScript codetracking and animated ads to volunteers that are basically the lifeblood of the site.

I think Stack Overflow will benefit from some introspection, to hopefully choose a different path.

Please consider rethinking your strategy.

There seems to be a push for monetization currently going on at Stack Exchange. A few examples of this:

  1. stackoverflow.com leading to a sales page for unauthenticated users.
  2. The countless UI changes and call to actions aimed at peddling Stack Overflow Teams.
  3. Stack Overflow Jobs.
  4. And now this.

It's gotten to a point where even some moderators are weighing in against these moves.

I think it's time for Stack Exchange to come out and clearly state what it wants to be. Do you want to be a services company or a community?

Wikipedia had to make such a decision regarding this topic, and they opted to hold donation drives instead, which is consistent with their commitment to fostering their community.

I think that, similarly, Stack Exchange has to face such a decision. It would be the honest thing to do, since right now it's staying on the fence and is not sure whether it wants to milk the community or invest in it by providing better moderation tools, etc.

Baiting and Switching

Lastly, I would like to comment on how this move looks like to a mere user like me:

To me, this feels like a bait and switch, similar to what other tech companies are doing as of lately.

All these companies are luring you in with a "community feeling" or "free" stuff, enticing you to spend countless hours of your free time contributing to their product, oftentimes with some numbers, badges or virtual medals as a reward.

All that is perfectly fine. However, it turns out that corporate has not revealed their full plan. See, when the userbase is well established and sizable, their plan is to come in and monetize everything, even if users are against it. Yes, feedback might change a minor thing or two, but the eternal quest will always be: How can we make even more money off our users?

This thread is a perfect example of this, as execs ponder whether to serve JavaScript code and animated ads to volunteers that are basically the lifeblood of the site.

I think Stack Overflow will benefit from some introspection, to hopefully choose a different path.

Please consider rethinking your strategy.

There seems to be a push for monetization currently going on at Stack Exchange. A few examples of this:

  1. stackoverflow.com leading to a sales page for unauthenticated users.
  2. The countless UI changes and call to actions aimed at peddling Stack Overflow Teams.
  3. Stack Overflow Jobs.
  4. And now this.

It's gotten to a point where even some moderators are weighing in against these moves.

I think it's time for Stack Exchange to come out and clearly state what it wants to be. Do you want to be a services company or a community?

Wikipedia had to make such a decision regarding this topic, and they opted to hold donation drives instead, which is consistent with their commitment to fostering their community.

I think that, similarly, Stack Exchange has to face such a decision. It would be the honest thing to do, since right now it's staying on the fence and is not sure whether it wants to milk the community or invest in it by providing better moderation tools, etc.

Baiting and Switching

Lastly, I would like to comment on how this move looks like to a mere user like me:

To me, this feels like a bait and switch, similar to what other tech companies are doing as of lately.

All these companies are luring you in with a "community feeling" or "free" stuff, enticing you to spend countless hours of your free time contributing to their product, oftentimes with some numbers, badges or virtual medals as a reward.

All that is perfectly fine. However, it turns out that corporate has not revealed their full plan. See, when the userbase is well established and sizable, their plan is to come in and monetize everything, even if users are against it. Yes, feedback might change a minor thing or two, but the eternal quest will always be: How can we make even more money off our users?

This thread is a perfect example of this, as execs ponder whether to serve ads with JavaScript tracking and animated ads to volunteers that are basically the lifeblood of the site.

I think Stack Overflow will benefit from some introspection, to hopefully choose a different path.

Active reading. [<http://stackoverflow.com/legal/trademark-guidance> (the last section) <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/userbase#Noun>]. Expanded.
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Please consider rethinking your strategy.

There seems to be a push for monetization currently going on at StackExchangeStack Exchange. A few examples of this:

  1. stackoverflow.com leading to a sales page for unauthenticated users.
  2. The countless UI changes and call to actions aimed at peddling StackOverflowStack Overflow Teams.
  3. StackOverflowStack Overflow Jobs.
  4. And now this.

It's gotten to a point where even some moderators are weighing in against these moves.

I think it's time for StackExchangeStack Exchange to come out and clearly state what it wants to be. Do you want to be a Servicesservices company or a community?

Wikipedia had to make such a decision regarding this topic, and they opted to hold donation drives instead, which is consistent with their commitment to fostering their community.

I think that, similarly, SEStack Exchange has to face such a decision. It would be the honest thing to do, since right now it's staying on the fence and is not sure whether it wants to milk the community or invest in it by providing better moderation tools, etc.

Baiting and Switching

Lastly, I would like to comment on how this move looks like to a mere user like me:

To me, this feels like a bait and switch, similar to what other tech companies are doing as of lately.

All these companies are luring you in with a "community feeling" or "free" stuff, enticing you to spend countless hours of your free time contributing to their product, oftentimes with some numbers, badges or virtual medals as a reward.

All that is perfectly fine. However, it turns out that corporate has not revealed their full plan. See, when the user baseuserbase is well established and sizable, their plan is to come in and monetize everything, even if users are against it. Yes, feedback might change a minor thing or two, but the eternal quest will always be: How can we make even more money off our users?

This thread is a perfect example of this, as execs ponder whether to serve JSJavaScript code and animated ads to volunteers that are basically the lifeblood of the site.

I think SOStack Overflow will benefit from some introspection, to hopefully choose a different path.

Please consider rethinking your strategy.

There seems to be a push for monetization currently going on at StackExchange. A few examples of this:

  1. stackoverflow.com leading to a sales page for unauthenticated users.
  2. The countless UI changes and call to actions aimed at peddling StackOverflow Teams.
  3. StackOverflow Jobs.
  4. And now this.

It's gotten to a point where even some moderators are weighing in against these moves.

I think it's time for StackExchange to come out and clearly state what it wants to be. Do you want to be a Services company or a community?

Wikipedia had to make such a decision regarding this topic, and they opted to hold donation drives instead, which is consistent with their commitment to fostering their community.

I think that, similarly, SE has to face such a decision. It would be the honest thing to do, since right now it's staying on the fence and not sure whether it wants to milk the community or invest in it by providing better moderation tools, etc.

Baiting and Switching

Lastly, I would like to comment on how this move looks like to a mere user like me:

To me, this feels like a bait and switch, similar to what other tech companies are doing as of lately.

All these companies are luring you in with a "community feeling" or "free" stuff, enticing you to spend countless hours of your free time contributing to their product, oftentimes with some numbers, badges or virtual medals as a reward.

All that is perfectly fine. However, it turns out that corporate has not revealed their full plan. See, when the user base is well established and sizable, their plan is to come in and monetize everything, even if users are against it. Yes, feedback might change a minor thing or two, but the eternal quest will always be: How can we make even more money off our users?

This thread is a perfect example of this, as execs ponder whether to serve JS and animated ads to volunteers that are basically the lifeblood of the site.

I think SO will benefit from some introspection, to hopefully choose a different path.

Please consider rethinking your strategy.

There seems to be a push for monetization currently going on at Stack Exchange. A few examples of this:

  1. stackoverflow.com leading to a sales page for unauthenticated users.
  2. The countless UI changes and call to actions aimed at peddling Stack Overflow Teams.
  3. Stack Overflow Jobs.
  4. And now this.

It's gotten to a point where even some moderators are weighing in against these moves.

I think it's time for Stack Exchange to come out and clearly state what it wants to be. Do you want to be a services company or a community?

Wikipedia had to make such a decision regarding this topic, and they opted to hold donation drives instead, which is consistent with their commitment to fostering their community.

I think that, similarly, Stack Exchange has to face such a decision. It would be the honest thing to do, since right now it's staying on the fence and is not sure whether it wants to milk the community or invest in it by providing better moderation tools, etc.

Baiting and Switching

Lastly, I would like to comment on how this move looks like to a mere user like me:

To me, this feels like a bait and switch, similar to what other tech companies are doing as of lately.

All these companies are luring you in with a "community feeling" or "free" stuff, enticing you to spend countless hours of your free time contributing to their product, oftentimes with some numbers, badges or virtual medals as a reward.

All that is perfectly fine. However, it turns out that corporate has not revealed their full plan. See, when the userbase is well established and sizable, their plan is to come in and monetize everything, even if users are against it. Yes, feedback might change a minor thing or two, but the eternal quest will always be: How can we make even more money off our users?

This thread is a perfect example of this, as execs ponder whether to serve JavaScript code and animated ads to volunteers that are basically the lifeblood of the site.

I think Stack Overflow will benefit from some introspection, to hopefully choose a different path.

added 3 characters in body
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hodgef
hodgef
  • 330
  • 1
  • 5

Please consider rethinking your strategy.

There seems to be a push for monetization currently going on at StackExchange. A few examples of this:

  1. stackoverflow.com leading to a sales page for unauthenticated users.
  2. The countless UI changes and call to actions aimed at peddling StackOverflow Teams.
  3. StackOverflow Jobs.
  4. And now this.

It's gotten to a point where even some moderators are weighing in against these moves.

I think it's time for StackExchange to come out and clearly state what it wants to be. Do you want to be a Services company or a community?

Wikipedia had to make such a decision regarding this topic, and they opted to hold donation drives instead, which is consistent with their commitment to fostering their community.

I think that, similarly, SE has to face such a decision. It would be the honest thing to do, since right now it's staying on the fence and not sure whether it wants to milk the community or invest in it by providing better moderation tools, etc.

BaitBaiting and Switching

Lastly, I would like to comment on how this move looks like to a mere user like me:

To me, this feels like a bait and switch, similar to what other tech companies are doing as of lately.

All these companies are luring you in with a "community feeling" or "free" stuff, enticing you to spend countless hours of your free time contributing to their product, oftentimes with some numbers, badges or virtual medals as a reward.

All that is perfectly fine. However, it turns out that corporate has not revealed their full plan. See, when the user base is well established and sizable, their plan is to come in and monetize everything, even if users are against it. Yes, feedback might change a minor thing or two, but the eternal quest will always be: How can we make even more money off our users?

This thread is a perfect example of this, as execs ponder whether to serve JS and animated ads to volunteers that are basically the lifeblood of the site.

I think SO will benefit from some introspection, to hopefully choose a different path.

Please consider rethinking your strategy.

There seems to be a push for monetization currently going on at StackExchange. A few examples of this:

  1. stackoverflow.com leading to a sales page for unauthenticated users.
  2. The countless UI changes and call to actions aimed at peddling StackOverflow Teams.
  3. StackOverflow Jobs.
  4. And now this.

It's gotten to a point where even some moderators are weighing in against these moves.

I think it's time for StackExchange to come out and clearly state what it wants to be. Do you want to be a Services company or a community?

Wikipedia had to make such a decision regarding this topic, and they opted to hold donation drives instead, which is consistent with their commitment to fostering their community.

I think that, similarly, SE has to face such a decision. It would be the honest thing to do, since right now it's staying on the fence and not sure whether it wants to milk the community or invest in it by providing better moderation tools, etc.

Bait and Switching

Lastly, I would like to comment on how this move looks like to a mere user like me:

To me, this feels like a bait and switch, similar to what other tech companies are doing as of lately.

All these companies are luring you in with a "community feeling" or "free" stuff, enticing you to spend countless hours of your free time contributing to their product, oftentimes with some numbers, badges or virtual medals as a reward.

All that is perfectly fine. However, it turns out that corporate has not revealed their full plan. See, when the user base is well established and sizable, their plan is to come in and monetize everything, even if users are against it. Yes, feedback might change a minor thing or two, but the eternal quest will always be: How can we make even more money off our users?

This thread is a perfect example of this, as execs ponder whether to serve JS and animated ads to volunteers that are basically the lifeblood of the site.

I think SO will benefit from some introspection, to hopefully choose a different path.

Please consider rethinking your strategy.

There seems to be a push for monetization currently going on at StackExchange. A few examples of this:

  1. stackoverflow.com leading to a sales page for unauthenticated users.
  2. The countless UI changes and call to actions aimed at peddling StackOverflow Teams.
  3. StackOverflow Jobs.
  4. And now this.

It's gotten to a point where even some moderators are weighing in against these moves.

I think it's time for StackExchange to come out and clearly state what it wants to be. Do you want to be a Services company or a community?

Wikipedia had to make such a decision regarding this topic, and they opted to hold donation drives instead, which is consistent with their commitment to fostering their community.

I think that, similarly, SE has to face such a decision. It would be the honest thing to do, since right now it's staying on the fence and not sure whether it wants to milk the community or invest in it by providing better moderation tools, etc.

Baiting and Switching

Lastly, I would like to comment on how this move looks like to a mere user like me:

To me, this feels like a bait and switch, similar to what other tech companies are doing as of lately.

All these companies are luring you in with a "community feeling" or "free" stuff, enticing you to spend countless hours of your free time contributing to their product, oftentimes with some numbers, badges or virtual medals as a reward.

All that is perfectly fine. However, it turns out that corporate has not revealed their full plan. See, when the user base is well established and sizable, their plan is to come in and monetize everything, even if users are against it. Yes, feedback might change a minor thing or two, but the eternal quest will always be: How can we make even more money off our users?

This thread is a perfect example of this, as execs ponder whether to serve JS and animated ads to volunteers that are basically the lifeblood of the site.

I think SO will benefit from some introspection, to hopefully choose a different path.

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hodgef
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hodgef
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added 86 characters in body
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