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One of the big issues that SO had (still has?) is that experienced users are stumbling across low-quality questions, typically asked by newbies.

I am wondering about defining several levels (or leagues) based on reputation. Example:

  • Level 1 - < 200 reputation
  • Level 2 - < 1000 reputation
  • Level 3 - < 2000 reputation
  • Level 4 - < 10000 reputation

I am using reputation only because SO does use this heavily for all its privileges anyway.

The level would be also used as an attribute for the questions. By default, a question gets its author's level, but this could be changed during the reviews.

By default, a user within a level could see questions only for their level and above but could manage this in the profile.

Having multiple "levels" is a concept used in many fields and I am wondering if it could be applied in a huge community where there are clearly big differences between its members.

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  • 25
    So new people only get their questions answered by other new people who presumably are less likely to be subject matter experts. How is the blind leading the blind better for them?
    – Robert Longson
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:37
  • 6
    So you suggest that user with a higher rep level simply don't see questions from someone with a lower rep level? But who would then moderate/answer those questions? It might reduce friction a little bit, but at the same time worsen the overall quality of the Q&A repository.
    – BDL
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:37
  • How would this work for someone who has gained rep in a particular domain? What would questions unrelated to their domain look like?
    – Suraj Rao
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:37
  • 20
    I don't think this addresses any real problem. We expect the same quality standards from anybody who asks a question. Just because Jon Skeet stumbles upon a bad question that is "I want codez plz" doesn't mean the question is bad because Jon is seeing it. It's bad in general.
    – VLAZ
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:38
  • 5
    Wait, so as someone who has a high rep I can only have my question answered by 0.15% of the user base...? (There are ~25,000 users with 10K+ rep, and there are ~16.4M 1+ users.)
    – Thom A
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:38
  • @BDL This would not apply to review queues.
    – Alexei - check Codidact
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:39
  • 2
    @Alexei-checkCodidact: I don't think that changes much. Most of my flags are from outside the review queues. Most of my downvotes and closevotes too.
    – BDL
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:40
  • 2
    How does this proposal help to achieve the goal of Stack Overflow?
    – Dharman Mod
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:40
  • 3
    So assume "beginner level" question receives a suboptimal or bad answer from another similar rep user. How is the community supposed to handle the Q&A if a subject matter expert won't see it?
    – Suraj Rao
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:42
  • 2
    Similar things have been suggested many times in the past, and always (rightly, IMO) rejected. If you are involved with Codidact, maybe this idea could have more traction over there, being a newer project?
    – yivi
    Commented Dec 17, 2021 at 14:51
  • Similar (two levels): Create a separate, independent advanced Stack Overflow, focusing on being a knowledge library (but still part of the network).
    – Peter Mortensen
    Commented Dec 21, 2021 at 17:30
  • Something seems to be missing in the title, after "to reduce". To reduce what?
    – Peter Mortensen
    Commented Dec 22, 2021 at 8:46

3 Answers 3

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23

How is this proposed change better than the status quo?

You're suggesting a feature where, by default, experienced users won't be able to see questions by newbies.

This means:

  • Less visibility
  • Less quality control
  • Less feedback
  • Less scrutiny of answers

None of that seems like an improvement.

The problem isn't the fact that "we" can see low quality questions. The problem is that they get submitted in the first place, and in a quantity that's difficult to manage. This suggestion doesn't fix that problem.

16

One of the big issues that SO had (still has?) is that experienced users are stumbling across low-quality questions

This is where that sentence should end. In fact, it should be generalized not only to experienced Stack Overflow users™, but to all users, even the ones without an account on Stack Overflow.

So the problem is that a lot of users asking questions here are not educated enough in how to do so for the benefit of others. As a result, they ask low-quality questions that nobody wants to read.

The goal of Stack Overflow is to build a repository of useful information. Segregating Stack Overflow users based on their reputation points is not a solution and does not tie in with Stack Overflow goals. Segregation only leads to elitism, prejudice and discrimination.

The purpose of having reputation on the site is to gain privileges that help us clean up the bad questions. We can downvote, close, delete and edit them. We gain reputation points to be able to handle the low-quality content. Preventing high reputation users from seeing such questions would go completely against the purpose of reputation.

The solution is not to hide the problem. The solution should be to prevent the problem, i.e. do something to stop the inflow of poor content.

6

I think that you're confused about the goals of this site. This isn't and has never been a "help site" per se, but rather a question-and-answer site. Help is often obtained, but as a useful by-product, not as a primary goal.

Your suggestion is completely antithetical to this goal, I'm afraid.

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