Best of Community — May 2025

  1. 1
    Article
    Avatar of pragmaticengineerThe Pragmatic Engineer·1y

    Stack overflow is almost dead

    The engagement on Stack Overflow has significantly decreased, with the number of questions asked monthly hitting levels from its early days in 2009. Key factors contributing to its decline include enhanced moderation efficiency reducing question flow starting in 2014, the impact of ChatGPT offering quick and polite answers trained on Stack Overflow data since November 2022, and outdated moderation policies. Additionally, the site was acquired by Prosus in 2021, which preceded a marked fall in activity.

  2. 2
    Article
    Avatar of changelogChangelog·1y

    Our Slack is dead. Long live Zulip!

    Changelog has transitioned from Slack to Zulip for their community communication, finding Zulip more effective due to its open-source nature, threading system, and community-focused approach. Zulip offers features like open public chats and self-hosting options, providing higher quality conversations and flexible integrations. Though the move wasn't seamless for everyone, the resulting interactions have been more engaging.

  3. 3
    Article
    Avatar of selfhstselfh.st·1y

    What I Learned Building My First Self-Hosted App

    Sean Morley shares his journey of creating AdventureLog, his first self-hosted app. Despite lacking formal web development training, Sean successfully launched the app and learned valuable lessons about development, community, and persistence. His experience emphasizes the importance of building projects that matter to you personally, leveraging community, and overcoming self-doubt to create meaningful open-source software.

  4. 4
    Article
    Avatar of planetpythonPlanet Python·1y

    Farewell to Michael Ryabushkin

    Michael Ryabushkin, known for his significant contributions to the Python community and his relentless support and kindness, passed away in May 2025. He was a dear friend who offered crucial support during challenging times. A memorial page has been created in his honor by the SoCal Python community.

  5. 5
    Article
    Avatar of backstageBackstage·1y

    From Zero to Maintainer: My Open Source Journey with Backstage

    The author shares their journey from a novice contributor to a maintainer in the Backstage open source project. Starting as a student intern with minimal exposure to the tech stack, they gradually built their skills through hands-on experience and community engagement. They navigated challenges such as understanding Git and contributing meaningful features, eventually taking on more substantial roles and responsibilities within the community.

See all Community archives