> Volunteer admins with nothing better to do get their dopamine by closing questions for StackOverflow points, regardless of whether the supposedly duped question from 8 years ago is actually still the best answer and covers the nuances of the question now being asked.

This rung so true to me, given that my answer from 4y ago was closed as a duplicate of an answer made 3m ago :D (no, the nuances were not considered and the questions were ultimately too different; this didn't influence moderation decision at all and I was very confused on how I've made a duplicate 4y ago of a question in, at that time, the future)

Stack Overflow should have been a strong connection for developers who started building software prior to 2022.

A niche place to find the solution for something getting in your way.

Instead, my own experience and every anecdote I've ever heard from those who tried participating mirrors this one.

Genuine questions and thought out responses closed in the harshest way possible.

If the policy on duplicates weren't so rigidly and coldly enforced it would be a place I've visit frequently to learn.

Instead I avoid it and do not feel bad that it's been superseded by LLMs. Which sucks because good human responses are far more preferable.

I still can't even get enough points to answer questions on some of their boards, despite me having a good answer to an unanswered question!

Screw them.

Add to that weird and counterproductive rules. Can't ask questions about framework selection on programming sites. Can't ask for gear recommendations on outdoor sites. Can't ask counterfactual questions on politics site. On history sites you can only ask questions after extensive research. If an obscure subsite of Wikipedia half-answers something vaguely related, the question gets closed (or at least you get angry comments).

It's weird how SE turned itself into a site for not answering questions!