HOW TO STOP SUCKINGAND

BE AWESOME INSTEAD

Jeff Atwood

discourse.org

stackoverflow.com

codinghorror.com

There was once a monk who would carry a mirror wherever he went.

A priest noticed this one day and thought to himself, "This monk must be so preoccupied with the way he looks that he has to carry that mirror all the time. He should not worry about the way he looks on the outside. It's what's inside that counts."

So the priest approached the monk and asked "Why do you always carry that mirror?", thinking this would surely prove his guilt.

The monk took the mirror from his bag and pointed it at the priest. He said, "I use it in times of trouble. I look into it and it shows me the source of my problems as well as the solution to my problems."

If you're horrified by what you see in the mirror, you are not alone.

Not discussion

No chit-chat

Q&A

1. Learning is fun… right?

2. Games are learning aids.

3. Games help people work together toward a common goal.

… the Q&A game

All questions start with the premise of the “problem”, which can (at least in theory) be solved.

All answers must work towards solving the problem.

Helping your fellow programmers is the most effective way to "win" the Q&A game and advance the craft of software development together.

The best way to learn is to teach.

I build massively multiplayer text-based games

What have I .. er.. we learned?

If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders.

Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.

–Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The main reason we tend to focus on the technical rather than the human side of the work is not because it's more crucial, but because it's easier to do.

2 months in development

vs.

2 months of user feedback

Do not optimize for “correct”

Optimize for iterating quickly

You don’t know what you are building until 3

completely different customers use it.

It takes 3 years to ship the product as you originally envisioned it on day zero.

… the discussion game

March2009

February2012

Works on children between the age of 1 and 100.

46 Reasons My 3 Year Old Might be Freaking Out

• His sock is on wrong.

• His lip tastes salty.

• His shirt has a tag on it.

• The car seat is weird.

• He’s hungry, but can’t remember the word “hungry.”

• Someone touched his knee.

• He’s not allowed in the oven.

• I picked out the wrong pants.

• His brother looked at him.

• His brother didn’t look at him.

• His hair is heavy.

• We don’t understand what he said.

• He doesn’t want to get out of the car.

• He wants to get out of the car by himself.

• The iPad has a password.

• His sleeve is touching his thumb.

• He doesn’t understand how popsicles are made.

• The inside of his nose stinks.

• Chicken is gross.

• A balloon he got six months ago is missing.

It’s not about problem solving.

It’s about empathy.

stop trying to fix it!

The forum “game” is more reliable, more long term fun than the actual videogames.

I realized that no serious discussion can happen unless people are having fun.

The serious discussions are a side-effect of the fun, and the solid core gameplay. But without fun, you'll have nobody to talk to, so it's irrelevant!

Imagine a negative experience.

What’s more helpful:

- talking about it?

- writing about it?

Writing encourages the creation of a story.

A structure that helps people make sense of what happened to them.

1. Empathy2. Fun3. Storytelling

1. Civility2. Utility3. Practical problems

450 participants

- Recall 10 books you read in high school.

- Recall the 10 commandments.

- Posting some, but no profile picture?

- Replying to the same person... a lot?

- Replying to the same topic… a lot?

- Posting a link someone else already posted?

-You’re replying with a single word?

… placing healthy foods in a school cafeteria at eye level, while putting less healthy junk food in harder to reach places

The power of a gentle nudge, delivered at exactly the right time.

Remove friction from reading

Reward listening instead of talking

Live notifications and updates

Make sharing links easy and automatic

Reward community members who return

Reward ❤ content

Q&A is a competition; answers compete

Discussion is a collaboration; reciprocate ❤

1. Q&A and Discussion have opposing goals, but may be compatible – in one direction.

2. Building habits (with nudges!) that lead to positive collaborative, not competitive community behaviors

3. Communities are interactive, multiplayer text adventures. Let’s play, move fast, and have fun together.

THANKS!

Jeff Atwood

discourse.org

stackexchange.com

codinghorror.com