Becoming a Stackoverflow producer

Being a stack overflow consumer

StackOverflow is an awesome source of information and code samples. It is really easy to be a consumer of this data. If you search on Google, then you will find answers on StackOverflow. It is like magic.

It is good to be a producer

I think it is a good idea to post on stack overflow. While posting an answer, it forces you to really think. Will this answer be easy to understand? Are there any better alternatives? By trying to provide explanations for concepts, I have found many holes in my understanding.

There is also some less tangible benefits from posting. It feels good to give back to the programming community, and it is also fun to have an answer accepted and gain reputation points.

Becoming a producer

Being a producer looks worthwhile, but it is harder than being a consumer. I was always a bit scared/intimidated to post a question or an answer. If I post something, someone may realize how much of a fraud I am and expose my weak programming skills. It is the same fear that I have when I want someone to review my code.

I do not want to be paralzed by this fear. So, this weekend, I decided to find an unanswered question and post an answer. I spent a decent amount of time on it, and my answer is about ten times longer than the question (so I hope it was worth it). I think the trick for overcoming the imposter syndrome is just to practice exposing your code and thoughts to others. After a while, you just get used to it, and your fear of being found as a fraud is just washed away, but all the benefits of producing remain.