@ArjunKannan
I share @martinbean sentiment. Although I don't share his regularity on answering, with time you start knowing when a thread has an already off-the-shelf solution, even if not optimal, that no one would care reading a more in-depth reply to an already "solved" problem. So why bother?
Not to count on someone replying on 3 or more years old thread on a tone that your in-depth answer is misleading, without considering the time gap. But that is a different matter right now.
For those who often consider writing lengthy, more detailed answers, blogging seems to look more appealing if they will start to "compete" (with quotes in the same sense @martinbean explained later), with off-the-shelf solutions. At least one knows that if someone actually read their blog post, it is because they were interested in your opinion at least.
One could claim no one should be writing in-depth posts expecting any kind of feedback, but just for the sake of sharing knowledge. But at the end of the day, we are all humans (except for @laryai 😁), each with their own chores, routines, and each one is motivated by a different reason.
What would draw anyone to write a lengthy, in-depth, response when they know no one would read? Often when there are copy-paste solution, and you present an alternative, the OP doesn't even answer you if your answer was of any help, or if they got their problem solved.
It is way different from someone reaching you directly for advice on a specific matter than answering a forum thread that already has an answer you know people will insist you need to convince them why a different approach could be better, as it is often the case when you just want to present an alternative.
I know most of the top responders would happily answer anyone that reach them for specific advice, when they see their interest on learning is genuine. Even when reached through other channels, like social media. It is not a matter of not wanting to "compete" in the sense of a challenge, it is more a sense to know your effort won't be heard, or no one will care once quick first-aid is already there, so, again, why bother?
As @jeffreyway already said, most people don't even realize they are getting an answer from an AI responder.
Don't get me wrong, if the purpose of the forums is to users get a quick solution to whatever issues they are facing, like a first-aid one-stop shop (I am not sure this the best expression in English, maybe walk-in clinic?), I think this approach is top-notch, and I can see a great value in it.
When I started programming, many years ago, there was no internet where I lived, and barely any programmers in the city I lived. I had the help files from Microsoft Access, and a bi-monthly signature from a coding magazine that would propose a challenge on one issue, and present the solution on the next one, two months later.
What drew me to programming, you might ask? Well, I was run over by a car when a child, and spent some time in a wheel-chair. Someone told my parents buying me a computer would be good for me. It was both a blessing and a curse, I would say. I moved off the wheelchair, but never more from the computer 🤣
God knows how many hours I spent on trying to convert a number to its written form, to fill checks automatically, back in the day with no formal training, and having no one to ask for help. Life would be much easier, when I was starting, if I could reach someone like @laryai on every dead-end I found.
But down the road, one starts facing more complex problems, and band-aid solutions become of no use on helping you improve on your craft.
Do you know that feeling when you are after learning about a problem and every blog post you find, you just skim over it and already see it is just a different clothing over the same introductory example everyone talks about, and that you already know by heart but doesn't help to solve your issue? And that you can't find a more in-depth explanation? That is when you start valuing being able to reach for folks like @martinbean for help.
But if people get satisfied with a first-aid solution, why should a specialist bother looking at it?
To look less like a rant, one suggestion would be having a separate listing for when people are after discussing more about a subject, or better understanding a problem. I can't find the words to explain it well in English, something like the idea of having GitHub issues and discussions.
An "issue" would be when someone is after a quick solution they are in need, and a "discussion" would be when one is after advice on a better approach to a matter.
@laryai could be helpful in both. On "issues" as quick as it is now, as people are in need of a quick hand on an issue. And maybe waiting for a day or two before answering on "discussions" so human specialists have time to think on the matter and feel comfortable to chime in.
Well, those are my 2 cents to the discussion =)
