Question

Thoughts on the recent announcement made about the future of the Socratic website? Share them here!

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for taking the time to post your thoughts here. This is a very emotional time for everybody, so I really appreciate your willingness to send some feedback our way.

I promise to try my best to reply to every answer, but chances are that I won't be able to do so within hours of every post because there are a lot of things to unpack these days.

So if more than 24 hours pass and you don't hear from me, and assuming that you want an answer to your post, don't hesitate to @mention me or send me a note.

Thank you again!

Stef

Answer 1

I completely disagree with this.

Explanation:

Were we consulted before this decision was taken? I don't remember being asked my opinion. A read-only learning site is a dead site. The life of socratic was the new contributions. You just removed it. Knowledge is constantly evolving. Anyway, since you're taking decisions without asking what contributors think, I am wasting my time.

The minute you mentioned the app, I knew it was over. You're chasing customers now, and with answers that will soon be obsolete

Answer 2

I don't understand.

Explanation:

Let's say first that I discovered this website because. I was struggling against some maths.
But then I discovered that I could help other students. And I was very satisfied to be like a teacher for anyone that needed it.

However, I can see, disappointingly, that I won't be able to continue to do it, even if I wanted, for some reasons.

And, something that I don't understand, it's that there's more problems than decimals in `pi`...

Answer 3

I think this is a terrible decision

Explanation:

As I (and many other) already stated with comments on Becca's post, I think this is a poor decision, considering so many different aspects:

• Didactic: I'm talking about math/physics, my area of contribution. There is no way that a machine learning algorithm, who can only list the steps one after the other, can be better than a human writing about what he's doing, why he's doing, and so on. And keep in mind that I say this as someone who works with machine learning every day and is extremely fascinated by the topic

• Beside the "written explanation vs step listing point", the app also makes impossible to have two (or more) ways to solve a problem: ask the app one hundred times the same question, and it will answer one hundred times in the same way. In my experience, several times I found (and contributed) to questions asked in complete different ways (for example, one may prefer a geometric approach, whereas another answered using algebra). This richness in content can only be something in favour of students trying to understand the concept, and maybe even showing them the beauty behind what they only see as a boring homework.

• Similarly, since there is no absolute correct way to explain something to everyone, the students can take (could have taken..) advantage from the chance of contacting directly the contributor. Several times I commented back on already answered questions to comments like "Everything's fine, but can you explain a little deeper why you did that particular thing over there?" Well, now it's "if you don't like the way I'm explaining the steps, we're done". Seriously, how can this be a step forward??

• The community/personal point of view. This is surely the most important, and the one I'm most mad at. I've joined Socratic at its very beginning. I remember frequent mailing with Becca, and (ironically..) a recent chat with Steven about him remembering me from those times and how glad he was to "see a friendly face". Socratic had become a part of the daily routines of so many of us, and we always did everything we've done for free, just because of our passion for teaching. This is how this project was presented to me, and this was the project I fully embraced. And now I feel betrayed, a lot. Because all of this family/community state of mind has suddenly disappeared from one day to the other. As I stated in the forementioned point, I don't believe at all that this change was made with the best for the students/teaching/spreading knowledge in mind. Actually, none of us really know why this change will be made, because you didn't even bothered to tell us. You just used our contribution (which we gladly provided, let this be clear) for years, and now you're dismissing us without even bothering for some serious explanation. This sounds like an act of utter disrespect, to us as being people before contributors.

In short, I believe that shutting the site down to promote the app is killing Socratic and everything it stood for. You're killing human interaction. You're killing the underlying community. You're killing focusing on teaching. It will all simply be about someone who doesn't want to do his homeworks and is looking for a quick way to cheat, which I though - and was told! - was something Socratic was trying to fight, rather than promove.

I'm utterly disappointed with all of this, and most of all with the way you took the decision, and even more with the way you told us so.

I'm not a child, nor I'm that naive: if you did it because it was more worthy for you, well, I wish you all the money in the world then. But then this should have been clear from the beginning. I expect such a behaviour from my bosses at work, not from a community with the spirit and goals that I embraced - which is exactly the reason why I demand to be paid at work, and contributed happily here.

So, goodbye to everyone, and thanks nevertheless for all the time together. But this couldn't have ended worse.

Answer 4

I think this is a wrong decision

Explanation:

I have been contributing answers here for the last two to three years. It is difficult to write answers using a smartphone or tablet. It is better to keep this site running and active.

Please review your decision.

Answer 5

How can you possibly be future-proof, if no new questions or answers can be written by anyone?

Explanation:

The decision is of course not made by the users, but this feels like a big step back. I don't know any numbers of values, but closing down a major part of your brand isn't something to take lightly.

In my opinion, Socratic was so strong in delivering answers to students because of the interaction with other people. Dedicated users from all around the world could contribute to the answers.

I've downloaded the app for myself and it is mweh, it doesn't reach the level of the website in provided solid personalised answers.

Don't get me wrong here: the app does a good job. It takes the answers from the Socratic website and places them in the app. Now you stop getting new answers and stop getting new questions if I understand it correctly? How is that ever going to answer the questions of the future? If there is no correction or addition of questions possible, why shouldn't a student just type the question into google?
Socratic was unique. Without personal answers, Socratic will directly gain a lot more competition from Google, Yahoo and other websites that can actually give personalised answers.

Besides that, there are key features missing in the app. I wasn't able to save my asked questions to refer to later. Do I have to type them in every single time I close the app? Also can't I save good answers from other users? It feels like an empty shell that easily links my questions to the website. Cut the website out and you have a very empty shell.

It also mainly displays the best answers that were given on the website. These answers may not even be the 'best' for that particular student. That is what the website made so strong. It had multiple people answering and thus creating a wider coverage for students. Not everyone understands the same things from 1 answer.

With this step, Socratic takes the 'personal' part away and replaces it with calculated answers. If your primary aim is to educate people with answers from helpful contributors all around the world then this app is not the main driving force. It should be a small side project to easily get to the living heart: the website

In conclusion, I think this decision was purely based on money problems, since IMO there are no advantages of this decision otherwise. (I also don't see how the app produces money since there are no advertisements? Also not on the website though).

Please keep the website up. I have the feeling that Socratic will never be as strong again. The APP should not be 100% of your development time. How can you possibly be future-proof, if no new questions or answers can be written by anyone?

Answer 6

Ciao!

Explanation:

From what I understand the idea of helping students will be focused through the mobile-only option because: " By being mobile-first, we’re meeting students where they are ".
I do not know if this is going to work or not but I kind of understand it. Recently at a meeting where I teach, the usual "expert" in education suggested using Whats-App in class as an educational tool (also considering that the students use it anyway with or without our consent)!

I am obviously sad to lose a thing that had become a part of my daily life (in the morning, a coffee and have a look at the question on Socratic...!!!) but I realize that everything has to move forward.
Now it is the time of the mobile, of the apps of i-phones, i-pads....i-everything.
I use an old "elderly-people" model telephone and I should get and learn to use the new stuff....
I feel like a dinosaur in an apple store....but it is ok.

I enjoyed the experience of Socratic and I, more than everyone, learnt a lot!
As we say here in Brazil, I think we all will feel: SAUDADE.

Answer 7

Shortsighted decision.

Explanation:

The fact that questions are still being posted here, even though the app has been available for a while must indicate that the site is still relevant. The only explanation is the team just want to force the change. There are many drawbacks to using the app in place of this site. Instead of facilitating learning, they are just removing options, and that's never a good thing.

Answer 8

I've had time to come to terms with the decision (gosh it's like someone has died). I am going to truly miss the site. It's been great interacting with students to help them and collaborating with contributors on some really tricky questions.

There has been an assumption that contributors will have to use a small screen on a smartphone to upload solutions, but from my understanding this will not be the case. It is a shame that human contributions to solutions will no longer be sought but this is the way technology is moving

I'm going to put a positive spin on what could be one of the most ingenious decisions the Socratic team has ever made ... time will tell - and if they can pull it off then fair game !!

So, imagine an App where a student is struggling. They use their phone to take a picture of the question in the textbook. The app (like Siri, Alexia, Shazam etc) uploads the data to Socratic "server central" which process the pictures, decodes it then uses Artificial intelligence to automatically and instantly answer the question in a clear and intuitive fashion.

Feedback from the accuracy of the response is fed back to the system to improve results, and overtime the system learns.

Ultimately, students benefit more because they get an instant response, which ultimately is the flaw with Socratic as it stands today.

Answer 9

What is the reason for the decision to concentrate on the app (which has a silent cr)?

Explanation:

The phone app is dreadful. The web site is iconic. I need to know the logic behind this decision to retire the web site into a crusty library which will be out of date from, 15 August 2018. The quality of answers to questions is destined to decline, it is called entropy!

Answer 10

I guess this was the plan all along.

Explanation:

It looks like our expertise as contributors has effectively been "harvested" to create a bank of answers for the app. It would also explain why so many "dummy", almost identical questions were posted which did not originate from any user. It would have been more ethical to have informed us of the original aims.

Answer 11

I'll miss the site. Best of luck though!

Explanation:

I feel like I just got here! It's been fun and very useful in keeping me on my toes to remember all the stuff I learned in Bio. Unfortunately I'm not crazy about the app idea
phone apps, for me, aren't really the best medium to deliver well thought out answers for me because I like to tab through my biology notes. Apps also tend to feel a little limited, and I like being able to write up a paragraph rather than a tweet, so I'm not planning on moving over

But! if that's what students prefer, what can you do?
Bye guys :`) , it's sincerely been fun a lot of fun.

Answer 12

I'm saddened by this change.

Explanation:

I remember being contacted by Socratic when they were first starting up and being asked to consider contributing answers. I remember doing a Skype call with Chris and Jackie after they reached out to me by email and their excitement about Socratic was really inspiring.

I think that Socratic has been not only a place for students to learn, but also a place for anyone interested in teaching to have a place to share their knowledge. I know that my involvement with Socratic over the years has helped me to grow as a teacher. I know that I am a better teacher today than I would be had I never responded to that original email.

The internet is a pretty awesome place, and everyone who has contributed to Socratic should explore opportunities to continue to share their knowledge and expertise. Just because we can't share on Socratic.org anymore doesn't mean that we can't share, teach and help others!

I hope to hear from some of my chem & bio counterparts. You can find me on Twitter @mrpauller.

Noel

Answer 13

Dear all,

First of all, reading your responses to the original post has been incredibly moving. They have brought tears to my eyes many times over. Thank you to those who have taken the time to share your thoughts so thoughtfully and truthfully.

I wanted to take a moment to reply to a few common questions and themes amongst your responses, on behalf of the Socratic team.

• What is the connection between the app and the website? The app is different product than the website entirely, and the app is not intended to replace the website. It is a different solution toward the same goal: helping students get answers to their questions. The app lets a student take a photo of a question and search the web for an answer, meaning it offers students many approaches to solving their problem, including answers from Socratic.org (they appear in the app the same way they would when using a search engine). Though we acknowledge that we can’t predict what will happen, we hope the broad approach of the app means more answers for more students. And no, there is no way to write answers on the app—we certainly wouldn’t propose that writing math on a tiny phone is better than doing so from a desktop :)

• Is this decision a money issue? No, the shift isn’t due to lack of money. The decision to focus 100% on the app is strategic is nature, and rooted in our belief that the app can help us reach the most students in the most accessible way. We, as anyone, are bound by the constraints of reality—you just can’t do everything—which means making decisions and tradeoffs where necessary. This one is particularly painful. We’re humbled that you’d be willing to help raise funds if the website needed it ❤

• Have my efforts been wasted? I don’t believe your efforts have been wasted, no. Every answer you’ve spent time writing will remain accessible on the web for anyone to find and benefit from, and this will continue to bring enormous value into the world for a long time.

• Could we keep scratchpads and collections? Without logins and accounts, this won’t be straightforward (since we need to tie scratchpads and collections to an owner for them to function). However, we will think though whether something might be possible here, as we do see the great value of scratchpads especially.

• Where should we go to continue contributing? I wish I could give a great recommendation as to where to continue giving your time and brilliance. I know there are options out there, and my only suggestion is that wherever you go, take the Socratic spirit with you. I am so proud of how kind, helpful, and welcoming this community is, and think it is incredibly unique. So take the culture we’ve built and evangelize it, if you can. I think doing so will make the Internet a better place for everyone.

I would be remiss not to mention that this is a personal heartbreak for me, too. I feel so privileged to have gotten to support what you have created here. I think Stefan put it beautifully:

“No matter what happens, I think that no one can ever deny that Socratic was truly a special place, and the bulk of the merit goes to its community, not to its creators. Or maybe it should go to the creators for having the inspiration to stay out of things [for the most part, haha] and leave us, the community, make Socratic what it is today.”

With that, I owe you all the thanks in the world.

Lastly, I want to express my most heartfelt gratitude to Stefan. I know Stefan very well. And just when I think I know him well enough to guess how he’ll handle something, I am blown away by this man’s grace, compassion, and true brilliance. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever encountered and we are so fortunate to have him as our fearless leader.

Please keep the thoughts coming. We’ll be here.

Answer 14

I'm really shocked and somewhat disappointed

Explanation:

I was truly stunned when I saw the announcements and emails about the Socratic site transitioning to a read-only version, where no more questions or answers can be posed.

After all, I guess it's just a sign of the times. Nowadays, apps are being made for everything and existing apps are progressively getting better.

I feel the Socratic site is an excellent site for learners of all ages, and it has a great format- a community of people asking questions who get excellent answers.

This format of a community forum united for the pursuit of knowledge is great as it already is, and I don't think an app can bring that same experience.

Additionally, I think the recent 100% focus on the Socratic app is also a poor decision- what we have is already great in the Socratic website, and I'm not saying the app should be obsolete, but to be fair to all Socratic users, we need to foster what's already great.

In closing, I feel it is very important to have an educational forum with a very large community like the one we have in the Socratic site. I am really regretful to hear that the site will close of August 15th, and I am hoping someday we can get back to the classic post a question get an answer format.

-- Jacobi J.

Answer 15

I honestly can see two sides to this, although a part of me still wishes the site would live on! I truly believe the site is more worth it as an educational resource. Who knows, you may prove me wrong!

---

It's tough to see such a wonderful site get put to the side like this.

PROS OF THE SITE

I've been part of the community since (and it's on my CV) June 2015, and there have been so many enjoyable facets that drew me back to this site over and over again:

• For the most part, the community truly feels like one. I get the same satisfaction as if I interacted with a real person face-to-face, and I really feel like I've made some good friends and connections here.
• It's a very active community, as we can plainly see. They contribute for free, and they sometimes do get to interact with the student, which makes the content (and them) so much more special.
• The math formatting is intuitive to work with here, and I get to flex my creative muscles to make answers that are both easy to read (because of how clean it can look) and easy to prepare (compared to, say, traditional LaTeX).
• Responses from dedicated answers and collaborators generally range from a few minutes to a few days, occasionally a week or more... Not too bad, if you ask in advance.

CONS OF THE SITE

Sadly, there are a few things that, upon considering, made me understand the decisions that must have been made before breaking the news.

• Responses are not quite as instant as students may wish. Indeed, there are the occasional students who panic and post a question minutes or hours before a deadline, one that may be too difficult to answer in that amount of time. That's not good.
• At the rate that answers are coming in, since newcomers generally give shorter answers, the thorough answers given by veterans get pushed to the back as time passes (which is somewhat mitigated by featuring answers).
• Students do sometimes get dependent on one or two particular people answering their questions, and ask those people each time. As a result, it's like that one student in the TA room who hogs your attention---you want to get to the other students too!

---

Weighing all of these, I can understand why the Socratic team may want to focus on the app, but I cannot be fully confident that it may work.

PROS OF THE APP

• It's more of an instant solution to proposed questions, since it doesn't rely on newly constructed answers, per se.
• It's a good idea in principle, to be able to snap a picture and search it.
• Many students have or could get mobile devices at this point, since we are living in the modern age where older phones are not being sold as upfront.

CONS OF THE APP

• The "instant solution" is perhaps not as gratifying, due to the (current) lack of interaction. Perhaps newcomers to Socratic, and younger users may not mind, but veterans of the community will certainly take issue with not being able to give new answers, respond with clarification, collaborate with each other, etc.
• It could pose a money issue for the family (not an issue with the unavailability of mobile phones), whether or not the student has an iPhone or an Android. Even though the app is free, it requires the student to have a relatively expensive phone to use it.
• The app still has a long way to go, and we as a community don't know what is possible yet (although the Socratic team might).

Answer 16

I was doing poorly (and I'm keeping the post below as a sort of Memory Lane. I'm fully involved in a math blog: https://mathfact-orials.blogspot.com and can also be found at https://www.facebook.com/Math-Fact-orials-207290829949623/

Explanation:

At the start of each day, I'd read my emails, look at news sites, and then I'd land on Socratic for an hour or two (and perhaps an hour or two later in the day). It became part of my day, my routine.

I first learned about Socratic from an ad on Facebook and with a bit of urging from my wife, I decided to check it out (the urging was needed since I tend to disregard things that have ads on Facebook, lol). I went to a question, answered it, then another, and another... and pretty soon I was hooked. I enjoyed answering questions for the challenge they presented, for feeling like I was helping someone see math (and later pretty much all the subjects - I liked being a Jack of all Pages) through my eyes and my understanding.

I was recently reminded of the first time I ran into a problem that needed an edit. One of the many long-time contributors had made a typo and I didn't know what to do - should I edit it? Alert him? Write another answer? So I wrote to him in PM and explained my dilemma - and he wrote back in the kindest way possible to explain how things work, the different ways to fix an answer, and then thanked me for letting him know and that he'd just made the edit. I knew then I'd found a community.

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it allowed me to thrive. I wrote answers to questions I never dreamed of asking, let alone answering! Hidden among all the answers on Socratic are some of the finest work I feel I've ever done. I went out and learned about things just so I could answer the question (like learning how to deal with combinations of identical objects - using "stars and bars" to parse out items, and learning about partitions and the reason why we care about the unique numbers of ways we can add up to any whole number). Socratic became my education muse.

I remember the first time an answer of mine was featured. Oh my! How excited I got! I was like a little kid getting that impossibly big present at Christmas. I was proud of my accomplishment and wanted to do it again. And again. And again. I developed my answering style, learned more about the things the grapher could do (and yet I was never able to actually sit down and figure out exactly how it was that some of the users were able to make defined shapes! With shading!!!) Socratic became a medium for expression.

And then there was the day that Stephan asked me to become a Featured Answer Reviewer. For Algebra no less! I was so honoured and at the same time so humbled. And then I was asked to handle English Grammar, and then PreAlgebra. In these last days, I was asked to become a Hero and to review for Algebra and PreAlgebra! I was so overwhelmed by the trust being placed in me - to be given more prominent roles in helping Socratic to grow. Socratic became a place where I could excel.

I'd do my best to ensure I got at least a bit of activity in every day. Birthdays, holidays, vacations, illness... didn't matter. I tried so hard to be on the site doing something every single day. It killed me to see the count ticker get reset because I'd forgotten or the timing of things just didn't work out, or my computer was on the fritz. Socratic had become a habit. Perhaps even an addiction.

And then the announcement the other day...

it still hurts. I'm still dealing with the pain, the loss, the change.

I feel for everyone, especially those who have found within Socratic something more than simply an educational website - those who have found purpose, community, success. I feel for you. I know your pain.

It's often been said that we don't really know what it is that we have until it's been lost. Well... now I know.

It has been my greatest privilege and highest honour to have been able to work with so many wonderful people over the 2 or so years I've been on the site, from those who came long before me, to those I was privileged to watch develop. I will always cherish the time I spent here, the accomplishments, the work, the connections, the community.

It's also often been said that when one door closes, another will open. And so as I bid farewell to this place and all that it means for me, I turn towards the rising sun and welcome a new day and all that it brings.

All the best to all of you - the students, the contributors, the engineers - all of you. I hope that our paths cross again.

To that end, for anyone who wishes to get hold of me, my email is parzivalsattva@gmail.com.

Answer 17

https://techcrunch.com/2015/03/25/did-socratic-org-raise-6-million/

discuss?!

Answer 18

Why? Why now?.

Explanation:

As a long time contributor to Socratic I am deeply saddened that I will no longer be able help students through this site. Over the years I have enjoyed contributing answers and I know I will miss this greatly.

I understand that the database of previous answers we all have created will provide a very valuable source of information going forward. It may be sufficient to support the Socratic app in many cases. Nevertheless, there will always be cases where a student has a problem that is not standard or simply cannot be expressed in standard form. These will go unanswered.

What I really find most difficult in this decision is that I do not know the reason.

Socratic, We provided you with the information base to support your app without further involvement from your contributors, surely you owe us on explanation - Why? Why now?

Answer 19

Disappointment

Explanation:

I have not contributed much to this site (only 300+ answers), and I already feel really disappointed about the news. I can't imagine how much more disappointed other more active contributors would be. I know that all of the questions and answers will be saved for posterity, but still...

Don't get me wrong. I really appreciate the time and effort that was spent into creating the site. I also can understand that the Socratic team wants to focus more on developing the app. However, I would like to demand to know why the team is closing down the site, if it's not an issue of money as seems to be the case.

I would also like to thank Stefan V., for what he did for Socratic through the years. Even though he's probably the most saddened out of all of us for this move, he is still patiently answering our complaints.

I would like to ask the Socratic team to not close this website. Would it be possible to hand the website to someone to manage?

If this turns out to not be possible, we the community should create a new website similar to Socratic, where people worldwide can ask questions and get quality answers (maybe call it Plato? I don't know). In fact, due to the license used by Socratic, all of the questions and answers can be imported without cost (only attribution required) to the new website. If this were the case, I would like to ask the Socratic team to help with this new transition.

If you are willing to help contribute during the initial stages of this new website (whether by asking/answering questions or programming, similar to how Socratic started), please edit this answer and include your username in the section below to declare your interest. I, for one, am more than willing to help. This is a community effort to help students worldwide. Would Stefan V. and/or some other active contributors of Socratic be willing to lead this new project?

Interested Users
1.NickTheTurtle
2.Kevin B.
3.Rhys
4.dk_ch
5.Michael
6.MoominDave
7.KillerBunny
8.Abhishek K.
9.Jacob T.
10. phillip-e
11. CountryGirl
12. Noah G
13. Steve M (steve-16)
14. Shell
15.maganbhai P.
16. Shwetank Mauria
17. John D.

Answer 20

I have given this much thought over the last few days. I think the decision was wrong, but I accept it and am ready to move on.

Explanation:

Socratic was many things. There were several different communities working together towards a common goal. At one end there are the students who are seeking answers to questions. At the other end are the veterans who truly understand that answering questions is not enough.
You have to teach the subject around the answer so that the student truly understands.
On numerous occasions I have had thank you notes saying "You explained this much better than my teacher/professor did".

The featured answers were key to Socratic's success. To be featured an answer had to explain the subject. It was always a great privilege to have an answer featured. When I was given the
Super Powers to feature answers in Astronomy and Astrophysics it was a great responsibility.
It was never an easy decision to turn that trophy symbol gold.

Collaboration was another important aspect. Many of the best answers have been the result of
several people working together. I particularly enjoyed being involved in the birth of Astronomy, Astrophysics and to a lesser degree English Grammar.

I have a message to the Socratic team. I think you have lost track of what you were trying to achieve. Socratic was never about answering questions! It was about teaching the World!
The app can never supply more than canned answers which probably won't even answer the question.
The web site was infinitely more than that. The community created something truly amazing from your initial ideas.
Do you have the right to destroy this?

Answer 21

I am not a big fan of this decision.

Explanation:

I know I am the old "in my day," guy here, but I am also one of the original contributors and supporters of Socratic and its mission. For some of us working from a computer is just more convenient. The software I use to make images for the answers I write are much easier to work in on my computer. The screen size is easier for me to see (age does effect my eyesight). There are many aspects of the process of providing answers for the students who venture into the Socratic World that are more accessible to many of us on the computer. 
I have always appreciated the opportunity provided for me to expand my classroom beyond the four walls of the school I work in. To touch the lives of students and teachers throughout the world. This is both a humbling and honored experience. 
I feel that Socratic has helped me to become a more even effective classroom teacher. The realization that I needed to be as clear and concise in my answers while not assuming anything forced me to realize that I had to do this whether I am helping someone with little english knowledge thousands of miles away or a student sitting directly in front of me. 
I am both saddened and disappointed that I will not have the freedom to continue to help people in a mode that is both helpful to me and those individuals who request this assistance. I myself am not as comfortable with the app on my phone or my tablet. 
I really hope you will reconsider this decision as you will be alienating a large pocket of the population who are not as tech savvy or phone/tablet dominant. 
Brian Miller
aka. SMARTERTEACHER

Answer 22

Something great is going to be lost forever.

Explanation:

I have had plenty of time to think about this. I have to ask the question what was Socratic about. It certainly was not helping kids with their homework.

It was a place of learning and teaching. I learned so much by researching so I could answer questions. I actually spent four weeks learning Einstein's General Theory of Relativity from scratch. It was an oasis of knowledge in the sea of ignorance which is the Internet. It was powered by a special community of dedicated contributors.

The reason that the UNIX operating system is running the world after nearly 50 years is it was built on the principle of everything does one small thing very well. Socratic took the question and answer model and did it very well. It is now the best source of scientific information which is soon to be lost for ever. It should be a crime.

The app has always been a waste of time. I think it will fail and people will stop using it.

So, why did the Socratic team decide to drop the website? I think it was becoming too hard to manage due to its popularity. There was a simple answer. I was reviewer for Astronomy and Astrophysics. It was a great privilege to be given the role. I got to see every answer for the subjects. If you had just given me the power to delete offensive, stupid and wrong answers, the site would be low maintenance.

I have to say that I have the greatest respect for Stefan, he was always there to police the site. I was expecting to be promoted to Hero before the bomb dropped. I used to spend a lot of time on Socratic. I tried to answer a question well every day. I have since stopped and have more time for other things like learning French!

Answer 23

It has been a fun journey, but all good things have to come to an end.

Explanation:

It has been a fun few years helping subjects graduate and writing answers. I have learned a lot in the process. The Internet will be a much poorer place without an active Socratic web site.

Anyway, the decision has been made. It is time to move on. I hope to meet some of the Socratic community in the future.

The greatest loss is to those who wrote answers, reviewed questions for greatness, moderators and heroes.

Au revoir mon ami.