What have you gained from compsci?

[Clayton]

This is more for the members who have been around for a while. What have you gleaned from your time here? Myself, I have looked at things I never would have thought of looking at before. Things like : Ruby, C++, O'Caml, OOP in general, how to use the command line better, *NIX based systems, the pros and cons of different languages, helping people out on a larger scale, etc, the list just goes on. If you don't mind sharing, post what you think you have gained/learned/whatever from compsci.

[bugzpodder]

over 7000 bits, some of it due to Andy's generous donation

[r.3volved]

I wouldn't say that I have learned all that much...
I'm used to that though...I'm here to spread what I know and help others ( ie. no one ever answers my questions cause they're not about turing )

[Dan]

I have learned alot....

Alot about progaming but even more so about other subjects. I have learned a tone about the unix shell, web hosting, web servers, php and other aspcets of runing a dynamic web site. There has also been alot of learning in the terms of abuses of your site, like expoites, script kiddys, spaming, DoS atacks, swarms of bots, law suites, death threats, hate mail and all that stuf that seems bad at the time but realy teachs you things in the long term. There is also the things i have lerand from trying to mangae a team to keep the site going, modivating and keeping the comunity undercontrol and just genreal buissness mangment (even if it is not much of a buisness).

In terms of the peoleop i have met from compsci.ca i have learned more then could be listed here about everything from ruby progaming to crazy durnken pandas with locking guns. The poeleop i have met and talked to are probly the most impornt and bigest effect this site has had on me.

In terms of progaming and computer science, i whould say i learn somthing every time a read a post here about progaming. Even helping peoleop with there progaming probolems teaches you about progaming and gives you fresh new views of the problem and diffrent ways to slove it.

The IRC room has also thought alot to me in many ways the site has as well of the joys of trying to set up and run an IRC server, bots, services and trying to make bots.

I whould say when every you come to place online or in real life with peoleop that whont to learn, it dose not matter what the subject is or who the peoleop are you will learn somthing. Learning is all about the sharing of ideas and consecpts be it about OOP or what to do when ninjias steal your magic book of type-os.

[jack]

I believed I have gained a good amount of general knowlege about what programming really is and what it takes to stick with it. I love this forum simply for the fact that just observing can teach a lot here. Thanks for all the support guys

[md]

I've learned a whole heck of a lot about functional languages, especially lisp and scheme (thanks wtd!) I've also learned quite a bit about how to help others learn without giving them the solution, which isn't as easy as it sounds.

Oh, and I learned that there are more stupid people in the world then can possibly be imagined.

[Cervantes]

I owe 90% of what I know about computer science to the people of this wonderful forum. And of course, 80% of that is from wtd. The greatest thing I've learned here is not a specific language, but the various ideas from a great many languages, without needing to be fluent in them.

Take Io, for example. I can't code a thing in it. But I've gained an understanding, to some extent, of another way of doing object oriented programming: prototype-based.

The same goes for what I've learned of functional languages, mostly from O'Caml. It's been a long time since I've coded anything in O'Caml and I doubt I could do much anymore, but the ideas remained with me, so much so that when in CS class my lecturer explained that functions are values and said that, "Todo, we're not in Kansas anymore", I was comfortably ignoring most of the lecture, working on my physics assignment.

Learning so many different ideas of computer science wouldn't have happened by picking up a textbook and reading it for one language, then reading another textbook for another language.

[Tony]

I have gained 4000 users, PMing me asking - "how do I make pong in Turing?"

well not really, but I've had my share of dealing with a lot of people 'learning' programming. Sometimes they don't just don't care and want to pass a course they enrolled in to play video games.... but sometimes I get to know gems that all of you guys are.

I've met quite a few of you guys in person, was always good times

Oh yeah, and I got Martin as a roommate for one whole term. Damn it

[NikG]

I program only for fun and whenever I have some spare time (which is not often) and this site has been amazing during those times.

Mostly I've used the turing and vb forums cuz I like working with those languages most. I havent explored the other forums but it's good to know that if I wanted to learn another language, this site would help.

In terms of my actual programming knowledge, I wouldn't say I've learned too much but that's because, as I said, this is just a hobby to me. But it's very awesome that this site can easily cater to people like me and to serious programmers.

[Hikaru79]

I think I can safely say that without compsci.ca, (one or two people in particular, I think they know who they are ), I probably would not be majoring in Computer Science right now; in other words, I would have completely missed out on what is now the best part of my life. Not because compsci.ca helped my marks to get me into University (if anything, my marks have suffered from all the time spent on IRC last year ), but because it taught me what CS is *really* about, and how it should be thought of outside of the classroom. The comp sci I did in grade 10 was NOT inspiring me to study it in any great depth; the things I found out from the community here certainly were very inspiring, however. I owe this place a pretty great debt