I agree badmouthing can work but I also agree that this wasn't one of those times. Maybe early on IF Joel and Jeff hadn't had the sort of following among developers that they have they could have stopped SO gaining traction, but it's certainly not a good strategy now.
As I say (in a recent edit), I don't know what the new business model is, just that you've got to question the old one given the changed market.
If I sell beans and there is a shop next door giving them away, the fact I don't know how to compete doesn't change the reality of the situation - that sooner or later customers are going to leave me.
The other issue they have to contend with is that your effectiveness as a site of this sort is proportional to the number and quality of users you have. As your users drift away, so do the chances of your being able to provide the remaining users with answers to their questions.
As I say (in a recent edit), I don't know what the new business model is, just that you've got to question the old one given the changed market.
If I sell beans and there is a shop next door giving them away, the fact I don't know how to compete doesn't change the reality of the situation - that sooner or later customers are going to leave me.
The other issue they have to contend with is that your effectiveness as a site of this sort is proportional to the number and quality of users you have. As your users drift away, so do the chances of your being able to provide the remaining users with answers to their questions.