Totally agree. Explaining something to somebody else is a great way to learn, too.
That was my experience on early SO, and it was great. I'd just browse a tag I knew, and pick questions where I knew most of the answer, and the act of explaining it would be useful to me, too.
Now I find doing so neither fun nor fulfilling. First there's lots of garbage questions that are impossible to answer. When you do finally find something good, it's hard to get it before it gets closed as dupe or someone else answers. And if it's from a new user, there's still a good chance they'll never come back to accept the answer and awards your fake internet points.
I'd love to see a SO that encourages more new users to actually answer those "dupe" questions (instead: hide them from search and older users)
Indeed - I've become an expert at several systems by hanging out in support forums and answering other peoples questions. the harder, the better! Who needs video games when you can still solve problems, help others and increase your value/skill set too?
In both cases, it was bad moderation that pushed me into quitting. A trick I learned from working on Wikipedia is that you can think of these systems as MMORPGs where you get a useful product out the end. I think all of these platforms have game-design problems, where people with power can find satisfaction in moves that end up harming the reader experience and frustrating contributors.
Both companies seem to be doing fine without my help, so I guess they can afford to burn contributors out after a while. But like you, I think it's sad how much these things fall short of their potential. I'll never do anything for SO or Quora again, but I do miss the chance to help people.