Stackoverflow's meta forum has a lot of interesting things, and it gives a bit of a peek into the inner workings. While SO is not as open about itself as it was originally before Atwood et al. stepped down, there is still an unusual amount of openness (compared to other companies).
The most interesting thing is that most people think about toxicity, when it comes to SO. And interestingly this is also visible in the meta forums. Every time the company comes up with some change, some graybeard with 700k reputation (last Q/A activity: 4 years ago) comes, and starts ranting about SO going to hell, and everyone supporting the change is the embodiment of the devil. This goes on, the company post is voted down to -700, and finally SO gives in, and nothing changes. Graybeard is happy, he still won't answer any new questions, but at least no pesky new users will bother him counting his reputation.
not_your_vase•8mo ago
The most interesting thing is that most people think about toxicity, when it comes to SO. And interestingly this is also visible in the meta forums. Every time the company comes up with some change, some graybeard with 700k reputation (last Q/A activity: 4 years ago) comes, and starts ranting about SO going to hell, and everyone supporting the change is the embodiment of the devil. This goes on, the company post is voted down to -700, and finally SO gives in, and nothing changes. Graybeard is happy, he still won't answer any new questions, but at least no pesky new users will bother him counting his reputation.