I'm a top 5% moderator on AskUbuntu and have answers on half a dozen SE sites.
I used to use LinuxQuestions, a forum site, but found that SE provided better answers for me (better format, less searching), so in return I answered questions there if I could. I also used to blog tricky problems I'd solved on my *nix boxen; SE was marginally easier than making a blog post and would get better responses/corrections.
That was the initial motivation: community participation, quid pro quo.
Keeping SE sites like U&L and AU useful is my on-going motivation, in part I enjoy helping others, in part I enjoy using my Linux knowledge acquired over many years as a user.
Yes, the company get value but all answers are "open source" and it serves the public good too.
I used to use LinuxQuestions, a forum site, but found that SE provided better answers for me (better format, less searching), so in return I answered questions there if I could. I also used to blog tricky problems I'd solved on my *nix boxen; SE was marginally easier than making a blog post and would get better responses/corrections.
That was the initial motivation: community participation, quid pro quo.
Keeping SE sites like U&L and AU useful is my on-going motivation, in part I enjoy helping others, in part I enjoy using my Linux knowledge acquired over many years as a user.
Yes, the company get value but all answers are "open source" and it serves the public good too.