In regards to SO being down and the ensuing dev freak out.
To me, that's not a sign of devs using it as a crutch or being lazy etc, but rather a sign that devs are using it as a tool to resolve an issue they have not encountered yet. It's a sign that they are challenging themselves to find a good solution and not a hack, it's a sign they are learning, a sign they aren't just implementing the same project over and over again.

Like Martha Stewart says, "It's a good thing."