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The Stack Exchange Network
File:Stack Overflow website logo.png
Type of site
Question & Answer
OwnerStack Overflow Internet Services, Inc.
Created byJeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky
URLhttp://stackexchange.com/
CommercialYes

The Stack Exchange Network is a network of [website]websites] featuring questions and answers on a wide range of topics in different fields[1][2][3], owned and operated by Stack Overflow Internet Services, Inc.

The website features the ability for users to ask and answer questions, and, through membership and active participation, to vote questions and answers up or down and edit questions and answers in a wiki fashion. Users of Stack Overflow can earn reputation points and "badges"; for example, a person is awarded 10 reputation points for receiving an "up" vote on an answer given to a question, and can receive badges for their valued contributions.[4]

As of February 2010, Stack Overflow has about 135,000 registered users,[5] and 515,000 questions. Based on tags assigned to the questions, the most common topics on the site are C#, Java, .NET, ASP.NET, PHP, JavaScript, C++, jQuery, Python, and iPhone.[6]

History

The website was created by Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky in 2008[7][8] as a more open alternative to earlier forums such as Experts Exchange. The name for the website was chosen by voting in April 2008 by readers of Coding Horror, Atwood's popular programming blog.[9] The design of the Stack Overflow logo was also put to a vote. On July 31, 2008, Jeff Atwood sent out invitations encouraging his subscribers to take part in the private beta of the new website, limiting its use to those willing to test out the new software. On September 15, 2008 it was announced the public beta version was in session and that the general public was now able to use it to seek assistance on programming related issues.

Technology

Stack Overflow is written in ASP.NET 3.5[10] using the ASP.NET MVC (Model-View-Controller) framework.[11] Unregistered users have access to most of the site's functionality, while users that sign in using the OpenID service can gain access to more functionality, e.g. establishing a profile.

Sister sites

Server Fault

In April 2009, the owners of Stack Overflow began a private beta for Server Fault, a sister site. The site deals exclusively with questions and answers related to the field of system administration. The site is in open beta as of June 2009.

Super User

Super User, a sister site dedicated to questions from all computer "power users",[12] rather than just programmers or system administrators, entered a "semi-private beta" in July 2009[13] and was launched publicly on August 18, 2009.[14]

Meta Stack Overflow

Meta Stack Overflow became the site for questions about the sister sites themselves and various other meta-level discussions.[15] Most support, feature-request and bug report entries were moved from stackoverflow.uservoice.com in July 2009.[16] Meta (as it is known to most of its users) is also less strict in what is considered "on-topic". Allowing certain "fun" topics, including very off-topic questions on Fridays.

Careers

Careers, located at careers.stackoverflow.com, is a new undertaking by the Stack Overflow team. The goal of the careers site is to create a job-seeking service aimed at companies that are seeking top quality programmers. Careers allows Stack Overflow members to link their Stack Overflow profile with their online CV created on the careers site, allowing employers to browse their contribution history to Stack Overflow. Additionally, the business model of the careers site is unique in that it requires job-seekers to pay a fee in order to file their resume, i.e. the resume will be searchable by employers. This is justified by the reasoning that it will weed out unqualified and non-serious candidates, clearing up a lot of the noise that employers have to wade through on other job sites.

StackExchange

A spin off of the software called StackExchange has been released by Fog Creek Software to allow third parties to build communities similar to Stack Overflow around other (not necessarily computer-related) topics.[17] Some examples of sites running on StackExchange are:

See also

References

  1. ^ Alan Zeichick (2009-04-15). "Secrets of social site success". SD Times. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
  2. ^ "Spolsky's Software Q-and-A Site". Slashdot. 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
  3. ^ Joel Spolsky (2009-04-24). "Google Tech Talks: Learning from StackOverflow.com". YouTube. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
  4. ^ "FAQ: What is Reputation?". Stack Overflow. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Users". Stack Overflow. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Tags". Stack Overflow. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  7. ^ Jeff Atwood (2008-04-16). "Introducing Stackoverflow.com". Coding Horror. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  8. ^ Jeff Atwood (2008-09-16). "None of Us is as Dumb as All of Us". Coding Horror. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
  9. ^ Jeff Atwood (2008-04-06). "Help Name Our Website". Coding Horror. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  10. ^ "Stack Overflow". Microsoft Case Studies. Microsoft. 10 March 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  11. ^ Jeff Atwood (2008-09-21). "What Was Stack Overflow Built With?". Stack Overflow Blog. Retrieved 2009-05-23.
  12. ^ O'Dell, Jolie (2009-07-26). "Geeks-Only Q&A From Super User". ReadWriteStart. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  13. ^ Atwood, Jeff (2009-07-14). "Super User Semi-Private Beta Begins". Stack Overflow Blog. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  14. ^ Atwood, Jeff (2009-08-18). "Super User Now Public". Stack Overflow Blog. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  15. ^ Atwood, Jeff (2009-06-28). "C'Mon Get Meta". Stack Overflow Blog. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  16. ^ Atwood, Jeff (2009-06-28). "Should meta.stackoverflow.com replace uservoice.com?". Meta Stack Overflow. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  17. ^ RobinH (2009-09-27). "StackOverflow For Any Topic". SlashDot. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
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