Timeline for What's the policy about having multiple user accounts?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jan 14, 2022 at 10:24 | comment | added | kaiya | 7) Your stackoverflow account may not ask questions anymore because of a ban several years back because you asked a couple of bad questions when you were new into the field and now can barely fix this even you tried. Thing is - the whole question ban is so intransparent, users barely know what to do gain back the right to ask. | |
| S Nov 22, 2020 at 2:34 | history | suggested | Red | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Changed gender assuming "him" to "them".
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| Nov 21, 2020 at 23:56 | comment | added | Red | With a separate account to ask questions from, serial voting would be a smaller problem (if you're building your rep from mainly answering questions), as serial voters tend to target questions more than answers. | |
| Nov 21, 2020 at 23:55 | review | Suggested edits | |||
| S Nov 22, 2020 at 2:34 | |||||
| Jul 19, 2018 at 15:35 | comment | added | Rick | 7) Browser extension - / helper utility - / API development. Especially, if you have an account, that has more reputation, than most of the users and you want to improve and/or test certain functionality and behavior, that is already unlocked to you or you've already got it (badges, waiting queues, user details, etc.). | |
| Jun 24, 2016 at 4:29 | comment | added | bb216b3acfd8f72cbc8f899d4d6963 | Another legitimate reason: 6) You forgot your original account's password and either can't get a password reset email or you are too lazy. | |
| Nov 28, 2012 at 18:04 | comment | added | robjohn | It is explicitly stated that it is not allowed for a person to vote for a post made from one their accounts using another of their accounts. Is there a mechanism for detecting when multiple accounts from one user are voting for the same post made by another user? | |
| Nov 7, 2011 at 1:56 | comment | added | Nicol Bolas | I'm not sure how #1 is a reason for having multiple accounts. Just have one account that doesn't have your name on it. #2 is somewhat iffy. #4 is just lazy. #3 and #5 are legit, though. | |
| Aug 22, 2011 at 16:58 | comment | added | Iszi | 5) You want to test newbie-specific features of the site, to see them in action (maybe again) for yourself so you can help others to better understand them. | |
| May 11, 2011 at 17:54 | comment | added | lala | Loads of legitimate reasons. Off the top of my head: 1) To keep a low profile if you are female/a minority and fear harassment a la Kathy Sierra. Lots of people do this to feel safer. 2) You find it personally useful, for instance having an account for java questions and another for C questions because that helps you keep them organized. 3) You have an account that is associated with (or could be traced back to) your company and your question might compromise security or taint your brand's image. 4) You think logging in is a hassle, so you make a new account every time your cookies clear. | |
| Apr 28, 2010 at 22:26 | comment | added | Kzqai | Or just stuff that you feel you -should- already know, and, say, wouldn't want your work to know that you -didn't- know. I could conceive of someone wanting that kind of anonymity. | |
| Jan 14, 2010 at 16:06 | vote | accept | CommunityBot | moved from User.Id=138231 by developer User.Id=1037447 | |
| Jan 14, 2010 at 16:05 | comment | added | anon | I think one "legitimate reason" for using an alternate account would be if there is a question you want to ask that you would find particularly embarrassing to have on your "official" accounts records. I never let the two accounts cross each other, so I think that's acceptable use. | |
| Jan 14, 2010 at 15:49 | history | answered | Jeff Atwood | CC BY-SA 2.5 |