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To make this question less localized:
"If one is in New York City, is it possible to tour the Stack Exchange Headquarters?"

Original Question (7/14/2012):

I live in Los Angeles (Orange County actually) and this is my first time in New York City! My girlfriend and I are staying in a friends apartment on the upper east side of Manhattan; we have 7 day unlimited subway passes and are doing all the touristy stuff. I thought it would be fun one afternoon to come say hi to the people that run my favorite network of sites. My girlfriend knows Stack Overflow as "that site I am always on" and when I mentioned the idea to her she also thought it would be fun to visit the SE HQ.

So, can my girlfriend and I come tour the Stack Exchange office(s) sometime in the next few days while we are here in NYC?
(We are here until Wednesday (7/18) morning, so Monday or Tuesday would be perfect [assuming the offices are closed on weekends])

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13
  • 1
    I can't see why you wouldn't be able to... I'd assume you just walk up to the reception desk and ask for a tour. If not, then you're just out of luck.
    – Yawus
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 17:04
  • 34
    @yawus I don't know of many companies that offer a tour if you just show up
    – user176326
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 17:05
  • @simchona I guess it's an error of perception then. I live in an area with mostly large companies and they're always willing to give tours so long as you don't visit every week or so.
    – Yawus
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 17:07
  • 47
    Your girlfriend thinks a trip to SEHQ would be fun? Marry her!!!
    – Moog
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 17:31
  • 3
    Just ask for Joel.
    – LarsTech
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 17:40
  • 2
    You should totally propose to her through a message running on the Stack Big Board …
    – slhck
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 18:15
  • 29
    Just don't propose to her on StackOverflow itself. That usually doesn't go over well.
    – user176326
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 18:36
  • 3
    @simchona, usually? That implies you have experience of this! More than once... :-)
    – ben is uǝq backwards
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 18:42
  • 31
    @chown I hope she provides an acceptable answer to your question.
    – Jin Mod
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 20:24
  • 2
    @Ben: stackoverflow.com/questions/11424226/… Get 3,000 more reputation, and you can see it :)
    – Ry-
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 20:37
  • 4
    @chown then it's like a bounty.
    – user176326
    Commented Jul 14, 2012 at 22:45
  • 1
    @simchona, over half of the proposal don't end well, so the fair advice would be to skip that part altogether.
    – bestsss
    Commented Jul 15, 2012 at 21:30
  • Dangit, I was in NYC three weeks ago.
    – Jesse Slicer
    Commented Jul 17, 2012 at 18:06

1 Answer 1

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65

Generally, the answer is "no". Most of the people working out of New York are sales people who cannot be interrupted or we will run out of money and have to stop sending out so many free t-shirts. We don't really have anyone whose job it is to show people around the office.

With that said, you can always try sending an email. If someone in the office recognizes you from the site and feels like showing you around we can try to set something up.

Also, definitely don't try to "just stop by" -- building security won't let you in (that's kind of their job).

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  • 42
    Even if I show up with Stack Exchange T-shirt and covered with stickers? ;)
    – Shadow Wizard
    Commented Jul 15, 2012 at 20:49
  • travel.stackexchange.com/questions/18187/… new question on travel.se is this situation same,could u post email so that i can elaborate my answer over there which serve as an reference for future visitors
    – BlueBerry - Vignesh4303
    Commented Jun 17, 2013 at 15:51
  • What about the London office?
    – Sweeper
    Commented Aug 18, 2016 at 15:29
  • 1
    @david-fullerton Who would you sent the email to?
    – selectDistinct
    Commented Jan 30, 2018 at 10:41

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