None of the above.
Looking at the list, take out your pencils and emphatically draw some arrows, free-hand circles, and other official-looking doodles as we work our way through a brief history of Stack Overflow.
(this would be so much more entertaining as an animated video)
- Stack Overflow is always written "Stack Overflow" (two words, capital letters) - Cross off all entries not written as such.
stack overflow trilogy
Stackoverflow trilogy
StackOverflow trilogy
- SOFU would suggest that the Trilogy names form an initialism, which they do not. SOFU is based on all the Trilogy sites starting with the letter "S" followed by either "O", "F", or "U". Software heads recognized this as a regular expression which would be properly written S[OFU].
- The term "trilogy" refers to the original three sites in the series. Super User became the fourth site of the "trilogy in four parts," in the tradition of the five books of the Hitchhiker's Trilogy. So "The Trilogy" is a name affectionately applied to the group of sites, making it a proper noun--capitalized.
Stack Overflow trilogy
Stack Overflow trilogy sites
SO trilogy
trilogy
- Stack Overflow is not nearly ubiquitous enough to usurp the exclusive use of a noun as a pronoun or a deity. One would not refer to "New Coke" as simply "New." The term must be applied in context to take on its full meaning.
Trilogy
Trilogy Sites
Trilogy sites
trilogy sites
trilogy websites
- About "SO Trilogy": this is wrong but I'm getting tried of writing so let's just cross that off and hope nobody bothered reading this far.
The most official looking label is The Stack Overflow Trilogy. And by "official," I mean Really Cool Looking. Unfortunately in legal circles, use of the () symbol means—I appologise in advance for subjecting you to very technical Lawyer Talk—everyone can write "The Stack Overflow Trilogy" except Stack Overflow, Inc.
That leaves us with the proper phrasing: The Stack Overflow Trilogy.
Is it official? Yes, at least in the sense that if you told me "You are totally making this up," you would be correct. But the the little ♦ thing next to my name makes it at least appear authoritative (at least until ♦♦ comes along and says otherwise).
Now put down your pencils or you'll poke someone's eye out.