Thank you Jeff Atwood!

Question

I'm quite a new user, so it feels somewhat inappropriate for me to post this (I kinda thought it would have appeared already ^^). But as a member of the Stack Exchange network who just read Jeff's blog post that he was leaving the SE network, I thought I should say something to thank him for all the work that I've seen him put in so far.

So thank you, Jeff, for helping to create what is, to me, one of the best sites on the internet! (and the corresponding network of sites that sprung up along with it) It will be a shame to never wonder again whether you sleep or why your rep is so high on meta, but I hope that in exchange you will have more time to spend with your family.

If it's okay with the mods, then maybe we can all use our posts to thank Jeff!

Edit: As was suggested in the comments, I'd like to add to this discussion by asking members of the community how we can pay tribute to Jeff, and make this, as a goodbye card, a really nice way to wish him well for the future. What would be something good for us to give to a man who has given so much to us?

Answer 1

Jeff is the evil overlord we love to hate.
The nay-saying parent who wakes the raging teen in all of us.
Even when we knew he was wrong, he knew he was right.
But you gotta hand it to him: he had a clear idea of where he wanted to go,
and he went there,
and took us with him.
Now he wants to go some place else, but this time without us.

The most amazing tribute to his achievement will be if this network of sites can continue to evolve and maintain a life of its own; without falling into slavish "what would Jeff do?", nor imploding in a fit of status-completed.

Answer 2

A Meta farewell without freehand circles? What's the world coming to?

Answer 3

You are quite welcome.

But I am the one who should be thanking all of you.

This is the scary part, the great leap of faith that Stack Overflow is predicated on: trusting your fellow programmers. The programmers who choose to participate in Stack Overflow are the “secret sauce” that makes it work. You are the reason I continue to believe in developer community as the greatest source of learning and growth. You are the reason I continue to get so many positive emails and testimonials about Stack Overflow. I can’t take credit for that. But you can.

I learned the collective power of my fellow programmers long ago writing on Coding Horror. The community is far, far smarter than I will ever be. All I can ask — all any of us can ask — is to help each other along the path.

This part of my journey may be over, but our collective journey never ends.

that which we are, we are —
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Thank you for contributing your time and effort to this community and helping us get a little further down the path together.

... now keep going!

Answer 4

Thanks, Jeff, for this:

But seriously, thank you for Stack Exchange. When I first joined Stack Overflow, I wasn't very active because I didn't know how into programming I really was. But then I began participating, and little did I imagine that I would:

• Reach 10k reputation within half a year after becoming active
• Receive all this swag
• Top my country by Stack Overflow reputation
• Be part of the formation and development of an unofficial Stack Exchange Q&A site for LEGO
• Be elected as a community moderator on Stack Overflow
• Get to know such a wonderful community and company of fellow professionals and enthusiasts
• Find my true calling and a genuine passion in programming as well as The Internet™

So again, thank you for being behind one of the greatest sites that I'm proud to be part of. Jeff, you've been an awesome founding father for Stack Exchange; I wish you all the best for your family and your future endeavors.

Now, go be an awesome father for your three kids (and counting?)!

Oh and as per the comments we should totally band together and buy him and his kids some swag. (Do kids love swag? Hell yeah you bet they do.)

Answer 5

Thanks, Jeff for the following:

• Making me a better writer.
• Demonstrating that opinions are like browsers (everyone has one) even though I disagree that hunches should be dismissed without data.
• Demonstrating that you can take something that sucks and turn it into something awesome.
• Encouraging me to stop sucking and start being awesome.
• Not coddling me as I learned the ways of moderating one of the largest MMORPG available.
• Putting me in touch with some of the best minds that this industry has to offer.

Almost every interaction I had with you left me wanting to destroy something, barring the semi-frequent "we have a serial spammer" e-mail. You didn't just make a web site that encourages critical thinking, you made the critical thinkers that help make it run more critical.

You will be missed, and I can't wait to hear about the next adventure you undertake. I think I can say, factually, all 200+ of us have things well in hand. You hired the right people, you made (many) good decisions and now we have a thriving network that people really love and it actually makes the Internet a better place. Programmer, parent, DIY enthusiast or gamer, we've got you if you know how to articulate yourself reasonably.

That's how it should be.

I'm quite convinced that successful web apps should be measured in dog years. Stack Overflow is now 28 by that measure and taking care of itself. Shoo, shoo, go enjoy your family. I'll see you in a few years when you scratch another itch. If it's something I know something about, you can count on my help.

Answer 6

A Jeff Atwood Haiku:

Made Stack Overflow
Most successful Q and A
Kills Pekka's requests

Answer 7

One of the biggest reasons for my loyalty to the SE network has always been knowing that Jeff was serious about quality first, and traffic second. From previous experience on various forums, I've come to hate lazy, site-polluting "I hv problem plz help" questions - help vampires can destroy any place, no matter how cool it is and how big it is.

It was always an incredibly good feeling to know "The Management" is on your side on that essential issue, doing its utmost to keep them out. That doesn't mean there wasn't occasional disagreement and dissatisfaction, but the basic formula always worked.

That said, I have every reason to trust that the new powers that be will continue on the same course. Huzzah!

Answer 8

I'd like to add that I appreciate how Jeff, as part of a great team, has taken a sometimes difficult road to accomplish the task of creating a unique and high-quality Q/A network.

The default of Conventional Wisdom on Q/A sites is to let everything in. It's so ingrained in people, that many people violently oppose the very idea of narrowing things down for something so idealistic as "quality". I see the exact same thing on many levels in my work as a director for a business networking organization;

Isn't it better to err on the side of letting something in that isn't "harmful", because maybe someone will be helped!

There are thousands of places where that opinion reigns. The fact that this isn't one of them is the reason Stack Exchange is the first and only place I ever think of coming to find answers.

Many people have pejorative descriptions they attach to Jeff because of his care in protecting that, and many other closely-related principles. Among his other duties, of which I am not all that aware since I'm really only relatively recently active here on Meta, he has been the face and voice of these decisions.

I can imagine the stress of such a position. I deeply appreciate it.

New stuff comes. Sometimes we love it, sometime we hate it. But we always know that some really smart people who really care expended some real effort thinking about them.

So, thank you so much for that, Jeff!

---

Some nostalgic reading to show my answer-appreciation:

Why is Jeff Atwood's reputation so high on meta?

Does Jeff Atwood sleep?

Now that Jeff Atwood is moving on, who will be "in charge"?

Answer 9

The fact that you co-founded Stack Exchange is awesome and I congratulate you for its success.

But more importantly you've gotten to a place where you can now afford to spend as much time as you want with your family while your children are still young. And more to the point, you acknowledge the importance of taking advantage of that success. That's the real achievement I want to congratulate you for.

Answer 10

We'll miss you, Jeff. You've proven that your family is the highest priority. My respect for you has only grown. Hopefully your wife, and some day, your kids, will see how fortunate they are to have you for a husband and father.

Thank you for your countless hours devoted to the Stack Exchange - editing, voting, asking, answering, and creating something so awesome that we just keep coming back. Thank you especially for your work with Super User; the time and energy devoted, and even generously donating hardware to Super Users.

Wishing you and your family all the best.

Answer 11

I know that whatever you touch will turn to gold! Best of luck to you and your family as you start a new chapter in your lives.

In other news, I'd like to personally thank you for Hanzo's guitar, which he totally digs!

This site is awesome! I'm glad Hanzo poked and prodded at me relentlessly to try it out. You should be proud of your enormous accomplishments and of your quality product!

(FWIW, I'm incognito here, but you can put two and two together! Hanzo + guitar = Hanzo's wife)

Thank you for all you've done for Stack Exchange :)

Answer 12

If it is to thank the founder, Sir, you have taught me Android, Java, C, C++, without any tutor, just self taught, all because and with Stack Overflow, and now a job too. Thanks a lot.