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When I post a programming question on Stack Overflow, I usually get a response pretty quickly, and to my surprise, the responses are very detailed. Some even have code and links to articles.
I am wondering, is there some incentive program, or do they earn points, or what is the incentive that draws people to answer questions? Is there a team hired by Stack Overflow?
The users are a community of people who want to share their knowledge and learn something in the process.
When users, such as yourself, see a useful question or answer to a question they are supposed to vote for it (as described in the FAQ) and the person who contributed the question or answer gets reputation points, again as described in the FAQ.
Users with the most experience, who contribute the most useful questions and answers earn the most reputation points.
With so many users (particularly on stackoverflow) there is some competition to answer questions first, because earlier answers tend to be upvoted first.
It takes time to accumulate reputation points, so keep reading questions, asking good questions and answer only when you're sure you know the answer. Remember to vote for other's contributions and accept the best answer to your questions.
It's all described in the FAQ.
what is the incentive that draws people to answer questions?
Most of the time, it's that "I did something good for someone else" feeling.
Here's some discussions on the concept: The problem with extrinsic motivation and What aspects of psychology does Stack Overflow take advantage of?
Those could give you some insight towards the discussions that have already been had here.
Additionally, note that there is a site http://careers.stackoverflow.com where people get to show off their best answers (or questions) so those positive contributions end up being a bonus on their resume and end up making them look better to prospective employers.
Another reason, definitely worth mentioning, is that we answer questions to grow our ability to communicate, and to keep all our skills sharp. Not everyone can teach, and not everyone can answer questions well. Like with anything else, you really have to devote yourself to the task at hand to become good at it. So by answering a lot of questions, we get better at answering questions in general. This matters for being a good team-member. This matters for being a good teacher. This matters for being able to defend your position on something later. And never you mind that (for example) when I answer PHP questions, I'm actually learning something about PHP (because I had to research to answer the question) and so is the asker.
Then there's the part about where we all like to show off what we know ;)
You should give back, and answer the questions that you can as well. It's paying back into the community, and you'll get all the benefits I just listed as well. So that means, when you ask:
Who answers questions on Stack Overflow?
The answer is:
Often, they are bored college students, like myself. If I'm bored in class I'll often ask or answer on StackExchange -- generally I learn something more than I would otherwise have known, and get to help others to boot.
In some companies it's preffered way to prove your knowledge - get some points on SO. Also, it is some of trade: you help others, and others will try to help you.
