All Questions
Tagged with or stack-exchange-history stack-exchange-history
58 questions
811
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16
answers
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Recent feature changes to Stack Exchange
This is an unofficial list/changelog of new features and various changes to Stack Overflow and the Stack Exchange network.
It is maintained by the community, while a Stack Exchange employee changes ...
140
votes
6
answers
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What did the ORIGINAL Stack Overflow look like?
I have read this but I can't seem to find the following answers...
How old is Stack Overflow?
What did the first version of Stack Overflow look like and how much has it evolved since?
How many days/...
- 2,656
50
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What is the story of Jeff Atwood and the pluralization 'Bug'? [closed]
No, this is not a question reporting pluralization bugs, I don't really care about them and I don't think they're real bugs...
But, I'm very curious to know why is the Stack Exchange team ignoring ...
- 1,643
43
votes
2
answers
958
views
Where did the name "Stack Exchange" come from?
I get Stack Overflow (which I'm guessing was the first site?) and Super User, Code Review, and the other sibling site names make sense to me. But I've never heard of a stack exchange before.
Is a ...
- 869
35
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Which Stack Exchange sites weren't proposed in Area 51?
Recently I found some sites that are a part of the Stack Exchange network but were not proposed. In other words, I'm talking about sites that are not established through Area51, like Super User.
...
- 10.6k
34
votes
2
answers
444
views
Moderators (mods) have diamonds, why?
We all know that moderators can be recognized anywhere (except chat) by their diamond (♦︎︎︎) symbol by their screen name.
What was the design choice behind using the diamond, as opposed to something ...
- 1,770
28
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How was the iconic Stack Overflow emblem born?
I didn't see a question about this anywhere so I decided to ask it.
I anticipate an answer like "it best represents the site name," which is all right, but I'm sort of looking for an in-depth look at ...
- 5,930
24
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Where can I find out about Stack Overflow history?
I'd like to know how Stack Overflow and other sites started - which was first, who initiated it (OK, that's on the link below) and why, how the different sites evolved, how the rules evolved, etc.
...
22
votes
0
answers
540
views
What is the story behind the "I really hate unicorns" close reason? 🦄
According to the Question Close Stats in the 10k Tools here on Meta Stack Exchange, Shog9 created a new close reason in June 2013 that stated:
Questions about unicorns are off-topic because I ...
- 33.2k
20
votes
1
answer
491
views
What happened to the accept rate one year ago?
While discussing the effect of a beta site, attention turned to accept rates on SO. There's a sharp fall in global accept rate (not per-user) in early 2015:
This is also true of Ask Ubuntu:
And ...
- 8,235
19
votes
1
answer
457
views
Total reputation in Stack Overflow over time [closed]
At DevDays, Joel showed a graph of Stack Overflow site visits per day over time.
I'm curious how the total reputation in the system has grown over time, and how that compares with the total number of (...
- 307
18
votes
1
answer
263
views
Where did Stack Overflow acquire its standards?
I have used it my whole way through university, without it things would have been much different. I could not continue without SO, but as I use it more and more I see it is the best because of how it ...
- 299
16
votes
2
answers
574
views
Was Programmers (now Software Engineering) the first SE site to change its name?
Programmers Stack Exchange is now officially Software Engineering Stack Exchange, which made me curious about history: is this the first time this has happened?
Has any SE site previously changed ...
- 1,297
16
votes
2
answers
315
views
Was there some sort of epic shift in SO which changed how reputation was earned?
I see so many members with over 20k reputation. As I move beyond 2k and see how serious an effort it is to make the jump to 3k and beyond. I wonder...
Was there some sort of epic shift in the past ...
- 323
16
votes
1
answer
188
views
How could a question require 18 people to be finally deleted?
Digging a little bit in the Data SE, I found this old post. In 2011-11-18, it required 18 people to be finally deleted. At least, there are so many voters in the corresponding PostHistory record (id ...
- 1
13
votes
1
answer
168
views
What did Stack Exchange/Overflow change in May 2016 that cut low-quality questions so dramatically on the flagship sites?
So, I'll confess, I'm addicted to SEDE. To date, I've spent most of my time crafting queries to help with Spring Cleaning over on Chem.SE.
However, alongside the site cleanup efforts, it appears that ...
- 1,414
12
votes
17
answers
564
views
What's a good way to refer to all four sites collectively?
Now that Stack Overflow has become a group of four sites (Stack Overflow, Server Fault, Super User, and now this meta site), what's a good way to refer to the complete group? Is there an official name?...
- 221
12
votes
2
answers
538
views
When/why did Stack Overflow disallow anonymous questions? [duplicate]
I remember a time when anonymous users could post questions without an account on Stack Overflow. IIRC, this is no longer possible.
I don't mind the removal. I DO, however, find it interesting ...
- 221
12
votes
1
answer
211
views
Who invented the Winter Bash hats program? [duplicate]
Hats are a really nice idea and earning one is a happy event.
Who invented the hat system?
I was wondering how they were born, and who chose their names?
- 231
12
votes
0
answers
225
views
Pictures of the chat software in time, courtesy of balpha
Hello World.
Lorem Ipsum.
Hello Barney.
More colours.
More circles
More peoples
More history
11
votes
1
answer
173
views
Has Stack Exchange ever purchased "premium" domain names?
The landing page of stackoverflow.com in June 2004 looked something like this:
Suddenly, in July of 2008 there was a teaser of the site to come:
The link goes to the original Stack Overflow blog. ...
- 13.7k
10
votes
1
answer
354
views
What was Stack Exchange 1.0?
I've seen a few users mention that certain SE sites like SharePoint and MathOverflow are unique, as they were originally created as Stack Exchange 1.0 sites.
As a fairly recent user, I don't know ...
- 15.2k
9
votes
1
answer
816
views
Which came first, Stack Overflow or Stack Exchange?
Just out of plain curiosity, which came first, Stack Overflow or Stack Exchange? I'm led to believe it was Stack Overflow, simply due to the similarities to Stack Exchange, but I may be wrong. So, ...
9
votes
1
answer
217
views
When were comments first available on Stack Exchange?
I am curious about when comments first became available on Stack Exchange (or whatever the site was when the development occurred). I ask this because, in the Database schema documentation for the ...
9
votes
2
answers
325
views
Which technology/framework was used to develop the Stack Exchange mobile app?
I am just curious to know - which technology/framework was used to develop the Stack Exchange mobile apps?
Is it native Android and native iOS (Swift/Objective-C) or hybrid frameworks (React Native, ...
user383699
9
votes
0
answers
119
views
Is there history of the StackOverflow/StackExchange -sites available somewhere? [duplicate]
Found some info in Wikipedia and some info in blog, but is there longer (full) story available somewhere?
- 400
8
votes
1
answer
315
views
What happened to stackoverflow.uservoice.com?
What happened to stackoverflow.uservoice.com
and why was the site removed or discontinued? Because I was looking at some old questions here and I found out that there was a stackoverflow.uservoice.com....
- 304
8
votes
1
answer
184
views
Why was the Stack Exchange engine once for sale but no longer is?
There has long been plenty of interest in Stack Exchange clones. We even have a question cataloging them here.
I never thought much about why the Stack Exchange technology isn't for sale. Who knows, ...
- 321
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is the story of Stack Overflow? [duplicate]
We all know how important the team when making an idea and a great product.
In my opinion, Stack Overflow is revolutionizing the idea of forums. In other words, Stack Overflow is revolutionizing the ...
Ahmed Youssef
7
votes
2
answers
193
views
Who cast the first vote on SO?
And how did the first voters on Stack Overflow pull themselves up by their bootstraps?
It's been insinuated in answers about proposals on Area 51 for new Stack Exchange sites that proposals don't do ...
- 1,483
7
votes
0
answers
173
views
From a programming point-of-view, what are the biggest challenges that the Stackoverflow team deals with? [closed]
I'm interested in learning what might be the challenges that the SO team has the most trouble with. I know alot goes into keeping SO up & running. My guess is that concurrency issues are big, .. ...
- 1,822
6
votes
1
answer
296
views
When did Stack Exchange debut?
https://stackoverflow.com/company says y'all started in 2008.
https://stackexchange.com/about says y'all started in 2010.
Which is correct?
- 271
6
votes
1
answer
290
views
Why was the AI site shut down?
Why was the AI beta shut down?
All stats looked good except for visitors/day and high-rep users, but it was in beta for less than two weeks!!
- 1,731
6
votes
1
answer
202
views
What does "Stack Exchange" refer to? [duplicate]
The Computer Science/software site is called Stack Overflow. That has a natural meaning for that field. The more general site is called Stack Exchange. What does that refer to?
- 231
6
votes
1
answer
164
views
Are there any more SE1.0 sites around?
I know there used to be a few SE1.0 sites still around, and many got migrated to 2.0
Mi.Yodeya
MathOverflow
Some moved out of SE altogether (such as parenting).
Are any still in 1.0 mode?
- 1,731
5
votes
2
answers
260
views
Where did the badge system come from?
One of the interesting things about Stack Exchange is the badge system. I think it makes things more fun and competitive, while encouraging users to work and help the community.
I was wondering where ...
- 2,785
5
votes
1
answer
183
views
What is the history of changes in Stack Overflow's privilege policies?
We can access current privilege policies from https://stackoverflow.com/help/privileges. However, changes to the policies are not documented there. There has been at least one notable change - the ...
- 53
5
votes
1
answer
262
views
5
votes
2
answers
136
views
Should I change this old answer with dubious advice?
Should I change this old meta answer since it has some risky info (RE: CW posts)?
- 21.7k
4
votes
1
answer
99
views
Where can I find information on Stack Exchange sites' history, especially regarding early stages in their development?
After spending some time on various Stack Exchange sites I am starting to get interested on the history of these sites.
When were they first proposed on Area 51, if ever? When did they enter ...
- 293
4
votes
1
answer
103
views
Percentage of high-rep users over time?
I've thought of a SEDE project that would be very interesting, but I think it would require a time machine, and unfortunately my flux capacitor is busted. I'd like to know what the percentage of high-...
- 10.5k
3
votes
3
answers
225
views
What processes made Stack Overflow the website it is today?
I have been with the Stack Exchange community since it became popularized after its beta period. During that time I have seen it grow into the vibrant community it is now. I have also seen it evolve ...
user102937
3
votes
1
answer
123
views
What was that feature request web app SO used before meta came along?
I remember when SO first started up, there was an outside website they used for tracking/voting on feature requests. Anyone remember what that was?
- 133
3
votes
2
answers
76
views
Is reputation requirement for commenting from the start or was it introduced later?
I have looked at some post regarding this but nobody seem to have given its answer. For example this post Has the Comment system always required a minimum reputation?
talks about this question among ...
- 351
3
votes
1
answer
90
views
Have there been any other festival-type events like Winter Bash in the past?
I've been active for a few years and I don't remember seeing anything like this in the past. Is this a first for Stack or did I just miss them in the past?
- 163
3
votes
2
answers
131
views
How is it possible that this question has a (deleted) answer with a lower post ID? [closed]
Archaeological question. When looking for the oldest question on Meta, I found that
"https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/5"
redirects to
"https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/6/should-...
- 10.2k
2
votes
2
answers
107
views
Has SO's development time ever been discussed?
I tried searching but couldn't find anything. Has it been discussed on how about how long Stack Overflow's time from initial development to beta was? I know they were working on it part-time for a ...
- 173
2
votes
0
answers
49
views
Are there any light-hearted lists of SE site milestones?
I am curious if there is a list of milestones for a Stack Exchange site which includes both more formal milestones like entering and leaving Area51 commitment phase, private and public beta, and first ...
user226495
1
vote
2
answers
232
views
Why Meta Stack Overflow? When did it start?
I get the appeal of having something talk about itself. I also get the appeal of recursion, how powerful it is in code and with great power comes great responsibility; hense the name Stack Overflow.
...
- 175
1
vote
1
answer
48
views
Where do I find a history of changes to Stack Exchange's API?
As the title says is there a place where I can find a history of changes to the API?
The API I am talking about is here: https://api.stackexchange.com/
I want something more detailed than what is ...
- 430