As of May 31, 2023, we have updated our Code of Conduct.

Questions tagged [stack-overflow]

USING THIS TAG IS NOT THE SAME THING AS ASKING ON STACK OVERFLOW. YOU ARE ON META STACK EXCHANGE, WHERE MOST PROGRAMMING QUESTIONS ARE OFF-TOPIC. Questions specific to stackoverflow.com should be asked on meta.stackoverflow.com; such questions will be closed here. This is for questions about the Stack Overflow site that still relate to the SE network as a whole. Questions about Stack Overflow (the company) should be tagged [company] instead.

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365 votes
19 answers
11k views

Stack Overflow technology makes me write bad answers

Today I had some time and felt like writing a relatively good answer on Stack Overflow; explaining both the underlying mechanisms and good practices, unlike usual declarative answers in a "do that" ...
Your Common Sense's user avatar
332 votes
38 answers
19k views

Stack Overflow Annual User Survey 2012

This year's survey is officially open! We've added a few new questions based on your feedback from last year and we are really looking forward to publishing the results in January. Once you've taken ...
331 votes
7 answers
9k views

Stack Overflow is getting a Meta of its own

We've grown considerably as a network since the days of the original trilogy, when the prospect of growing into a network of over 100 thriving Q&A sites was a distant glimmer in a cloudy night sky....
Tim Post's user avatar
  • 180k
299 votes
6 answers
106k views

Do I have to worry about copyright issues for code posted on Stack Overflow?

I was wondering about the copyright of code snippets from answers. Let's say you ask a question and the solution consists of ten lines of code, which are given in an answer. Are there any restrictions ...
267 votes
7 answers
60k views

Is the Stack Overflow source code available? [duplicate]

Do the SO admins have any plans to release the underlying code for SO at all? I appreciate that the code may be part of their competitive advantage, but it strikes me that the underlying system would ...
kaybenleroll's user avatar
  • 2,807
247 votes
75 answers
13k views

2014 SO Moderator Election Q&A - Question Collection [closed]

In connection with the Stack Overflow moderator elections, we will be holding a Q&A with the candidates. This will be an opportunity for members of the community to pose questions to the ...
217 votes
20 answers
12k views

Mobile optimized version of Stack Overflow [duplicate]

I found this one on UserVoice, and I thought it was fitting to bring it up here for further discussion. "Stack Overflow already works with Mobile Safari, but the experience is far from optimum. ...
Chris Pietschmann's user avatar
187 votes
24 answers
5k views

Close Votes review: I'm going on a strike! [closed]

I know this question is going to make me unpopular here – but I feel I have no other options. I have been concerned by the size of the close votes review queue for quite a while. When I ...
Shai's user avatar
  • 5,724
174 votes
25 answers
5k views

Huge close votes review queue on Stack Overflow [closed]

Today, the size of the close-votes queue is 55k questions and growing. Is that a problem? Which action could be taken to clean it up? It seems to be growing faster than Stack Overflow members ...
Andriy's user avatar
  • 1,891
165 votes
13 answers
19k views

"What have you tried" epidemic

Statistics The usage of "what you tried" (WHYT) is growing (v2) In Q1 of 2012 - 0.0134 such comments per question (~1.33%) In Q2 of 2012 - 0.0167 such comments per question (~1.66%) In Q3 of ...
Brian Webster's user avatar
161 votes
4 answers
8k views

Is it OK to leave "What have you tried?" comments?

Some questions boil down to "how can/do I do X?" Here's an example. Sometimes, people leave comments under such questions that ask "what have you tried?" Is it OK to leave comments like that? Should ...
Zul's user avatar
  • 1,719
160 votes
3 answers
5k views

Anyone with a "visited: 5000 days, 5000 consecutive" in their profile?

Back in May, 27th 2009, the Stack Overflow team introduced a little counter to monitor the consecutive days you visited the site. And 30 days later (June 26th 2009), the first "Enthusiast" ...
VonC's user avatar
  • 13.5k
143 votes
2 answers
68k views

Stack Overflow returning HTTP error code 418 (I'm a teapot)?

First a little background: I recently wrote a reverse proxy which I have found to work wonderfully so far, and being an avid Stack Overflow user, I thought I would try it out there. I was ...
caesay's user avatar
  • 1,871
142 votes
12 answers
6k views

Why do we let hostile users dictate the perception of Stack Overflow? [closed]

This question is a great example of why Stack Overflow is getting a reputation for being a hostile environment these days Possible to convert C# get,set code to C++ This is clearly a developer ...
JaredPar's user avatar
  • 4,632
140 votes
6 answers
54k views

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/...
Kevin Boyd's user avatar
  • 2,626
139 votes
10 answers
5k views

Adding support for math notation [duplicate]

Every once in a while I miss having the option to write some LaTeX math on SO. E.g. when talking about automata. I'm certainly not the only one. And I think the person answering this question would ...
Stephan202's user avatar
  • 5,479
135 votes
65 answers
14k views

Are there famous developers using Stack Overflow? [closed]

We know Jeff and Joel use Stack Overflow (obviously), but what other "famous" developers or at least working on popular projects, or important blogs do you know of that are using Stack Overflow? ...
132 votes
8 answers
6k views

Close all the typo questions [closed]

Update 2013/03/06: I've been playing around in the Data Explorer (first time I've used it) and put together a basic query to help identify typo related posts a little better, improvements welcome: ...
130 votes
15 answers
3k views

Eeeek! Why is Stack Overflow naked? [closed]

It just seems wrong. In my opinion it looks awful. Will it be like that from now on? :S
BrunoLM's user avatar
  • 3,563
130 votes
10 answers
5k views

Can we now discourage the use of and burninate the homework tag? [closed]

I present to you the following indisputable (depending on your frame of reference) facts: homework is a meta-tag. It describes the status from which the question is being asked, not the content of ...
user avatar
126 votes
29 answers
14k views

At what point do you put your SO reputation in your resume? [closed]

While this is half tongue in cheek, this website and community may end up being the premier site that over half the world's programmers regularly attend - especially if Jeff and Joel create localized ...
124 votes
16 answers
22k views

Should I not answer my own questions? [duplicate]

I asked a question recently, looking for examples of an online tool. Per the FAQ, I answered my own question with a few examples that I had already found. I did this so that these examples would be ...
120 votes
8 answers
3k views

What happened to the "You're Just Lazy" close vote reason? [closed]

...not literally, of course. But what happened to the previous menu of close-vote options? I find the current set unsatisfactory. Take this question that boils down to a typical java.lang....
Jonathon Reinhart's user avatar
120 votes
12 answers
3k views

Force Accepted Answers on Questions by Inactive Users

As a disclaimer, I must admit this may benefit me (I haven't checked), but probably not as significantly as most others. This issue is also something that has prevented me from answering questions by ...
Ian Elliott's user avatar
  • 14.7k
117 votes
12 answers
3k views

Why don't people upvote questions they answer?

This has always been a bit of a puzzle to me. I generally upvote every question I answer: if it seems a good enough question to take time answering, it seems a good enough question to upvote I want ...
Mark Harrison's user avatar
111 votes
9 answers
16k views

Is it okay to use Stack Overflow as the support forum for a product or project? [closed]

I recently saw a question about a problem (or possible bug) with some product on Stack Overflow. At first, I wanted to suggest that the asker post his question to that product's support forum. When ...
110 votes
14 answers
14k views

Why "What Stack Overflow is Not" was deleted

I just deleted What Stack Overflow is Not, a collection of various explanations for things that Stack Overflow doesn't do, wasn't meant to do, or shouldn't be used to do. Several people put a fair bit ...
Shog9's user avatar
  • 440k
106 votes
15 answers
5k views

Dealing with "Find out who's going to buy the croissants" [closed]

On Stack Overflow at the moment, there is a popular question which is currently high in the Hot Questions feed: https://stackoverflow.com/q/17807531/42473 So far it has been closed twice (once by the ...
Mark Booth's user avatar
  • 4,493
101 votes
15 answers
10k views

How can I encourage Stack Overflow to rein in the 'subjective' vigilantes? [closed]

I'm on SO pretty much every day researching something to do with programming, and over the last month or two, I find I'm growing frustrated and a little disgusted at how many interesting questions ...
Spike0xff's user avatar
  • 1,614
98 votes
7 answers
2k views

Are code questions without an attempt now on topic [closed]

Background The close reasons have recently been changed, this includes the removal of the old close reason: Questions must demonstrate a minimal understanding of the problem being solved. Tell ...
Richard Tingle's user avatar
98 votes
23 answers
4k views

What would you want to see in a Stack Overflow API?

Note: I'm aware of this question, but it's slightly different, and in my view is talking about the Stack Overflow folks coming up with an API themselves. I'm talking about a community-developed one, ...
94 votes
4 answers
4k views

What is the best time to ask questions?

What's the best time of day, or weekday, to ask questions on Stack Overflow? I'd like to know if there might be a way to maximize the exposure or the amount/quality of responses. At the very least, ...
SurroundedByFish's user avatar
93 votes
5 answers
10k views

What was the first question on SO? [closed]

Can someone send me a link to the first question on SO?
user130657's user avatar
  • 1,889
90 votes
13 answers
8k views

Are duplicates creating broken windows?

I think the Eternal September is dooming Stack Overflow to have the same questions asked over and over again, and the people who don't want questions closed are winning. Why don't people want ...
89 votes
18 answers
453 views

Does my inability to answer questions reflect badly upon me?

I really enjoy browsing Stack Overflow. I've learned quite a few things just from perusing the questions. But, I have to admit, it's really bruising my confidence when I realize how much I don't know. ...
user avatar
88 votes
6 answers
6k views

LOL debugging are we? - Stack Overflow homepage alerts false [closed]

Refreshing the Stack Overflow home page is giving me an alert('false');.
Stephen's user avatar
  • 1,032
88 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why are the moderators being so strict with quality related flags recently?

I recently flagged a question as "very low quality", just like I've flagged many questions in the past. However, my flag was found to be unhelpful this time. The same thing happened when I recently ...
87 votes
5 answers
4k views

What is a day in the life of a Stack Exchange moderator like?

What is it like to be a Stack Exchange moderator? Do you have to be on the site 24/7? Are there certain expectations of you every day (answering set amount of questions, reviewing set amount of items,...
yuritsuki's user avatar
  • 3,952
85 votes
4 answers
1k views

Add a hint to stay put after posting a question

The Problem It happens on every second question I try to answer: The question is unclear but the user does not respond. Why? The usual reason is that the user asking a question seems to leave. ...
juergen d's user avatar
  • 39.1k
83 votes
8 answers
1k views

What happens to new users?

I've been looking at what happens when new users post their first questions on Stack Overflow... Not really done yet, but I figured I'd toss what I have up here in case anyone else has useful ...
Shog9's user avatar
  • 440k
80 votes
3 answers
861 views

Stack Overflow needz moar ads

This got me thinking... Not about a contest though. I don't want people reviewing questions so that they'll get something in return; folks should be doing it because they care about the questions, ...
Shog9's user avatar
  • 440k
78 votes
11 answers
1k views

Proposed contest for close review queue posse [closed]

Many hands make light work. I propose that we offer a coveted Stack Exchange coffee mug to the top 25 people who work to clear the close queue in the next 45 days, and a USB rocket launcher to the ...
user avatar
77 votes
2 answers
29k views

What's the difference between Stack Overflow and Software Engineering SE (previously known as Programmers)? [duplicate]

What is the difference between Stack Overflow and Software Engineering SE (formerly known as Programmers SE)?
700 Software's user avatar
  • 4,257
76 votes
10 answers
29k views

Help design our Stack Overflow t-shirts [closed]

In the spirit of How would you design a Stack Overflow T-Shirt?, Michael came up with these three mockups (in answers). Please vote and comment, or — if you're feeling extra frisky — ...
76 votes
10 answers
9k views

What interesting stats can I obtain from the Stack Overflow data-dump?

What interesting statistics have you discovered from analysing the Stack Overflow data-dump? Related: Blog post announcing the data-dump Direct link to the .torrent (original XML files) (2009-06) ...
76 votes
2 answers
2k views

Samsung agency is buying off Stack Overflow users

I was thinking anybody on Stack Overflow might be interested in the blog post Samsung agency is buying off StackOverflow users. How can the Stack Overflow community defend itself from such spam ...
MrTJ's user avatar
  • 581
75 votes
35 answers
5k views

Help us redesign the Stack Overflow homepage [closed]

The homepage for all Stack Exchange sites is intentionally simple: it's a list of the last (n) questions by activity date. Activity date means new questions, or questions with new answers or new ...
75 votes
2 answers
3k views

What just happened to Stack Overflow?

Stack Overflow was down for a long time here, probably about an hour. What was the cause?
tyler's user avatar
  • 609
74 votes
1 answer
3k views

Where in the world do Stack Overflow users say they are from?

I wanted to know more about where in the world Stack Overflow users come from. Is there any way I could get more data for this? Are there any more maps or charts to further identify where users are ...
74 votes
3 answers
5k views

What reputation do you need on Stack Overflow to receive an invite to Careers? [closed]

What reputation do you need to have on Stack Overflow to receive an invite to Careers? The site says "Stack Overflow grants new invites to users fitting certain criteria of activity on Stack Exchange ...
smartcaveman's user avatar
  • 9,802

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