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I feel like all of us owe a big thanks to Jeff. It's hard to imagine writing any code these days without Stackoverflow. It definitely made the web better for me

by sriramk 15y ago

I feel like all of us owe a big thanks to Jeff. It's hard to imagine writing any code these days without Stackoverflow. It definitely made the web better for me, and I suspect, any other developer out there.

danneu 15y ago
Seriously. The best case scenario when I google an error is that a Stack Overflow link pops up. I wasn't big into coding when Experts Exchange was consistently #1, but I somehow stumbled into it regardless. I also can't stand mailing lists. Anyone involved in Stack Overflow should rest assured that they made the world a better place for a lot of people.
- jtchang 15y ago
  The worse case scenario is when you see an experts exchange link. That's when I truly cringe and brace myself for the popups.
  - eru 15y ago
    You should get an adblocker and popup blocker. Unless that was hyperbole.
    - gravitronic 15y ago
      Have you ever visited expert's exchange? It's like the predecessor to StackExchange but you had to pay to get answers. Not even an adblocker and popup blocker would solve that problem.
      - bryanlarsen 15y ago
        For the last few years now you can just scrawl to the bottom to read the answer. They had to put that in otherwise Google wouldn't index them.
        Spoom 15y ago
        Yes, but only if your referer indicates that you're coming from Google, otherwise you only get the offer to buy the answer, with no indication that it's available for free. Slimy. This is why I avoid ever linking to them, because anyone who is unfortunate enough to follow a link to EE gets a question with no answers.
        bryanlarsen 15y ago
        Scrolling to the bottom works from anywhere and has for many years. There was a short period of time where it only worked from Google, until Google nailed them for that.
- ams6110 15y ago
  A good mailing list can still be better than SO for niche subjects. Not saying that to take anything away from SO, it's just that it seems to work best with lots of participants.
  - billybob 15y ago
    While that's true, if I have to resort to a mailing list for an answer, I'm almost certain to later ask the question on a StackExchange site and answer it myself. It feels wonderful to take some information which it cost me days to find out and make it the first hit on Google, with the right answer clearly marked. Even when mailing lists are indexed on the web, they are never as easy to find and visually scan as a SO thread.
- anildash 15y ago
  I'm on the board of Stack Exchange, and I can attest -- not just Jeff, but Joel (Jeff's cofounder & CEO) and everyone on the team care profoundly about the web and ther responsibility to the community. Not a single conversation, from the Meta conversations on the site to the planning decisions on the board, happen without a reiteration, either implicitly or explicitly, of that goal of trying to make the web better. I'm incredibly proud of that ethos and of the values that Jeff's post also makes clear, and delighted it's obvious to folks who are (as I am sometimes) just interacting with the site as a coder who has a problem to solve.
djtriptych 15y ago
Besides that, as a contract programmer there have been a few times I've posted my StackOverflow profile in a cover letter and have had very positive reponses. One interviewer went so far to say he didn't bother asking technical questions since he'd seen my answers on SO. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that tactic, but it's nice to see my online rep actually translate to the real world like that from time to time.
- malnourish 15y ago
  Online reputation, when contextually appropriate, should be a very strong defining attribute related to an interview or judgement of knowledge and expertise in a field. I imagine a world, reminiscent of Ender's Game, where online discussion holds much sway and credence, and the separation between it and "the real world" exists only to differentiate physical properties. It would seem that we are slowly approaching this more transparent mesh of societies. If a person can empirically show their value and experience with a topic, as you did with your SO profile, it should hold the same regard as similar measures.
  - untog 15y ago
    Yes and no. I might have a fantastic SO profile, but be utterly unable to communicate face-to-face, or in stressful situations. I think it's important to remember these possibilities...
    - malnourish 15y ago
      So an attribute used in tandem with others? Another problematic aspect is that someone may be very good at formulating an answer but requires the use of internet resources e.g. google, other SO answers. This coincides with your face-to-face example. Such a talent would have its uses, but may not be as useful in certain situations as someone whose answers may be slightly less quality but composed without exterior information.
- neves 15y ago
  Or, instead of working, you would spend all your work day playing StackOverflow to win new badges and points. :-)
bambax 15y ago
An important feature of SO is that it's been open: crawlable by search engines, readable by anyone without an account, etc. In those same four years Facebook, Twitter and the likes of Quora have exploded, and made the Internet worse. Yet at the same time all the Stack Exchange properties resisted this trend. I'm very grateful for that too.
- Drbble 15y ago
  What's wrong with Quora?
  - BlackJack 15y ago
    For one, if you want to see the later answers, you need to log-in. On SO you can just see everything, and it used to be that you could post a question as a guest. In addition, there is a whole family of sites on StackExchange, each with their own set of active users and people. To me, Quora just seems like a better version of Yahoo answers, while SO is what I want a successful Q&A community to be.

by sriramk 15y ago

danneu 15y ago

Seriously. The best case scenario when I google an error is that a Stack Overflow link pops up. I wasn't big into coding when Experts Exchange was consistently #1, but I somehow stumbled into it regardless. I also can't stand mailing lists. Anyone involved in Stack Overflow should rest assured that they made the world a better place for a lot of people.

jtchang 15y ago
The worse case scenario is when you see an experts exchange link. That's when I truly cringe and brace myself for the popups.
- eru 15y ago
  You should get an adblocker and popup blocker. Unless that was hyperbole.
  - gravitronic 15y ago
    Have you ever visited expert's exchange? It's like the predecessor to StackExchange but you had to pay to get answers. Not even an adblocker and popup blocker would solve that problem.
    - bryanlarsen 15y ago
      For the last few years now you can just scrawl to the bottom to read the answer. They had to put that in otherwise Google wouldn't index them.
      - Spoom 15y ago
        Yes, but only if your referer indicates that you're coming from Google, otherwise you only get the offer to buy the answer, with no indication that it's available for free. Slimy. This is why I avoid ever linking to them, because anyone who is unfortunate enough to follow a link to EE gets a question with no answers.
        bryanlarsen 15y ago
        Scrolling to the bottom works from anywhere and has for many years. There was a short period of time where it only worked from Google, until Google nailed them for that.
ams6110 15y ago
A good mailing list can still be better than SO for niche subjects. Not saying that to take anything away from SO, it's just that it seems to work best with lots of participants.
- billybob 15y ago
  While that's true, if I have to resort to a mailing list for an answer, I'm almost certain to later ask the question on a StackExchange site and answer it myself. It feels wonderful to take some information which it cost me days to find out and make it the first hit on Google, with the right answer clearly marked. Even when mailing lists are indexed on the web, they are never as easy to find and visually scan as a SO thread.
anildash 15y ago
I'm on the board of Stack Exchange, and I can attest -- not just Jeff, but Joel (Jeff's cofounder & CEO) and everyone on the team care profoundly about the web and ther responsibility to the community. Not a single conversation, from the Meta conversations on the site to the planning decisions on the board, happen without a reiteration, either implicitly or explicitly, of that goal of trying to make the web better. I'm incredibly proud of that ethos and of the values that Jeff's post also makes clear, and delighted it's obvious to folks who are (as I am sometimes) just interacting with the site as a coder who has a problem to solve.

djtriptych 15y ago

Besides that, as a contract programmer there have been a few times I've posted my StackOverflow profile in a cover letter and have had very positive reponses. One interviewer went so far to say he didn't bother asking technical questions since he'd seen my answers on SO. Obviously I wouldn't recommend that tactic, but it's nice to see my online rep actually translate to the real world like that from time to time.

malnourish 15y ago
Online reputation, when contextually appropriate, should be a very strong defining attribute related to an interview or judgement of knowledge and expertise in a field. I imagine a world, reminiscent of Ender's Game, where online discussion holds much sway and credence, and the separation between it and "the real world" exists only to differentiate physical properties. It would seem that we are slowly approaching this more transparent mesh of societies. If a person can empirically show their value and experience with a topic, as you did with your SO profile, it should hold the same regard as similar measures.
- untog 15y ago
  Yes and no. I might have a fantastic SO profile, but be utterly unable to communicate face-to-face, or in stressful situations. I think it's important to remember these possibilities...
  - malnourish 15y ago
    So an attribute used in tandem with others? Another problematic aspect is that someone may be very good at formulating an answer but requires the use of internet resources e.g. google, other SO answers. This coincides with your face-to-face example. Such a talent would have its uses, but may not be as useful in certain situations as someone whose answers may be slightly less quality but composed without exterior information.
neves 15y ago
Or, instead of working, you would spend all your work day playing StackOverflow to win new badges and points. :-)

bambax 15y ago

An important feature of SO is that it's been open: crawlable by search engines, readable by anyone without an account, etc. In those same four years Facebook, Twitter and the likes of Quora have exploded, and made the Internet worse. Yet at the same time all the Stack Exchange properties resisted this trend. I'm very grateful for that too.

Drbble 15y ago
What's wrong with Quora?
- BlackJack 15y ago
  For one, if you want to see the later answers, you need to log-in. On SO you can just see everything, and it used to be that you could post a question as a guest. In addition, there is a whole family of sites on StackExchange, each with their own set of active users and people. To me, Quora just seems like a better version of Yahoo answers, while SO is what I want a successful Q&A community to be.