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'''Stack Overflow''' is a [[Question-and-answer site|question-and-answer website]] for [[computer programmers]]. ItCreated in 2008 by [[Jeff Atwood]] and [[Joel Spolsky]],<ref name="introducing">{{cite web |author=Jeff Atwood |date=2008-04-16 |title=Introducing Stackoverflow.com |url=http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001101.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203112658/http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001101.html |archive-date=3 February 2010 |access-date=2009-03-11 |work=Coding Horror |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Jeff Atwood |date=2008-09-10 |title=None of Us is as Dumb as All of Us |url=http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001169.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314173417/http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001169.html |archive-date=14 March 2009 |access-date=2009-03-11 |work=Coding Horror}}</ref> it is the flagship site of the [[Stack Exchange|Stack Exchange Network]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Sewak|first=M.|title=Finding a Growth Business Model at Stack Overflow, Inc.|journal=Stanford CasePublisher|date=18 May 2010|volume=Rev. 20 July 2010|issue=2010–204–1|url=http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee204/Publications/Finding%20a%20Growth%20Business%20Model%20at%20Stack%20Overflow.pdf|access-date=23 May 2014|publisher=Stanford University School of Engineering|id=204-2010-1|display-authors=etal|archive-date=13 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813013908/http://www.stanford.edu/class/ee204/Publications/Finding%20a%20Growth%20Business%20Model%20at%20Stack%20Overflow.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Stack Exchange Network Legal Links |url=https://stackexchange.com/legal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140820103131/http://stackexchange.com/legal |archive-date=20 August 2014 |access-date=2012-01-02 |work=Stack Exchange |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title = Stack Exchange API
|url = https://stackexchange.com/legal/terms-of-service
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110426013228/https://stackexchange.com/legal/terms-of-service
|url-status = live
}}</ref> ItStack Overflow features questions and answers on certain [[computer programming]] topics .,<ref>{{cite web ▼}}</ref> It was created in 2008 by [[Jeff Atwood]] and [[Joel Spolsky]].<ref name="introducing">{{cite web |author=Jeff Atwood |date=2008-04-16 |title=Introducing Stackoverflow.com |url=http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001101.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203112658/http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001101.html |archive-date=3 February 2010 |access-date=2009-03-11 |work=Coding Horror |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title = None of Us is as Dumb as All of Us
|url = http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001169.html
|work = Coding Horror
|date = 2008-09-10
|access-date = 2009-03-11
|author = Jeff Atwood
|archive-date = 14 March 2009
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090314173417/http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001169.html
|url-status = live
▲}}</ref> It features questions and answers on certain [[computer programming]] topics.<ref>{{cite web
|title = Secrets of social site success
|url = http://www.sdtimes.com/SHORT_TAKES_APRIL_15_2009/About_SHORTTAKES/33403
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190504031536/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWHfY_lvKIQ
|url-status = live
}}</ref> Itand was created to be a more open alternative to earlier question -and -answer websites such as [[Experts-Exchange]]. StackThe Overflowwebsite was sold to [[Prosus]], a Netherlands-based consumer -internet conglomerate, on 2 June 2021 for $1.8 billion.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dummett|first=Ben|date=2 June 2021|title=Stack Overflow Sold to Tech Giant Prosus for $1.8 Billion|publisher=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/software-developer-community-stack-overflow-sold-to-tech-giant-prosus-for-1-8-billion-11622648400|access-date=2 June 2021|archive-date=29 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029175938/https://www.wsj.com/articles/software-developer-community-stack-overflow-sold-to-tech-giant-prosus-for-1-8-billion-11622648400|url-status=live}}</ref>
TheStack websiteOverflow serves as a platform for users to ask and answer questions, and, through membership and active participation, to vote questions and answers up or down similar to [[Reddit]] and edit questions and answers in a fashion similar to a [[wiki]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2011/10/the-gamification.html | work = Coding Horror Blog | author = Jeff Atwood | date = 2008-09-21 | title = The Gamification | access-date = 2011-01-24 | archive-date = 1 February 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140201063225/http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2011/10/the-gamification.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Users of Stackthe Overflowwebsite can earn [[Reputation system|reputation points]] and "badges"; for example, a person is awarded 10 reputation points for receiving an "up" vote on a question or an answer to a question,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stackoverflow.blog/2019/11/13/were-rewarding-the-question-askers/|title=Were Rewarding the Question Askers|date=13 November 2019 |access-date=20 November 2019|archive-date=16 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116115224/https://stackoverflow.blog/2019/11/13/were-rewarding-the-question-askers/|url-status=live}}</ref> and can receive badges for their valued contributions,<ref>{{cite web | url = https://stackoverflow.com/help/whats-reputation | work = Stack Overflow | title = What is reputation? How do I earn (and lose) it? | access-date = 14 August 2010 | archive-date = 9 June 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130609062938/http://stackoverflow.com/help/whats-reputation | url-status = live }}</ref> which represents a [[gamification]] of the traditional Q&A website. Users unlock new privileges with an increase in reputation like the ability to vote, comment, and even edit other people's posts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stackoverflow.com/help/privileges|title=List of privileges|access-date=22 November 2017|archive-date=14 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214143308/https://stackoverflow.com/help/privileges|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{As of|2025|06}}, Stack Overflow has over 29 million registered users, and has received over 24 million questions and 36 million answers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=All Sites – Stack Exchange|url=https://stackexchange.com/sites?view=list#questions|access-date=2025-06-11|website=stackexchange.com|archive-date=8 June 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250608151607/https://stackexchange.com/sites?view=list#oldest|url-status=live}}</ref> The site and similar programming question -and -answer sites have globally mostly replaced programming books for day-to-day programming reference in the 2000s, and today are an important part of [[computer programming]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2021 |url=https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2021/ |access-date=2022-07-22 |website=Stack Overflow |language=en |archive-date=16 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916193418/https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2021/?utm_source=social-share |url-status=live }}</ref> Based on the type of [[tag (metadata)|tags]] assigned to questions, the top eight most -discussed topics on the site are: [[JavaScript]], [[Java (programming language)|Java]], [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], [[PHP]], [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Python (programming language)|Python]], [[jQuery]], and [[HTML]].<ref>{{cite web | work = Stack Overflow | title = Tags | url = https://stackoverflow.com/tags | access-date = 9 December 2014 | archive-date = 15 February 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200215125549/https://stackoverflow.com/tags | url-status = live }}</ref>
== History ==
=== 2023 controversy over AI-generated content and moderation strike ===
{{excerpt|Stack Exchange|June - AugustJune–August 2023 moderation strike}}
== Content ==
A study from the [[University of Maryland]] found that Android developers that used only Stack Overflow as their programming resource tended to write less secure code than those who used only the official Android developer documentation from Google, while developers using only the official Android documentation tended to write significantly less functional code than those who used only Stack Overflow.<ref>Y. Acar, M. Backes, S. Fahl, D. Kim, M. L. Mazurek and C. Stransky, "[https://www.cs.umd.edu/class/fall2017/cmsc818O/papers/get-where-look.pdf You Get Where You're Looking for: The Impact of Information Sources on Code Security] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214111923/https://www.cs.umd.edu/class/fall2017/cmsc818O/papers/get-where-look.pdf |date=14 February 2021 }}," ''2016 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy (SP)'', San Jose, CA, 2016, pp. 289–305. doi: 10.1109/SP.2016.25</ref>
== Decline ==
Starting from 2023 and as of July 2025, Stack Overflow's questions have rapidly decreased due to AI-enabled solutions like ChatGPT, Deepseek and Claude AI.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stack Overflow’s decline |url=https://www.ericholscher.com/blog/2025/jan/21/stack-overflows-decline/ |access-date=2025-07-21 |website=Eric Holscher |language=en}}</ref>
== See also ==
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