Stack Exchange

Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer (Q&A) websites on topics in diverse fields, each site covering a specific topic, where questions, answers, and users are subject to a reputation award process. The reputation system allows the sites to be self-moderating. All sites in the network are modeled after the initial site Stack Overflow which was created by Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky in 2008. Further Q&A sites in the network are established, defined, and eventually if found relevant brought to creation by registered users through a special site named Area 51. User contributions since May 2, 2018 are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International. Older content, contributed while the site used the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license or the earlier Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Unported license, remains licensed under the license in force at the time it was contributed. In June 2021, Prosus acquired Stack Overflow for US$1.8 billion, its first complete acquisition in the area of educational technology.

Stack Exchange is a network of question-and-answer (Q&A) websites on topics in diverse fields, each site covering a specific topic, where questions, answers, and users are subject to a reputation award process. The reputation system allows the sites to be self-moderating. All sites in the network are modeled after the initial site Stack Overflow which was created by Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky in 2008. Further Q&A sites in the network are established, defined, and eventually if found relevant brought to creation by registered users through a special site named Area 51. User contributions since May 2, 2018 are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International. Older content, contributed while the site used the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license or the earlier Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Unported license, remains licensed under the license in force at the time it was contributed. In June 2021, Prosus acquired Stack Overflow for US$1.8 billion, its first complete acquisition in the area of educational technology. ===Drastic drop in number of questions asked, 2020-2026=== The years 2017-2026 saw a drop in the number of questions asked on the site, with the drop becoming especially precipitous around 2023. The figure for March 2026 was down by 96% compared to March 2017. Discussion has focused on this metric because it is publicly available, but there is no public information on statistics such as total page views or advertising revenue. In discussion on meta.stackexchange.com, there was a lack of consensus on whether this was in fact a bad thing or what was causing the change. Users speculated that SE "had various incidents over time that caused core users to leave," or that over time, 'the "repository of information" fills up [because] effectively all the "good questions" have been asked many times over already,' or that Q&A activity has shifted to large language models. PrelimScore = SUM(Reputation >= 200 ? 0.233 * ln(Reputation-101) - 0.75 : 0) + 1.5 UserScore = PrelimScore * 0.9 ^ (DAYS / 180) Beta: A live test version of this site is tested out, in two steps. Private Beta: If the concept receives 100% commitment (reaches the requirements listed above), the site enters the private beta phase, where committed members begin actively using the site and publicizing it. It must remain for at least 35 days (or 5 weeks). Public Beta: The site is open to the public for a long period. This allows the creators to ensure that the site reaches critical mass before it is fully launched. It much remain for at least 180 days (or 6 months) of public beta, and 215 total days of beta (31 weeks). Graduation: If the site has at least 1000 open questions, and 70% of questions or more have at least 1 upvoted answer, it is granted a "graduation" and fully launched.

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