Another quarter down, and it’s time for a fresh look at what the Community Products team here at Stack Overflow is working on. As Stack Overflow keeps growing to better serve all of us in tech, we’re putting a lot of energy into what comes next.
The best way builders study and join on-line is altering, and Stack Overflow must sustain. Whereas core Q&A will at all times be a vital useful resource, we’re exploring and constructing new methods for technologists to study, share, and collaborate. Consider it as increasing the platform with new instruments and areas that transcend the normal query and reply format, supporting completely different modes of studying.
Our objectives embody:
- Reaching and supporting technologists: By making an attempt out new content material codecs and methods to attach, we need to be certain that Stack Overflow is related and helpful for all builders, no matter their studying type.
- Increasing conversations: We’re methods to transcend simply fast solutions and to have extra in-depth discussions about technical matters.
- Creating extra methods to study: We need to provide completely different sorts of content material, from brief tricks to deep dives, to assist develop abilities.
We’re constructing these new issues to work with, not substitute, Q&A, making Stack Overflow a extra full useful resource for the entire tech group. At this time, I’ll dive a bit deeper into our key focus areas as we work to construct the following era of Stack Overflow.
Whereas the Q&A format will at all times be central to Stack Overflow, we consider there’s worth in supporting extra methods to share and study. That is why we’re experimenting with concepts for brand spanking new sorts of content material that may assist us dig deeper into matters and join in numerous methods.
Think about having an area for extra open discussions, the place skilled people can share their ideas on the most effective structure. Or possibly longer-form articles that basically break down complicated ideas. We’re even fascinated about faster, extra casual methods to share suggestions and updates. You’ve already seen a few of this exploration via chat, comments, follow up questions, and discussions.
This is not about altering what Stack Overflow is at its core; it is about including extra methods for the developer group to study and share.
We additionally acknowledge that each one content material codecs, current and new, require higher moderation strategies and instruments to help group progress. Moderators and energy customers are sometimes probably the most invested in managing and rising communities, but have lacked the right instruments to have the ability to help their communities. We’re excited to reinvest on this space to help a few of the most essential behind-the-scenes work that moderators and energy customers carry out at the moment.
Do you know code on Stack Overflow is copied roughly two million occasions a day? Wouldn’t it’s neat to know the way impactful your contributions are around the globe? Stack Overflow is nothing with out its group. To maintain it a vibrant place, we’re methods to make it even simpler to attach, interact, and get acknowledged for all of the methods customers take part and contribute. We’re wanting towards:
- Higher methods to acknowledge and reward contributions. We’re exploring improved methods to reward and acknowledge the varied contributions of group members, notably with the enlargement of content material codecs. We need to rejoice your contributions each on platform, throughout the group, and in ways in which would possibly enable you to land your subsequent nice alternative.
- Methods to make it simpler to take part. We need to make it smoother for brand spanking new people to become involved and for everybody to search out their place in the neighborhood for the lengthy haul. Via higher assist, help, onboarding, and schooling, we consider we might help new customers rapidly grasp and respect the worth of Stack Overflow and of all of the community websites.
Our objective right here is to foster a fair stronger sense of group the place everybody feels valued, protected, and empowered to study and contribute.
Sifting via the huge physique of data on Stack Overflow generally is a time suck. We’re engaged on making Stack Overflow the quickest method to discover precisely what you want. Via personalised experiences and AI powered search, we need to present you what is most related and useful to you—whether or not you’re caught on an issue otherwise you’re able to share the information you’ve gained.
Put one other method, we wish Stack Overflow to get smarter about what you are into so that you spend much less time looking out and extra time constructing. We’ll do that via:
- Suggestions that truly assist. We’re constructing programs to recommend questions, solutions, and new stuff based mostly on what you are doing and what you are inquisitive about.
- Smarter search and discovery. Leveraging machine studying and AI to present you extra correct and helpful outcomes and strategies.
The objective is straightforward—get you the information you want proper right here on Stack Overflow as rapidly as attainable.
To spherical us out, right here’s a recap of what was labored on final quarter (January – March 2025):
- Query Assistant – Examined scaling the Query Assistant to all new askers which held the improved query success charges of 12% we noticed in smaller scale assessments.
- Improved the question-asking move – Ran a collection of experiments and applied refinements to the query asking course of that improved query completion charges by 10% in opposition to the baseline.
- Increasing feedback – Ran a collection of experiments to develop commenting.
- Stacks Editor replace – Launched a brand new editor, which gives a wealthy textual content modifying setting, and boosted reply completion by 8.6% in opposition to the baseline expertise.Â
- Stack Snippets replace – Our Stack-native software so as to add runnable code to Q&A for frontend tags wanted an replace to run within the new editor.
- Enhancing consumer activation – Updates the principle touchdown web page and ran a collection of experiments to redirect customers from actions they will’t but carry out (like upvoting) to a associated motion they will carry out (like saving), which helps them nonetheless take part on the location with out hitting a lifeless finish.
- Group Asks Dash – Accomplished a devoted dash the place we deal with group requests, quality-of-life enhancements, and long-standing bugs.
Stack Overflow is evolving, and we’re all a part of it. We’re genuinely enthusiastic about constructing a greater platform for everybody—one which’s extra useful, extra private, and extra participating.
We’ll proceed to maintain you within the loop as we transfer ahead. Your suggestions and participation are what make this place work, so hold it coming. Collectively, we are able to make Stack Overflow an much more priceless useful resource for technologists all over the place.
Thanks for being such a significant a part of the Stack Overflow group! As at all times, we’re excited to share findings as we go, and we worth your enter alongside the best way. For those who’d prefer to take part in consumer analysis (interviews, unmoderated assessments, surveys, and many others), decide into our consumer analysis checklist by toggling on Research Invitations in your settings.
