Stackoverflow is sort of like the anti-experts-exchange (minus the nausea-inducing sleaze and quasi-legal search engine gaming) meets wikipedia meets programming reddit. It is by programmers, for programmers, with the ultimate intent of collectively increasing the sum total of good programming knowledge in the world.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. It’s sort of like Reddit or Digg, but centered around answering everyone’s questions instead of sharing links. If you want to know the best way to go about doing something in PHP or Python, pose your question on Stack Overflow and watch as you receive at least one thoughtful answer within the half hour.

While Stack Overflow started it all, today there are two sister sites. Server Fault is for server administration and other IT-related questions, and Super User is for more general computer-related questions.

The sites’ community is quite nice, and there’s always something interesting going on. You can always learn something by reading the answer threads, maybe contribute to the conversation if you’re knowledgeable of the subject.

It’s recommended that you avoid posting “questions that are subjective, argumentative, or require extended discussion,” on the grounds that they’re not discussion boards so much as places to go for help. Personally, I like seeing an occasional discussion-oriented thread, or a questions that asks for opinions, so long as that sort of thing doesn’t get out of hand.

Anyway, pick your area of interest (programming, IT, or general computing) and have a look. Stack Overflow, Super User, and Server Fault are definitely worth having in your bookmarks for that time when you need an informative answer. I only wish I had more time to spend there…

It’s the community, and their willingness to help people out without anything in return. Sure, the web has it’s fair share of trolls and greedy corporate people, but overall you can just approach someone, say a blogger, ask a question, and get a straight answer.

Having trouble getting a PHP script or CSS effect to work? Visit a coding-oriented web forum and ask for advice. One of the many people there will most likely know what’s wrong and spot that typo on line twelve that you missed despite going over the code dozens of times.

Wondering what the easiest way to make a blog mobile accessible is? Just ask a blogger who has experience in that area. If you were to email me (there’s an easy form on my contact page), I’d write back in a day or two with a few recomendations, or refer you to an existing post of mine (or some other bloggers’) with the relevant information.

Is your computer’s hard disk failing? There are plenty of people online who can advise you on how to rescue your data before it’s too late.

Where else are people so willing to help and advise others?

I often find myself waiting anxiously for another article to be posted (much like I do with Smashing Magazine).