We're thrilled to announce that the Russian-speaking community of software developers and programming enthusiasts, Stack Overflow in Russian, has been graduated. Congratulations colleagues for such incredible success!
According to the proposal on Area 51 at the end of the beta, the site had:
- 115.7 questions per day
- 82% answered questions
- 1,499 avid users and 33,678 total users
- 1.7 answer ratio
- 42,464 visits/day
While I was writing this post, the site was in fifth place by questions per day, it is one position above Server Fault (which, among other things, is one of the trilogy sites)! To build a community of this size, it took us only nine months! Well, not really, actually. We, the community of Russian-speaking developers, have been building up our professional culture and the knowledge base for several years now.
We started our story with three issues in mind.
- Compensate for the lack of professional communication at work. Some of our colleagues (I mean, physical ones) are not willing or able to be engaged in professional communication in their spare time. Experts and those seeking new knowledge and skills often have to search for knowledgeable programming enthusiasts outside their company, and, moreover, sometimes they even have to change companies because of the absence of necessary skills and passion for the profession among their peers.
- Collect a base of notes ready-made solutions for work. Whether we’re working with new or very old technologies, we are faced with the need to seek a solution by browsing through vast volumes of documentation, and finding it, just to forget in a few days; not just the solution itself, but also where it was found. This process may drag on until someone responsible publishes, in a public place, a minimal solution with comments and appropriate links to sources.
- Share experiences with colleagues. How many times have we experienced frustration after looking for the right gcc options for a week, realizing that lots of people had spent weeks solving the same problem? Problems like this could be solved within a few minutes, if you knew where to look for the solution. It would be wrong not to share the solution with colleagues!
We did not just think about how great it could be to solve all these problems in the scope of the Russian language, we have started solving them! Together.
Graduation allows us to say that Stack Overflow in Russian is no longer a site for a couple of enthusiasts who strive for excellence in their profession. Stack Overflow in Russian is now a big crew of enthusiasts who strive for excellence in their profession!
Perhaps it is not visible at first sight, but by the words “Stack Overflow in Russian" we mean real people. Those whose efforts would be hard to overestimate: @VladD, @Nofate, @Nick Volynkin, @Etki, @andreycha, @Suvitruf, @Discord, @alexander barakin, @ЮрийСПб, @PashaPash... These are just a few randomly selected folks. Cannot believe that the community is so strong? Check it out – http://ru.stackoverflow.com/users.
А few facts:
- Per month, more than 2,000 developers join the community.
- The site is most popular in (descending): Moscow, Kiev, Saint Petersburg, Minsk and Kharkov.
- Monthly, more than 3,000 developers get correct answers from their colleagues on the site.
- To get as much developer attention as on Stack Overflow in Russian, you would need to hire 23,000 developers full-time.
Imagine how many person-years are being saved each month due to these people who ask questions and answer them on Stack Overflow in Russian. It's amazing, isn’t it?
We think it's not a secret that professional growth is only possible among more advanced colleagues. With the launch of Stack Overflow in Russian, the Russian-speaking developers can constantly improve their skills without needing to change jobs again and again in search of an exemplary team (if it is not the goal, of course). Today, no matter where you work, — at a Google or at a Mickey Mouse company, — you will still be able to grow professionally in a community of experienced colleagues!
What People Are Saying:
The strategy of looking for an answer in the Internet is easy. I type a question in a search engine and usually I see the answers on the first page of the search results. I ask questions on Stack Overflow in Russian because there I can get very quick answers to my questions. Also, the interface is nice and user-friendly. I see plenty of benefits :) Because of the users’ answers I learn a lot. Thanks to Stack Overflow in Russian I learned almost everything that is required for my work and so I do not ask stupid questions anymore. The questions I asked, of course, are helpful to others. Many questions have gained lots of views, most likely from the search engines, and some questions got upvotes, which means that colleagues are interested in the same topics, too. Once in 2012, if I am not mistaken, I had to find an answer to a question and typed a search query into Yandex. Along with the search results list, a block of advertisements appeared, and the first advertisement lead to Stack Overflow in Russian. Since the search results did not contain the right answer to my question, I clicked the ad and asked the question on the site. That was the first time I visited such a site. Of course, I got an answer almost instantly. I have been here on the site ever since :) Currently my profile is 3 years 9 months old :) I visit Stack Overflow in Russian every day to look through the questions and answer them, if I can. On my mobile, Stack Overflow in Russian is the first in the "Last Visited" list! The site is certainly useful for everyone, and I am delighted to have found it just by chance. Thanks to Stack Overflow in Russian, I have learned so much!
– ModaL
I found answers to all (!) my questions here. Even when I expressed myself, perhaps, not entirely clearly, I was guided in the right direction and to a suggested plan of action. I studied the programming on my own, and each time I had questions (frankly, I had a lot), Stack Overflow in Russian helped me to answer them. Within a few hours, up to one day maximum, all my questions were answered. I'm fascinated by the founders of the site and the colleagues who helped me.
Glad to see how Stack Overflow in Russian is gradually growing and accumulating knowledge. It is even more pleasant to realize that I had a hand in it. I am glad that we are, compared to the same Stack Overflow in English, somehow more democratic and kinder. I have been on the site for a long time. I have noticed a gradual trend to systematizing and organizing knowledge. I am really amazed with how much time people contribute to Stack Overflow, which is very exciting. I am glad that I am part of a community that helps people. And, answering questions, we also systematize our own knowledge and discover something new for ourselves. So, thank you all, and let's make Stack Overflow in Russian even better :)
– Suvitruf
We can proudly say that together we are gradually building the best place on RuNet, where everyone can get a detailed answer to any programming question. And please, don’t take my word for it, check it yourself — ask your question or answer someone’s! (After all, all professional software developers know Russian, don't they? Or are you not a professional developer?)