There is a primary source I visit to get information about technology – which for me is usually in the realm of software development. It is called StackOverflow, part of the StackExchange Network. It is a question and answer site focusing on all disciplines and languages in the programming world. It is not just a Q&A site, they do few interesting things.

StackOverflow is heavily gamified. You get points for answering, commenting, up-voting, and even asking. Anybody can use it, although I will admit it can be a little intimidating at times. The website has a pretty strictly enforced “get to the point” mentality. Duplicate questions are not tolerated, and are closed almost instantly. It is even important how you word your questions – it will get deleted if it is asking for an opinion. The site is totally user-moderated; everyone who has enough points is a Mod. One of the fastest ways to get your post modified or deleted is to be too wordy or causal, you need to be to the point and direct. This is because StackOverflow is the resident source for programmers to find code snippets or theories. If you are stuck on something, chances are it has been asked, and answered on StackOverflow before. Because of this, I use it multiple times per day – I would guess between 5-10 times on average.

StackOverflow is so successful because of the enormous wealth of knowledge that the massive user base possesses. They may be a tad rude, especially to newcomers, but the service cannot be beat anywhere online (that I am aware of). Without this community, I would waste so much time trying to figure out something that someone else already knows, and has documented!