Jeff Atwood

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Jeff Atwood
Long Zheng, Dan Rigsby, Jeff Atwood (2979598012).jpg
Jeff Atwood in 2008
Born1970 (age 54–55) [1] [2]
Alma mater University of Virginia
Occupation(s)Software developer, writer
Known forCoding Horror (blog), Stack Overflow, Stack Exchange [3]

Jeff Atwood (born 1970) is an American software developer, author, blogger, and entrepreneur. He co-founded the question-and-answer network Stack Exchange, which contains the Stack Overflow website for computer programming questions. [4] He is the owner and writer of the computer programming blog Coding Horror, focused on programming and human factors. [5] As of 2012, his most recent project was Discourse, an open source Internet discussion platform. [3]

Contents

In a 2007 blog post, Atwood proposed the following rule related to the rule of least power, calling it Atwood's law: [6] "Any application that can be written in JavaScript, will eventually be written in JavaScript". [7]

Career

Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood at MIX 2009 Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood present at MIX09 (3365546017).jpg
Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood at MIX 2009

Atwood started a programming blog, Coding Horror, in 2004. As a result, he met Joel Spolsky. [8] In 2008, together with Spolsky, Atwood founded Stack Overflow, a programming question-and-answer website. [9] The site was followed by Server Fault for system administrators and Super User for general computer-related questions, eventually becoming the Stack Exchange network which includes many Q&A websites about topics decided on by the community. [10]

From 2008 to 2014, Atwood and Spolsky published a weekly podcast covering the progress on Stack Exchange and a wide range of software development issues. Jeff Atwood was also a keynote presenter at the 2008 Canadian University Software Engineering Conference. [11]

In February 2012, Atwood left Stack Exchange so he could spend more time with his family. [12]

On February 5, 2013, Atwood announced his new company, Civilized Discourse Construction Kit, Inc. Its flagship product is an open source next-generation discussion platform called Discourse. [13] Atwood and others developed it out of their frustration with current bulletin board software that hadn't seemed to evolve since 1990. [14] On February 1, 2023, he stepped down as CEO and assumed the role of Executive Chairman. [15]

He also launched a mechanical keyboard called CODE in 2013. [16]

In 2021, Stack Overflow was sold to Prosus for $1.8 billion. [17] [18]

Philanthropy

In January 2025, Atwood announced one million dollar gifts to eight non-profit organizations, [18] [19] including The Trevor Project, an organization dedicated to suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ youth. [20] In addition, Children’s Hunger Fund, First Generation Investors, Global Refuge, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, PEN America, Planned Parenthood, and Team Rubicon received donations from Atwood and his family. [18] [19] [20]

Atwood and his family have contributed to Alameda Post and the Alameda Food Bank. [18]

Atwood donated $1.5 million to 404 Media, a nonprofit news site. [18]

Personal

Atwood is a resident of Alameda, California. [18] He and his partner, Betsy Burton, have three kids. [18]

Books

References

  1. ↑ Atwood, Jeff (August 8, 2012). "I Was a Teenage Hacker". Coding Horror. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ Atwood, Jeff (May 9, 2006). "The Ten Commandments of Egoless Programming". Coding Horror. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Finley, Klint (July 5, 2012). "Stack Overflow Man Remakes Net One Answer at a Time". Wired . Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  4. ↑ Finley, Klint. "Stack Overflow Man Remakes Net One Answer at a Time". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  5. ↑ Kumparak, Greg (August 28, 2013). "StackOverflow Co-Founder Jeff Atwood Builds A $150 Mechanical Keyboard". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Jeff Atwood on Empowering Programmers and Digital Communities". Semaphore. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  7. ↑ Atwood, Jeff (July 17, 2007). "The Principle of Least Power". Coding Horror . Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2024. I propose a corollary to this rule [the rule of least power], which ... I'll call Atwood's Law: any application that can be written in JavaScript, will eventually be written in JavaScript.
  8. ↑ Rosoff, Matt. "Online communities don't have to be hate-filled cesspools — and this guy proved it". Business Insider. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  9. ↑ Somers, James (October 5, 2023). "How Will A.I. Learn Next?". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  10. ↑ "State of Programming with Jeff Atwood". Sotware Engineering Daily.
  11. ↑ "Is Writing More Important Than Programming?". Archive of Previous Presentations. CUSEC. 2008. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Jeff Atwood bids adieu to Stack Exchange for the best reason ever". techcrunch.com. AOL. February 7, 2012.
  13. ↑ Ha, Anthony (February 5, 2013). "Stack Exchange Co-Founder Jeff Atwood Launches Forums Startup Discourse, With Funding From First Round, Greylock, And SV Angel". TechCrunch . AOL . Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  14. ↑ Atwood, Jeff (February 5, 2013). "Civilized Discourse Construction Kit". Coding Horror. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Sam Saffron and Sarah Hawk named Discourse Co-CEOs". Discourse. January 31, 2023. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  16. ↑ Atwood, Jeff (August 27, 2013). "The CODE Keyboard". Coding Horror. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  17. ↑ Dummett, Ben (June 2, 2021).Stack Overflow Sold to Tech Giant Prosus for $1.8 Billion. Deal is Prosus’ biggest investment in online learning and comes weeks after it sold a chunk from its massive Tencent holding. Wall Street Journal.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stiffman, Eden (January 16, 2025). A New Giving Pledge? Tech Mogul Promises Accelerated Donations. Inspired by MacKenzie Scott and critical of the Buffett-Gates pact, the co-founder of Stack Overflow and Discourse is giving away half his wealth in five years. The Chronicle of Philanthropy.
  19. 1 2 Atwood, Jeff (January 7 2025). Stay Gold, America.
  20. 1 2 "Stack Overflow Co-Founder Jeff Atwood Donates $1 Million to The Trevor Project". The Trevor Project. January 7, 2025. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
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