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Lex Fridman PodcastJeff Atwood: Stack Overflow and Coding Horror | Lex Fridman Podcast #7
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Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- November 29, 2018
- Duration
- 1h 20m
- Channel
- Lex Fridman Podcast
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Jeff Atwood is a co-founder of Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange, websites that are visited by millions of people every day. Much like with Wikipedia, it is difficult to understate the impact on global knowledge and productivity that these network of sites have created. Jeff is also the author of the famed Coding Horror blog, and the founder of Discourse, and open-source software project that seeks to improve the quality of our online community discussions. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep7-sb See below for timestamps, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *PODCAST LINKS:*
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SPEAKERS
Lex Fridman
hostJeff Atwood
guest
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Lex Fridman and Jeff Atwood, Jeff Atwood: Stack Overflow and Coding Horror | Lex Fridman Podcast #7 explores Jeff Atwood on puzzles, people, and building strict online communities Jeff Atwood discusses what motivates programmers, arguing that puzzle‑solving, data‑driven tinkering, and peer recognition matter more than fame or money. He contrasts his early life as a hands‑on coder with his current role as a manager, describing leadership as ‘coding in language’—using communication, example, and shared decision‑making to scale impact. Atwood explains how Stack Overflow evolved into a strict, wiki‑like Q&A engine and why that strictness creates both exceptional answers and user anxiety. He then outlines Discourse’s mission: open‑source, community‑owned discussion software that supports richer, interest‑based conversations than social platforms like Facebook, and shares broader lessons on startups, community‑building, and the future of programming.
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