Back in college when I was working at the IT helpdesk, we’d sometimes have days that were just really slow. One of my favorite things to do back then was hop onto Yahoo Answers and find questions that I could help answer for people. They were mostly technical questions and I liked being able to help out people with the knowledge I had.
Although Yahoo Answers still exists today, it’s often not taken seriously because of the large number of people there posting fake questions and answers. So where should you go if you have questions you want answered by a volunteer community of experts? Enter StackExchange
Launched in 2009, StackExchange has become host to dozens of excellent topic-specific sub-sites or exchanges where you can ask questions and get answers. The community is exceptionally helpful and friendly. The biggest exchange is Stack Overflow, where you can ask any and all questions related to computer programming. This is also the main exchange that spawned the rest of StackExchange. Other large popular exchanges include Server Fault (for server admins), Super User (for computer power users), Ask Ubuntu (for Ubuntu users), Ask Different (for Mac users) and many more.
The cool thing is that although it started off as a primarily technical Q&A site, various exchanges have popped up over the years for other things as well like, English Language and Usage, Mathematics, Travel, Parenting, Chemistry, Pets and more. I can’t tell you how often I google search some question I have and end up finding the answer on StackExchange.
New exchanges can be created as well. If you visit Area 51 their new site staging zone, you can see all the proposals for new exchanges. Some up and coming exchanges include Latin Language, 3D Printing, and Arts and Crafts.
So if you’re an expert on something and want to lend a hand to others, or if you are looking for expert answers to very specific questions, give StackExchange a try!