Question

Why not use StackOverflow (apart from being free)?

Answer 1

I think you mean Stack Exchange? - http://www.stackexchange.com/

If so, the main reason is that I think a hosted service is the wrong model for this kind of tool. Serious websites want (a) the data in their own database, (b) to be able to see the underlying code, (c) to customize it as and where required, (d) not to have to pay based on usage.

By way of comparison, most big sites use server-installed forums (like phpBB or vBulletin) rather than externally hosted ones. The same goes again for content management systems, e.g. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal.

The final problem with Stack Exchange is that it's built on Microsoft technologies, so even if they did decide to open source it, it wouldn't be appropriate for mass market adoption. Being built on PHP/MySQL (which are themselves free/open source) is key to making Question2Answer appeal to as many website owners as possible.

Comments

Good work on the site..Is it possible to get the descriptions of all variables and functions to extend the software?

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I wouldn't dismiss the Microsoft stack so easily.  It's pretty great for serious application development ... try controlling web server connections or distributed databases with PHP.

I don't know many companies (large or small) that don't have an MSSQL/IIS/C#.NET stack available in their organization.  Usually driven by apps that need to be aware of employees (Outlook, BES, etc.), or high performance needs.

In any case, thanks for making Q2A LAMPy, definitely motivated my adoption!! But the Microsoft solution will not hurt Stack Exchange, that's for sure.

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I knew I liked you!  Thank you for Q2A and for making it a true open source project.   Outstanding!

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Gideon Good work