Jeff Atwood
American software developer (born 1970)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.[5] He is the owner and writer of the computer programming blog Coding Horror, focused on programming and human factors.[6]
Jeff Atwood | |
|---|---|
Atwood in 2025 | |
| Born | December 27, 1970[1][2][3] |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia |
| Occupations | Software developer, writer |
| Known for | Coding Horror (blog), Stack Overflow, Stack Exchange[4] |
| Website | Coding Horror (blog) |
Early life and education
Atwood graduated from the University of Virginia in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in environmental science with a minor in computer science.[7]
Career
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Atwood started the programming blog Coding Horror in 2004. As a result, he met Joel Spolsky.[8] In 2008, Spolsky and 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]
Atwood and Spolsky published a weekly podcast covering the progress, Stack Exchange Podcast, and a wide range of software development issues.[11] Jeff Atwood was also a keynote presenter at the 2008 Canadian University Software Engineering Conference.[12]
In February 2012, Atwood left Stack Exchange to spend more time with his family.[13]
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.[14] Atwood and others developed it out of frustration with then-current bulletin board software, which hadn't evolved since 1990.[14] On February 1, 2023, he stepped down as CEO and assumed the role of Executive Chairman.[15]
Atwood, together with WASD Keyboards, launched a mechanical keyboard, CODE, in 2013.[16]
In 2021, Stack Overflow was sold to Prosus for $1.8 billion.[17]
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] Atwood donated $100,000 to Precious Plastic, a nonprofit fighting plastic pollution.[21]
In 2025, Atwood started the Rural Guaranteed Minimum Income Initiative (RGMII), studying the effects of cash payments to citizens in 3 rural counties: Mercer County, West Virginia, Beaufort County, North Carolina, and Warren County, Mississippi.[22][23]
Personal life
Atwood and his partner, Betsy Burton, have three children.[18]
Books
- The ASP.NET 2.0 Anthology: 101 Essential Tips, Tricks & Hacks, by Scott Allen, Jeff Atwood, Wyatt Barnett, Jon Galloway and Phil Haack. ISBN 978-0980285819
- Effective Programming: More Than Writing Code. ISBN 9781478300540
