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Abstract

/v2/resize:fit:800/1*oSsHje_8WP8HxEMZAWL3PA.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><ul><li>Make sure to read the necessary guidelines before posting a question. Read it <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/help/minimal-reproducible-example">here</a></li><li>Ensure that the question has not already been asked. If there are any related questions and does not necessarily solve your use case, then state that in your question.</li><li>When posting a question, be sure to share what you have done so far. This shows that you have put some effort and done your research.</li><li>Make sure to <code>format</code> your question and use the appropriates <code>tags</code></li><li>Do not copy/paste class assignments and projects</li><li>Do not cross-post your question to different communities and platforms</li></ul><figure id="48d6"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*hqUbhByrYb1s6h3E8GlELw.png"><figcaption>Categories a post can be flagged in Stack Overflow</figcaption></figure><p id="5888">If you make a post, keep an eye on <code>flags</code> and <code>comments</code> and update your post to address the concerns of those who flag your posts.</p><h2 id="8680">Answer questions</h2><p id="33c3">Do not underestimate your ability to answer questions and there are many ways to do that.</p><figure id="acef"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*8sxSywt1XRu8eFl-LfsE_Q.png"><figcaption>Some of my answers ranked by Votes</figcaption></figure><p id="22e6">I am not an expert in any of the above domains but, I know enough and have used it either at work or in side projects.</p><ul><li>Configure your profile by subscribing to <code>tags</code> (i.e. java, typescript, react, etc.) and Stack Overflow will filter questions that match your tags.</li><li>Do not post an answer if your response can be a <b>comment</b> instead.</li><li>Before writing an answer clarify any confusion via comments.</li><li>Keep your environment ready to try something hands-on in order to validate your solution.</li><li>If you quote or copy/paste content from a tutorial, documentation, or other posts then make sure to link the source and give credit where due.</li><li>If you wish to gain more reputation tackle questions with bounties. These questions would require a little more effort.</li><li>If none of the answers to a question resolved your issue then, be sure to post the solution that fixed your case.</li></ul><figure id="4b18"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*6IYZZ0uWZMe0o4v8tcYDlw.png"><figcaption>Questions for which I earned bounty</figcaption></figure><h2 id="0d43">Answer your own questions</h2><p id="bbd4">There will come a time when you won’t find an answer to your question in Stack Overflow. What do you do next?</p><ol><li>Use your ninja search skills to look for answers to your question.</li><li>Consider posting a question in the Stack Overflow and hope that you get a helpful answer soon.</li><li>While your question is awaiting to be answered, do your research to find out an answer by reading the documentation, articles, books, and other materials.</li><li>If and when you find the answer then go back to your asked question and answer it yourself.</li></ol><p id="5c6e">As weird as this sounds, IMO it is basically sharing your knowledge so that the next person who has stumbles upon a similar question could benefit from your findings. This is a <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/users/1225551/raf?tab=questions">list of questions</a> that I asked and answered them myself and people have found it to be helpful.</p><div id="54bc" class="link-block"> <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/51180269/how-to-remove-weekend-datetime-gaps-from-x-axis-of-a-financial-chart"> <div> <div> <h2>How to remove weekend datetime gaps from x-axis of a financial chart?</h2> <div><h3>undefined</h3></div> <div><p>undefined</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*xmW7-H61qzREXxkx)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="b470">I was playing around with <code>financial</code> charts and wanted to remove the weekend datetime from the graph.</p><div id="f906" class="link-block"> <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/42603177/implement-spring-oauth2-using-jdbc-with-jwt-and-customize-existing-grant-flows-u"> <div> <div> <h2>Implement Spring OAuth2 using JDBC with JWT and customize existing grant flows using XML based…</h2> <div><h3>undefined</h3></div> <div><p>undefined</p></div> </div> <div>

Options

   <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*ouJ02yKQgu5-OIS1)"></div>
          </div>
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      </a>
    </div><p id="31b5">Likewise, I struggled to find an answer to my non-Spring Boot related questions and when I did find the answers then I shared it.</p><div id="021a" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/48634417/how-to-dry-when-using-swagger-ui-and-the-apiresponses-annotations-with-java-spri">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2>How to DRY when using Swagger UI and the ApiResponses annotations with Java Spring endpoints?</h2>
            <div><h3>undefined</h3></div>
            <div><p>undefined</p></div>
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          </div>
        </div>
      </a>
    </div><p id="e52f">I was using <code>Swagger</code> for my APIs and at one point I noticed that each endpoint has around seven (7) swagger annotations. I thought to myself, can I make these annotations reusable?</p><p id="d897">The following question was asked way back in 2014 and since a lot has changed and different versions of the framework have been released. None of the answers worked for my use case and I posted my own version of the <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/a/47246045/1225551">answer</a> and not surprisingly 21 people have found it to be helpful.</p><div id="4454" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/26490967/how-do-i-configure-hikaricp-in-my-spring-boot-app-in-my-application-properties-f/47246045#47246045">
        <div>
          <div>
            <h2>How do I configure HikariCP in my Spring Boot app in my application.properties files?</h2>
            <div><h3>undefined</h3></div>
            <div><p>undefined</p></div>
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    </div><h2 id="3148">Upvoting and downvoting posts</h2><p id="9e7b">There are many advantages when it comes to upvoting posts such as</p><ul><li>Your vote helps rank the posts</li><li>Your upvote shows your appreciation</li><li>Your upvote encourages the author to make more helpful posts</li></ul><p id="5ae6">All you have to ask yourself is, did this question or answer help me? If yes, then upvote the question and answer. Simple as that.</p><p id="c2ae">When you <b>downvote</b>, be sure to provide a comment explaining your reasoning and keep an open mind. I have <code>3 downvotes</code> and <code>566 upvotes</code></p><h1 id="97c1">What are the benefits of contributing?</h1><p id="2e63">In my opinion, it is the right thing to do and that’s is good enough reason.</p><figure id="cb36"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*HXGOseNg68VAEe_v-05ouA.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="5af8">Here are some of the benefits of contributing to Stack Overflow vs not contributing</p><ul><li>Give back to the community ❤</li><li>Communicate with other developers</li><li>Share your existing knowledge</li><li>Acquire new knowledge</li><li>Learn how to write effective posts</li><li>Use your Stack Overflow profile elsewhere to promote yourself</li><li>Setup your job preference in Stack Overflow to explore jobs and receive offers</li></ul><p id="7a34">Please feel free to share your ideas, suggestions, feedback, and strategies on how to get started and succeed at contributing to StackOverflow community.</p><p id="3598">I also wrote an article on some of the key habits that in my opinion would help you become a better developer.</p><div id="adc4" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://readmedium.com/key-habits-and-things-i-wish-i-knew-earlier-as-a-developer-43c9466a0407">
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          <div>
            <h2>Key habits and things I wish I knew earlier as a developer</h2>
            <div><h3>A listing of key habits and skills that could help you become a better developer</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
          </div>
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            <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*YEEq1mZmYPN8QzNy3Aclfg.jpeg)"></div>
          </div>
        </div>
      </a>
    </div><p id="48bb">Please follow me on Medium or <a href="https://dev.to/rhamedy"><code>https://dev.to/rham</code>edy</a> for a future articles and feel free to add me to your professional network on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhamedy/">LinkedIn</a>.</p></article></body>

How to build a reputable StackOverflow profile

How to contribute to the world’s largest developer Q&A site

Stack Overflow is the world’s leading Q&A site for developers with over 18+ million questions, 28+ million answers, and 11+ million users.

Stack Overflow Stats — https://stackexchange.com/sites

A huge majority of developers use Stack Overflow on a daily basis and I would like to share my thoughts on

Why do I contribute?
How to contribute?
What are the benefits of contributing?

My Stack Overflow Profile — https://stackoverflow.com/users/1225551/raf

I joined the Stack Overflow community in 2012 and my contributions in the form of answering questions peaked between Nov 2015 — Feb 2016 which attributes to a huge chunk of my reputation score.

I have posted 168 answers and asked 22 questions with a people reach of roughly ~648K
I have ~5.2K reputation in Stack Overflow, 792 in Drupal Answers and below 200 in other communities
I have 27 helpful post edits, flags and cast a total of 585 upvote and downvotes

I am no rockstar contributor but, do I feel good about it? Of course! I feel great to have been able to contribute back regardless of the quantity.

Why do I contribute?

Stack Overflow without any doubt has helped me countless times throughout my software development career.

Search for answers to specific questions
Clear my confusion about topics
Quickly learn about a topic instead of going through articles and books when I don’t have enough time
Come back to my favorite questions and answers

All of the above become possible because somebody, somewhere selflessly decided to share their knowledge.

I benefit from other’s contributions and this is good enough reason for me to contribute back and hope that my contributions help others.

I have come across developers who use Stack Overflow on a daily basis and some of them have not even bothered to signup. Turns out somebody asked about it.

Why don't people sign up and contribute?

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While the accepted answer is not wrong, I still believe that you should sign up regardless of the reasons highlighted in the answer.

Remember! Signing up is the first step towards contributing back.

How to contribute?

Any kind of contribution that leaves the community in a better state than you found it is a good form of contribution. For instance, any of the following is a valid form of contribution

You can improve the quality of a post
Ask good questions that have not already been asked
Answer question about a topic that you are knowledgeable
Upvote questions and answers that helped you
Downvote but, do not forget to share your reasons
Leave helpful comments
Vote in the community election
Motivate others to contribute back

Ask questions

The Stack Overflow community has come under the spotlight for not being welcoming to new users and questions however, there are many ways that you could ask a meaningful and welcoming question.

Make sure to read the necessary guidelines before posting a question. Read it here
Ensure that the question has not already been asked. If there are any related questions and does not necessarily solve your use case, then state that in your question.
When posting a question, be sure to share what you have done so far. This shows that you have put some effort and done your research.
Make sure to format your question and use the appropriates tags
Do not copy/paste class assignments and projects
Do not cross-post your question to different communities and platforms

Categories a post can be flagged in Stack Overflow

If you make a post, keep an eye on flags and comments and update your post to address the concerns of those who flag your posts.

Answer questions

Do not underestimate your ability to answer questions and there are many ways to do that.

I am not an expert in any of the above domains but, I know enough and have used it either at work or in side projects.

Configure your profile by subscribing to tags (i.e. java, typescript, react, etc.) and Stack Overflow will filter questions that match your tags.
Do not post an answer if your response can be a comment instead.
Before writing an answer clarify any confusion via comments.
Keep your environment ready to try something hands-on in order to validate your solution.
If you quote or copy/paste content from a tutorial, documentation, or other posts then make sure to link the source and give credit where due.
If you wish to gain more reputation tackle questions with bounties. These questions would require a little more effort.
If none of the answers to a question resolved your issue then, be sure to post the solution that fixed your case.

Answer your own questions

There will come a time when you won’t find an answer to your question in Stack Overflow. What do you do next?

Use your ninja search skills to look for answers to your question.
Consider posting a question in the Stack Overflow and hope that you get a helpful answer soon.
While your question is awaiting to be answered, do your research to find out an answer by reading the documentation, articles, books, and other materials.
If and when you find the answer then go back to your asked question and answer it yourself.

As weird as this sounds, IMO it is basically sharing your knowledge so that the next person who has stumbles upon a similar question could benefit from your findings. This is a list of questions that I asked and answered them myself and people have found it to be helpful.

How to remove weekend datetime gaps from x-axis of a financial chart?

undefined

I was playing around with financial charts and wanted to remove the weekend datetime from the graph.

Implement Spring OAuth2 using JDBC with JWT and customize existing grant flows using XML based…

undefined

Likewise, I struggled to find an answer to my non-Spring Boot related questions and when I did find the answers then I shared it.

How to DRY when using Swagger UI and the ApiResponses annotations with Java Spring endpoints?

undefined

I was using Swagger for my APIs and at one point I noticed that each endpoint has around seven (7) swagger annotations. I thought to myself, can I make these annotations reusable?

The following question was asked way back in 2014 and since a lot has changed and different versions of the framework have been released. None of the answers worked for my use case and I posted my own version of the answer and not surprisingly 21 people have found it to be helpful.

How do I configure HikariCP in my Spring Boot app in my application.properties files?

undefined

Upvoting and downvoting posts

There are many advantages when it comes to upvoting posts such as

Your vote helps rank the posts
Your upvote shows your appreciation
Your upvote encourages the author to make more helpful posts

All you have to ask yourself is, did this question or answer help me? If yes, then upvote the question and answer. Simple as that.

When you downvote, be sure to provide a comment explaining your reasoning and keep an open mind. I have 3 downvotes and 566 upvotes

What are the benefits of contributing?

In my opinion, it is the right thing to do and that’s is good enough reason.

Here are some of the benefits of contributing to Stack Overflow vs not contributing

Give back to the community ❤
Communicate with other developers
Share your existing knowledge
Acquire new knowledge
Learn how to write effective posts
Use your Stack Overflow profile elsewhere to promote yourself
Setup your job preference in Stack Overflow to explore jobs and receive offers

Please feel free to share your ideas, suggestions, feedback, and strategies on how to get started and succeed at contributing to StackOverflow community.

I also wrote an article on some of the key habits that in my opinion would help you become a better developer.

Key habits and things I wish I knew earlier as a developer

A listing of key habits and skills that could help you become a better developer

medium.com

Please follow me on Medium or https://dev.to/rhamedy for a future articles and feel free to add me to your professional network on LinkedIn.