38

Like the Facebook profile URL, LinkedIn URL, can we have a URL at Stack Overflow? Maybe it can be a good addition to a resume!

4
  • 8
    +1, I don't see anything worth downvoting this question, he is clearly asking about url that can be used externally to link to SO account, the current URL has a number in it which looks like session id so you can't tell if it will work as a link to your account ... I consider it good question.
    – stefanB
    Commented Dec 9, 2009 at 23:00
  • 5
    @stefanB: On meta, downvotes can mean either the normal bad/no info/something question or it can just simply mean a person does not like the feature request. So don't worry, that is normal on meta to see feature requests with lots of downvotes.
    – Troggy
    Commented Dec 9, 2009 at 23:20
  • I have included stackoverflow.com/u/[id] in my CV/resume as this is tidier than the full thing. Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 13:28
  • *** Now... ------ Can you tell me where the URL change section is ??? (Please) Commented Mar 26, 2021 at 14:58

7 Answers 7

15

I don't get it. What is wrong with:

https://meta.stackoverflow.com/users/135920/faiz

10
  • 51
    What is the number in there. That looks ugly :(
    – Faiz
    Commented Nov 5, 2009 at 6:47
  • 4
    probably it's confusing to users because the url contains some number which looks like session id, maybe you could try to explain the number and how to use the url ... for others looking for answers look further down the page for actual answer to this question ...
    – stefanB
    Commented Dec 9, 2009 at 22:58
  • 9
    Looks a bit bulky on my resume... Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 4:51
  • 6
    Then don't put URLs on your resume. Problem solved.
    – GEOCHET
    Commented Jul 9, 2012 at 12:47
  • 10
    I think he has a point, what he meant is a short nice URL, look for LinkedIn, you can shorten your profile URL, GitHub is already short and nice, Google Plus also and most of the website. Commented Apr 29, 2015 at 19:38
  • 5
    I can't believe this hasn't been resolved. I would like something to add to a business card for example. just get rid of /users/<number>/ Commented Jun 21, 2016 at 3:23
  • 4
    @GEOCHET because my interviewer does not have time to enter that 6 digit number to view my stackoverflow profile whose ugly url I added on paper resume
    – sziraqui
    Commented Aug 15, 2018 at 9:27
  • 4
    @GEOCHET You seem like a big hater of this idea. I just want to make the point that the OP has a valid question which is still not resolved the way everyone is expecting. An ideal profile URL would have been stackoverflow.com/username. Of course I can add my own shortened URL but that won't have stackoverflow name within it. I don't think you will be ever convinced.
    – sziraqui
    Commented Aug 24, 2018 at 18:35
  • 2
    These comments perfectly depict everything wrong with Stack Overflow. Commented Jul 30, 2019 at 0:30
  • 1
    I see that stackoverflow.com/u/[id] works so I've included that on my CV/resume Commented Feb 15, 2021 at 13:27
25

You already have a profile url:
https://stackoverflow.com/users/82961/faiz

If you don't like the "faiz" part (perhaps you want to show your real name for resume purposes), you can put anything you want after that last "/" character to share around. The important part is the ID. For example, this works just fine:

https://stackoverflow.com/users/82961/Joel-Coehoorn

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  • 5
    Joel!? What happened to you?
    – perbert
    Commented Sep 15, 2009 at 18:29
  • 1
    Amid all the sarcasm and surprise it seems like this is the only helpful answer to the original question, I've been looking for similar thing and the top voted 'answer' does not really help to explain what are the components of url that you get for SO account
    – stefanB
    Commented Dec 9, 2009 at 22:55
  • I'm a cookie: stackoverflow.com/users/292145🍪
    – Klaas
    Commented Oct 22, 2016 at 14:02
  • 4
    It's been 12 years. Still curious what happened to Joel. Commented Mar 26, 2021 at 14:56
  • @wha7ever turned into faiz, perhaps? Commented Aug 14, 2022 at 13:52
7

Well, you can use the StackExchange short URL form. This will automatically redirect to the user profile.

https://meta.stackexchange.com/u/<uid> 

https://meta.stackexchange.com/u/135920

If you want something that looks good on the resume or business card, then you can always use your own domain (if you have one). For example, something like this:

http://faiz.com/stackexchange
http://faiz.com/facebook
http://faiz.com/twitter

6

Consider making yourself a customized bit.ly or tinyurl to point to your Stack Overflow URL.

1
  • 7
    Not too professional looking though. Commented Jul 14, 2016 at 10:26
5

Clean url to SO account for external linking?

The url is http://stackoverflow.com/users/<uid>/<anything>

The uid is fixed, and will never change for a given account. Anything can be placed after the uid - SO ignores it.

Customized URLs beyond that are not currently possible because everything on SO is tied to the UID, not the username, and there may in fact be several "John F" in the system. To implement something like this would require a system like the Careers website, where you have to reserve your URL.

While technically possible, there is no compelling reason (yet) why the current UID system won't meet everyone's needs.

1

The question and comments appear to ask that:

stackoverflow.com/uid

automatically redirect to:

stackoverflow.com/user/uid/profile

The technical cost of the request is trivial, but it brings up philosophy. Some will resist violently: accommodating users wanting different values from Stack Overflow costs ego.

Expect no change this decade.

1
  • 1
    stackoverflow.com/u/id redirects.
    – Teaqu
    Commented Feb 28, 2018 at 4:45
1

I've set up stackoverflow.name to generate a vanity link for Stack Overflow profiles. For example, for my account, the generated link is:

https://stackoverflow.name/sigpwned

You can visit https://stackoverflow.name/ to set up your own link!

3
  • How can we know you don't collect data while redirecting? Sites like tinyurl has privacy policy and everything. Not saying you collect any data, but some people might not like the lack of confirmation that you don't. Commented Jan 24, 2023 at 17:48
  • I'm actually somewhat unsure what problem this solves. A short link? That one is possible with URL shortener. A personalized link? That one is also not so difficult, you could as well just purchase a domain, they're super cheap unless you want something really stellar, but for most purposes it's still 5-15$ per year
    – nicael
    Commented Jan 24, 2023 at 18:34
  • This comes with its own privacy concerns but I appreciate the effort.
    – Faiz
    Commented Jan 25, 2023 at 18:22

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