What is the Stack Overflow Lobby? Is it different from other rooms in Chat?

The Stack Overflow Lobby ("SO Lobby" or "SOL"), alongside the Stack Exchange Lobby ("SE Lobby", or "SEL"), were created by the company that owns Stack Overflow. Admittedly, guidance from the company on its expected usage has been limited, so the respective communities have taken this on board a little to try and direct the two rooms in a direction that fits them.

Most importantly, unlike other rooms in chat, the Lobbies do not require a user to have 20 reputation to participate, and anyone can send messages (although you still require 20 reputation to send images).

(Please note that this answer is specifically about the Stack Overflow Lobby, and guidelines about the SEL may differ.)

Topics

There's no set topic in the Stack Overflow Lobby - it's not specifically about Stack Overflow for example. That, however, doesn't mean that "anything goes", and topics should mostly be central to what Stack Overflow is about or about the site itself. Conversations can still be friendly, and we don't discourage banter nor completely off-topic conversation per se, but it's also not the best place to ask "how do I bake a cake?" or "How do I fix my broken bike wheel?"; if you arrive in chat and immediately start asking questions that aren't really Stack Overflow-related you're more likely to be referred to the Stack Exchange Lobby or to another community entirely.

Coding questions are allowed, but bear in mind that chat isn't well designed for in-depth Q&A. If you have a short coding question, and can provide a small code snippet or error, to compliment that question then it is more likely to be well received in the chat. Please do start your problem by explaining it first and then provide the relevant code/error(s). Asking a question, followed by a very large block of code, or where a lot of back and forth between you and other members of the chat is needed, are likely to end up less successful; for longer problems, consider asking a question on the main Stack Overflow site or creating and/or inviting the users to a different chat room where you can have in-depth discussions (if you have enough reputation to do so).

Code and error dumps, without any explanation or context, are disruptive to the chat; these will most likely be removed and thus you won't get help on the issue. Remember to explain the problem first.

Always off-topic

Some topics are not acceptable in any context. This includes things like:

• Looking for employment (a job)
• Recruiting employees or contributors for your employer or coding project
• Begging for money
• Requesting users to make contact (with you) off-site (such as email or instant messaging)
• Attempting to find a romantic partner

Conversation

As mentioned above, there isn't a set topic in the SO Lobby, so if the conversation does move to things off-topic for Stack Overflow naturally, then that's fine (excluding some subjects, such as those listed explicitly above). We welcome a friendly and welcoming environment. Please ensure that you are courteous to your fellow chat users. Use inclusive terms when referring to others and treat others like human beings; don't send a message that looks like you're trying to prompt an LLM/AI for an answer as these are often poorly received. Such messages may also be removed. Please also remember that users in chat aren't a replacement for your favorite search engine; we're all happy to help but finding your answer may be just a simple search away. If you don't understand the results from your search, or it's been unsuccessful, don't be afraid of asking.

If you do need to ask something, don't ask to ask; just ask your question. Asking questions like "Can anyone help me?" or "Does anyone know JavaScript?" are more likely to not be answered, as the we don't know if we can help you without knowing what the problem is, so the users don't know if their skill set can help you. You are far more likely to find success by introducing your problem from the start.

Use the reply feature if you're responding to someone's message specifically; this makes it much easier for others to understand the flow of the conversation and notifies the user to whom you've replied. Don't, however, just ping users to grab attention, especially if they haven't been active in chat recently.

Messages must be in English; content not in English will be removed. Messages that contain nonsense or appear to intentionally be disruptive will also be removed.

If you ask a question and you've not got a response, please don't feel you need to resend the message again shortly afterwards; the lobby can be quite busy at times and at others very quiet. Sending the same message repeatedly is more likely to result in your latter message(s) being removed; if you aren't getting an answer in chat then perhaps you should be using the main site where your question will more likely be seen by SMEs and also will have more "resilience". (If you haven't yet, please remember to read the tour before posting your question.) If a significant amount of time has passed, there's no harm in re-asking your question, but consider writing your question differently rather than resending the same message verbatim. If you find yourself looking to do this a third time, then it's likely that you would be best seeking help a different way (such as in the Q&A format, or in a chat specifically about that subject matter).

If you are posting a code block, please also make sure to use the "fixed font" button. After pasting your (multi-line) code into the text box, a "fixed font" button will appear; click this to make your message formatted as code. For some languages (such as Python) this is especially important.

Please don't ask users to move a conversation to a different space external to Stack Overflow, such as email or an instant messaging service; this would be seen as requesting personal (contact) information from users, and such requests we will be removed (as will if you share your own contact details). If you wish to talk outside of the Lobby, please use a different room.

Starring

Chat has a "star" feature. Though this is similar to a "like" feature, it also means that the message will be displayed for all users in a more prominent position. As such we ask that users star messages that are truly useful to both you, and others. Stars are cleared often by the room owners in the SOL from messages that they feel may not need to be starred and shown more prominently. If someone says "Hi" to you, please don't use the star feature to say "hi" back; starring a message doesn't notify the user that sent the message in any way.

Moderation

The SOL is mostly moderated by the room owners ("ROs"); their names appear in italics. Moderators and Stack Exchange, Inc. staff do visit the room as well, who in addition to showing their name in italics have a diamond (♦) adjacent to their name and their username will be a pale blue (different from the visited link blue). Please do adhere to the advice from these users as well as the guidelines outlined here; failure to do so may result in you being kicked from the SOL. Repeated kicks will result in you being unable to re-enter the Lobby for longer periods of time and may result in further action from the Moderators for severe or repeat offences.

If you notice a message that you feel breaks the Code of Conduct, please use the flag system. For example, if a user has entered and is advertising their website/product and isn't contributing to the conversation, you should flag this; the flag icon appears on the right of the message when on hover over it. Once the message has enough flags, it will automatically be deleted, and further action(s) may be taken against the user. If you feel a user is being disruptive but isn't breaking the Code of Conduct, you can ping one or more of the ROs, and if they are available, they will be able to take action.

Miscellaneous FAQ

• Can I Direct Message another user in Chat?
  No, there is no direct messaging service. If you have 20 or more reputation, you have the ability to start a room with a particular user; however, note that this room will be public for others to read and chat. Note that you can also invite users with less 20 reputation, but such users cannot do anything more than viewing the room.
• Can I earn reputation in Chat?
  No. Actions in chat do not earn you reputation. Your reputation in chat is based entirely on your activity on the main Stack Overflow site. For details on how to earn reputation, see the help center
• Is there a help article on chat in general?
  Yes. Chat has it's own FAQ page, which includes details on how to flag, format messages, and other useful features.
• Is chat a new feature?
  No, Stack Overflow chat has been around since 2010 but has previously required 20 reputation or more to participate.