Chinese clone of StackOverflow. Uses even the same design, built using django.

by scorpion032 on 3/29/2009, 9:29 AM with 61 comments
  • by jhancock on 3/29/2009, 5:49 PM

    StackOverflow could never have served the China market like this project can.

    i18n is a technical issue. It cannot solve the issue of "community". There needed to be a Chinese StackOverflow (not a language-translated UI for the same site), and now there is.

    If your server isn't in China, it may as well not exist. You heard me right. If you want a regular user base interacting with your app in China, you must have a server in a data center in China. To run such a server in China, you must have an ICP (Internet Content Provider) license. These licenses can only be held by a Chinese national. If you are running a U.S. or EU based SaaS and do not understand this and do not partner with someone in China that can run your Chinese version of your service, you may eventually get copied. Its not about right or wrong. Its a matter of access for your users.

    There is nothing devious about this Chinese "StackOverflow". Its clearly a copy and the writers open sourced it. I have seen devious. This isn't it.

    Congrats again!!! This is a great step forward for the China programmer community.

    ...and congrats to StackOverflow for making something worth copying.

  • by sjs382 on 3/29/2009, 2:32 PM

    I saw someone complaining about this the other day. Not sure if your intentions are the same...

    StackOverflow is CC-SA 2.5 licensed. The "derivative" site is also CC-SA 2.5 licensed. They both have clearly different audiences. I don't see a problem.

  • by sho on 3/29/2009, 1:02 PM

    Who cares? "Steal what you love", right? They obviously couldn't use the English speaking site, and I doubt the real Stack Overflow has any plans to expand into the Chinese market.

    I wouldn't be proud doing such a thing myself, but if such a site will help our Chinese friends learn to program better, good luck to it IMO.

  • by sho on 3/29/2009, 4:13 PM

    I note that the "beta2" branch of this Open Source, Apache Licensed Project lists a "new theme" as a change.

    http://code.google.com/p/cnprog/source/list

  • by scorpion032 on 3/29/2009, 9:31 AM

    And yea, <a href="http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&... is the translated version</a>

  • by jcapote on 3/29/2009, 4:16 PM

    Probably built in 1/4 the time...

  • by barredo on 3/29/2009, 3:17 PM

    though I do not see any licenses problem with that CC-SA License in both StackOverflow and CNprog I do see an ethics problem in the CNProg staff using an exact copy.

    Isn't there ANY thing to improve in StackOverflow? It's a perfect design for everything? Couldn't the Chinese webmasters made a few changes they thought will improve the site? Even the colours? Even the size of the fonts?

    It's all China can do? Copy western things, making them cheaper due to their lower salaries compared with Western salaries?

    Because it's what it seems to be.

  • by lanceusa on 3/30/2009, 4:01 AM

    Here is the Chinese equivalent to Twitter: http://fanfou.com

  • by on 3/29/2009, 5:02 PM

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  • by igorgue on 3/29/2009, 6:26 PM

    guys... if you were hackers... you'd be getting the source and studying it not complaining about the ethics or ability to monetize or how much time or money they spend on it.

  • by chiffonade on 3/29/2009, 4:26 PM

    Sigh. The code is licensed to allow this.

    The mindless China bashing has even come to HN, I see.