# Worlds most copied SO snippet

**URL:** <https://forum.devtalk.com/t/worlds-most-copied-so-snippet/10612>\
**Category:** General Dev Chat\
**Tags:** stackoverflow\
**Created:** [17 June 2021 13:27 UTC](https://forum.devtalk.com/t/worlds-most-copied-so-snippet/10612 "2021-06-17T13:27:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![OvermindDL1](https://forum.devtalk.com/user_avatar/forum.devtalk.com/overminddl1/32/52_2.png) [@OvermindDL1](https://forum.devtalk.com/u/OvermindDL1)\
**Post date:** [17 June 2021 13:27 UTC](https://forum.devtalk.com/t/worlds-most-copied-so-snippet/10612/1 "2021-06-17T13:27:15Z")

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[https://programming.guide/worlds-most-copied-so-snippet.html](https://programming.guide/worlds-most-copied-so-snippet.html)

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**Author:** ![AstonJ](https://forum.devtalk.com/user_avatar/forum.devtalk.com/astonj/32/7_2.png) [@AstonJ](https://forum.devtalk.com/u/AstonJ)\
**Post date:** [17 June 2021 16:42 UTC](https://forum.devtalk.com/t/worlds-most-copied-so-snippet/10612/3 "2021-06-17T16:42:06Z")

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You forgot to say it was flawed 🤣

> The most copied StackOverflow snippet of all time is flawed!
> 
> by Andreas Lundblad, 2019-12-02
> 
> **In a recent study titled _Usage and Attribution of Stack Overflow Code Snippets in GitHub Projects_, an [answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/3758880/276052) I wrote almost a decade ago was found to be the most copied snippet on Stack Overflow. Ironically it happens to be buggy.**

(This is one of the reasons I likfe forums as I generally like the discussion around questions and you often get (and so learn more) via different approaches to the same problem or even through people asking why you’d want to do something like that anyway…)

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**Author:** ![OvermindDL1](https://forum.devtalk.com/user_avatar/forum.devtalk.com/overminddl1/32/52_2.png) [@OvermindDL1](https://forum.devtalk.com/u/OvermindDL1)\
**Post date:** [17 June 2021 17:29 UTC](https://forum.devtalk.com/t/worlds-most-copied-so-snippet/10612/4 "2021-06-17T17:29:29Z")

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> [@AstonJ](#):
>
> This is one of the reasons I likfe forums

+1 to a huge degree.

SO seems interesting and partially useful if you’re new, but if looking up more esoteric stuff it’s worthless, forums shine there!