[1] Members gain reputation based on the community's response (through voting) to their questions and answers.

[7][8] With other Internet users supporting the proposal of the site through "commitment", Stack Exchange chose to launch Ask Ubuntu in private beta.

[4] Despite the Stack Exchange policy against fragmentation,[9][10] after deliberation and voting, Ask Ubuntu was allowed to continue alongside a separate 'Linux and Unix' site.

For example, a person is rewarded with 10 reputation points if their answer for a question receives an "up" vote.

Some posts are designated as "community wiki", which have a lower reputation requirement for editing.