<p>Just my $0.02:</p>

<p>Sometimes it may be a good idea to <strong>ask for references</strong>. Because even if <em>you</em> used StackOverflow as your primary source, the ideas may have originated elsewhere. I consider it more appropriate to <strong>cite the original sources</strong> then (although of course the SO posters should receive a thank you, IMHO, and maybe mention them in the acknowledgements for the pointer).</p>

<p>As a side effect, this may yield a source that is much easier to cite (such as an academic paper), while citing web pages is still frowned upon. Many professors will e.g. not accept Wikipedia as an appropriate resource (and in fact, anything on Wikipedia <em>should</em> have a previous work) and may treat web sites such as SE/CV the same way.</p>

<p>Of course, if there is no previous work the reply was based on, things get more tricky/interesting.</p>
