Frequently Asked Questions

What is going on? Why do I see hats?

From December 14th, 21:00 UTC through January 4th, 21:00 UTC, you’ll be able to earn hats all over the Stack Exchange Network! Ask, answer, vote, edit, and chat, and you’ll uncover hats hidden in all kinds of places.

What happens after January 4th?

After January 4th, the sites return to normal and all hats disappear. This is meant to be a fun end-of-year celebration, not a permanent addition to the SE Network.

Hats? People will do anything to get a hat! It’ll be anarchy! Hatarchy!

Worry not! All normal site rules still apply. If you’re caught sockpuppeting for hats, you will be suspended, just as you would be normally.

How do I get a hat?

Each hat has different criteria to unlock it. Click any hat on winterbash2022.stackexchange.com to see a short description of how to earn it. Once you have a hat, you can wear it by looking at the hat rack on your user profile (click the number next to “hats”), choosing the hat you want to wear, and then clicking the “Wear hat” button.

How can I customize a hat to fit my avatar perfectly?

After choosing a hat on your hat rack and before clicking “Wear hat,” you can move your hat around on your avatar with your mouse (or, on a touch screen, your finger). For advanced adjustments or if you don’t want the hat to disappear behind your finger while moving it, check the “show controls” box. This will display two handles that you can drag around, one for moving the hat and one for resizing and rotating it.

How do I see all the hats I have?

Look at the hat rack on your user profile, or go to winterbash2022.stackexchange.com and log in. You’ll be able to see your entire hat rack, where you’ll find all the hats you’ve earned on each site.

I don’t want to see any hats! How do I get rid of them?

When you click the snowflake icon in the top bar, a popup appears that has a link labeled "No hats for me, please". This will turn off all hat-related events on all sites for you. You won’t see people wearing hats, you won’t be alerted when you earn a hat, and you won’t be seen wearing a hat by any other users.

How many hats are there in total?

There are at least five. Maybe six. Go look at the list on winterbash2022.stackexchange.com.

Why didn’t I get the hat I deserve?

Hmm, I don’t know. It can take a few minutes for a hat to be awarded, did you wait a bit? Also, have a look at this post, it might have an answer for you.

Are there secret hats?

If I told you, it wouldn’t be much of a secret, would it?

Can I sell my hats?

No, hats are non-transferable and non-non-fungible, and cannot be sold in secondary markets.

Can I earn hats on all of the sites?

No, some hats may only be available on certain sites.

Why are you doing this to us?

For sites that have hats on by default, your moderator teams or your communities indicated that hats would be a fun, lighthearted thing to do. Why did we offer it in the first place? Because we thought it was a nice way to finish out another really [insert preferred adjective here] year. You can always decide that you prefer not to see hats and turn them off.