Should Questions have to have an Actual Question? ifMa
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M$3 Answers
Yeah, you could add a software piece to not let the question post unless there is a question mark in there somewhere, but that doesn't guarantee that it's really a question.
Also, being able to phrase a question well shouldn't have to be a requirement to use Answers. Yes it helps But there will be people of varying ages, education and ability levels who frequent the site. Some of them are not as adept at putting their question into words. And I think anything that penalized them for not being able to phrase a good question is not in the site's best interest.
I think that poorly-worded questions (which is what we're really talking about here) are best addressed by replies where the answerers ask for clarification. Or, if it is really too hard to figure out what is being asked, that question will not get a lot of responses.
I had one like this the other day. I was confused to what the person was asking, so I went with what I thought was being asked. That person clarified, and it turned out I was wrong, so I went back and modified my answer accordingly.
In other words, try to help the person figure out what they are asking instead of requiring an actual question at the get-go.
Does that make sense?
Personal experience
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M$However, I can understand why it is compelling to use the question & answer mode we have, with a tip, as a public service announcement or etc. After all, things are starting up, there's lots to announce, and making it a tipped question is a sure fire way to get someone's attention.
In conclusion, I think it would be great if questions were really questions, but we need another form of communicating, generally, and Mahalo staff need a way to incentivize readership of their updates and such.
My time on Mahalo, such that it is.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
A problem with using questions to make annoucements is they do disappear off the front pages after a short while.
Maybe it's me but there doesn't seem to be a lot on the site by way of FAQ, help, features list, site news etc. It's all buried in questions and answers somewhere, where it's not always that easy to find.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
A question invokes thought concerning context. If I am really trying to understand the question, I must know the context of the question. My experiences and thoughts provide a response to the question. Next, the asker of the question provides me feedback and based on the response I know if the answer is converging in on a solution. Questions are paired with solutions or approximations. Asking five why questions helps narrow down the question into a discrete problem which may have a workable solution. I hope that this helps.
Hmmmmm..... I don't get what you mean. Maybe I should have been more clear that this is in reference to Mahalo Answers "Questions".
I think there's also the aspect that this is becoming a community as well as a Q&A; site. So sometimes all people really want to do is have a conversation about something they're interested in. Which doesn't lend itself so well to the Ask a question - Get answers - Select a best answer model.