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belthesar 4
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3 years, 5 months ago

Would you find a "Questions Like This" algorithm handy when writing new questions on Mahalo Answers?

Last night I plugged in a question (http://www.mahalo.com/answers/online-communication-and-networking/for-you-twitter-users-out-there-do-you-use-a-twitter-client-and-if-so-which-one-and-why) and while I got many answers, the one I chose as the best referenced that my question had already been asked. Do you think a "Questions Like This" algorithm would be handy when submitting a new question?
Tip for best answer: M$2.00
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tracebooks | 3 years, 5 months ago
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I think it would be useful, yes. Twice yesterday I answered a question that was nearly identical. For the first one my answer was chosen as the best answer, but for the second I gave just an abbreviated version and it hasn't been chosen yet.

I can see as an answerer that you could both do a little more research on the topic before answering; or you could go on with your good knowledge and rapidly answer a few more. Or as an asker you could save yourself a little egg on the face if you knew that someone asked exactly that question yesterday but you missed it.

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biosavvy | 3 years, 5 months ago
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In short, yes. This would potentially provide a way for people to get their question answered quickly. It may however lead people to "settle" for a similar answer thus stifling more specific questions/answers.

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teduncan | 3 years, 5 months ago
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If I knew what an algorithm was

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bugsy | 3 years, 5 months ago
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Actually, it is. When you pose the question, there are "related questions" on the bottom of the screen.
images:

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belthesar's Avatar
belthesar | 3 years, 5 months ago Report

It doesn't seem to work that well. When I submitted my earlier Twitter question, it did not provide the link to the answered question. I think if the system was more noticeable, as well as tuned better it will serve its purpose.

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bojomojo | 3 years, 5 months ago
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yes but only if its ajaxed, like what kayako uses in thier helpdesks, in real time as the user is typing his questions, it searches the db and views the relative questions :D

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teff torbes | 3 years, 5 months ago
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It would be handy. I don't have a preference for having such an algorithm or not, though. I moderate a forum, and probably 80%+ of the questions asked from people starting threads in it could be responded to with a link... to a post made a week ago.

It might also reduce the number of questions asked, and potentially make the site less active, and my above experience would imply that that effect isn't that big.

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dustypaw | 3 years, 5 months ago
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Definitely handy. Repeats do get annoying. As the site grows and more questions are being asked, having a function to see if your question already exists would be useful for everyone.

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.

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answerman | 3 years, 5 months ago
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I agree that it already exists, although there might be plenty of room for improvement.

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mckoss | 3 years, 5 months ago
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I think its essential to Mahlo answers success as well as being useful. I am not a regular reader of forums, largely because of the high volume of repetitive questions.

This is not a new concept. Most of the high volume usenet mailing lists featured a FAQ that was designed to keep newbies from asking the same question over and over.

It seems pretty clear that the Mahalo creators are going to harvest the anwers here to enhance their FAQ-like search pages on the classic Mahalo site.

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$

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