Is it ever ok in askmefi to ask a related question in the comments of a question?

May 12, 2005 11:09 AM

Is it ever ok in askmefi to ask a related question in the comments of a question?
posted by drezdn to Etiquette/Policy at 11:09 AM (25 comments total)

If it's closely related I think it's fine. The risk is that someone who knows the answer to your question, but is uninterested in the original question, will not see yours since it's not on the front page.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:13 AM on May 12, 2005

Actually that seems to be the time when people are most diplomatic in interjecting. And: agree with what DA says. Sometimes questions suggest themselves or come to people's minds as the info. junket unfolds.
posted by peacay at 11:26 AM on May 12, 2005

only on tuesdays between 3 and 5pm pst and only in cases where the ordinal number of the third letter of the second word in the question is greater than or equal to the original posters shoe size, or if matt doesn't delete it.
posted by quonsar at 11:43 AM on May 12, 2005

Dear God, no! You'll kill us all, man!
posted by Plutor at 12:02 PM on May 12, 2005

Why do you ask? :-)
posted by clevershark at 12:03 PM on May 12, 2005

This is getting ridiculous. AxMe feels more and more controlled by the day. There's hardly any fun reading the thing anymore. It's become a force of habit for me now.

Don't make it any more totalitarian. Internet is for fun. If you want totally serious answers, ask a doctor/professional. Yergh. That's what they're there for.

Definitely I do enjoy a good subthread on there.

So, is it ever NOT ok would be MY question!
posted by shepd at 12:14 PM on May 12, 2005

Is this in relation to my question? Because I gave this precisely 30 seconds of forethought before I posted. It occurred to me that, somebody doing a search, or checking tags wouldn't really differentiate b/w maniactown's question and mine. So, from a searching standpoint, I reckoned my followup was probably a net gain.

DevilsAdvocate's point is well taken, though. I probably did myself a disservice. If that was your concern, drezdn, I thank you.
posted by felix betachat at 12:34 PM on May 12, 2005

If you read all the comments in a Valley Girl accent? You know, uptalk? Then every comment turns into a question? And that's, like, ok, right?
posted by goatdog at 12:40 PM on May 12, 2005

Absolutely not. What, do you think this is some sort of conversation site? Really.
posted by Specklet at 12:56 PM on May 12, 2005

Of course. Usually it's good etiquette to wait until the question has gotten some good answers before you chime in with your own question -- and it's good if it's related to the original question -- but sure it's okay.
posted by jessamyn at 1:48 PM on May 12, 2005

I think it depends how bitchy and selfish the original asker is, really.
posted by amberglow at 2:14 PM on May 12, 2005

Don't worry felix, it was actually in relation to the interview thread, because I had a question tangentially related (not sure if I'll post it though).
posted by drezdn at 2:15 PM on May 12, 2005

I was going to ask a related question in the thread about spousal fighting, but wondered if it would derail the thread, so didn't. I see that I was right not to do so.
posted by dg at 3:10 PM on May 12, 2005

This is how it goes, drezden:

- You add a question in the comments of a question previously posted. Someone complains.

- You post a new question that's closely related to a question previously posted and is still open (or not). Someone complains.
posted by deborah at 3:17 PM on May 12, 2005

And then the questioners will talk about "my thread" as if they own it somehow.
posted by grouse at 5:18 PM on May 12, 2005

On a related note, is it ever okay to ask a related question in the comments of a MeTa question?

[head explodes]
posted by scarabic at 5:27 PM on May 12, 2005

this is a bit of a bitter subject for me because I've done it a few times with great thought and care, and it doesn't get answered. Then I start breaking stuff...I got the feeling that it wasn't appreciated because it was off topic even though it wasn't and most of the time I was sure it would also help the metasker but that's probably just me so nevermind you're all probably not even reading this anyway...
posted by hellbient at 5:49 PM on May 12, 2005

oh, and here are the answers I got when I asked this similar question.
posted by hellbient at 5:57 PM on May 12, 2005

Anybody know how to wash brains and skull fragments out of a thread?
posted by felix betachat at 6:00 PM on May 12, 2005

i've done this several times myself, and I think it's fine -- I just think of it as saving front page real estate for ask.mefi.

I prefer in-thread questions to new ones that read along the lines of "Related to this question, but with a slightly different set of circumstances".

then again i don't set policy due to the terms of my parole.
posted by fishfucker at 6:16 PM on May 12, 2005

It's not just okay, it's efficient and space-saving, not totally off-topic, and provides related info.
posted by Shane at 7:21 PM on May 12, 2005

Anybody know how to wash brains and skull fragments out of a thread?

With a chainsaw, of course!
posted by deborah at 9:11 PM on May 12, 2005

Anybody know how to wash brains and skull fragments out of a thread?

What? Go to a doctor, man!
posted by transient at 8:13 AM on May 13, 2005

I tend to think that no, asking a question in another AskMeFi thread shouldn't really be encouraged. I don't think it's necessary to have rules against it, but only answering questions that are asked within the parent thread should be enouraged.

In the case of one of my threads, I had some very specific questions laid out, but the first person to respond asked something that yes, was loosely related, but could have been easily answered with a simple Google search. Not a big deal, I know, but a bit frusterating nonetheless.
posted by nitsuj at 9:16 AM on May 13, 2005

This happens all the time, and I don't see it as a problem as long as the subquestion is quite closely related. Though in some cases I do think the person would have better success posting it as a stand alone, just because more people will see it.
posted by orange swan at 9:47 AM on May 13, 2005