Abanadoned questions on AskMe

November 12, 2005 4:01 PM

Abanadoned questions on AskMe:
I think one of the purposes of AskMe is to provide an archive of solutions. Too often, even though the questions are answered by the community, the asker doesn't bother to report back, or forgets about the question. [more inside]
posted by Sharcho to Etiquette/Policy at 4:01 PM (21 comments total)

A possible solution would be a "Flag this as an abandoned question". Questions flagged as abandoned will always show up on the asker's AskMe homepage, and won't disappear until a comment or a best answer would be selected.

Another possible solution would be the addition of a status field, e.g. "fully answered", "open question", "none of solutions so far are good", "anonymous question", "waiting for more answers" etc. The system would then enforce a quota of open questions, so the asker will have to mark the best answer or set the status of previous questions before allowed to ask any more questions.

For the near future, adding a message to the AskMe form that it's good etiquette to post back with updates would be a good idea. The mycomments.mefi/myposts.mefi will help a lot with this problem, so it should be more prominent on the site, even if it's unfinished.
posted by Sharcho at 4:01 PM on November 12, 2005

Umm, no.
posted by mischief at 4:12 PM on November 12, 2005

...adding a message to the AskMe form that it's good etiquette to post back with updates would be a good idea

This is a great idea, costs nothing to add, and helps out everyone who uses AskMe.
posted by Rothko at 4:15 PM on November 12, 2005

posted by eddydamascene at 4:26 PM on November 12, 2005

"it's good etiquette to post back with updates"

Is that really good etiquette? Maybe a few AskMe's require an update, but I suspect the vast bulk of AskMe's are pretty much self-contained. If you want an update, email the asker.
posted by mischief at 4:27 PM on November 12, 2005

There are plenty of questions that there is NO best answer either because the questions hasn't been answered, the questions asks for peoples opinions, or there is nothing really to report back.
Are we answering the questions because we want something out of it as well? I know I don't.

I think the intentions of this suggestion are good, but the practice would be horrible.
posted by edgeways at 5:03 PM on November 12, 2005

Enough with the 4011, eddydamascene!
posted by mr_crash_davis at 5:08 PM on November 12, 2005

Sorry, wrong thread.
posted by eddydamascene at 5:20 PM on November 12, 2005

I know that there are plenty of questions that don't have a best answer, and I did take that into account.

At least for almost everything in "computers & internet", which is by far the most popular category, a followup would be nice, because there are specific problems and specific suggestions. And the solutions are very likely to be useful to people running into the same problem in the future.

e.g. this data loss question. The asker didn't even bother to mention if he tried the suggestions out or not. Whether he's given up or not. If things didn't work out, if he still needs help, etc. (there are many more examples)

Even if it is an open question, posting a simple "thanks" followup won't hurt anyone.
posted by Sharcho at 5:38 PM on November 12, 2005

It's an interesting question. Sometimes I feel compelled to either mark as best answer or respond. Many times enough has already been said. However, sometimes, when I ask an anonymous question, I would like to reply, or help carry on the thread but I don't know how to anonymously. So theres a question for you!
posted by snsranch at 5:42 PM on November 12, 2005

Umm, no.
I'll second that.

For many questions, there are a variety of solutions offered. Just because one solution might work for the person who asked the question, doesn't mean it would be the best solution. Sure, it's nice to hear how things worked but I wouldn't say it's a matter of etiquette. Posting a simple "thanks" won't hurt anyone, but neither will not posting a simple "thanks."
posted by panoptican at 6:28 PM on November 12, 2005

I demand a flag that says: "Worst. Solution. Ever."
posted by Eideteker at 6:30 PM on November 12, 2005

I will second Eideteker.
posted by mischief at 6:44 PM on November 12, 2005

I demand a flag that says: "Snarky and probably unhelpful."
posted by Rothko at 6:50 PM on November 12, 2005

I've had a couple of AskMe questions that generated responses but not answers. I toss it up to unanswerable questions. Marking any of them as best wouldn't be right, so I didn't.
posted by tommasz at 7:04 PM on November 12, 2005

Hmmm. As a newbie, I have yet to make a FPP or participate in the blue very much, as the mefi Post Police scare the beejeebers out of me.

That said, I do use "ask mefi" a fair bit, and I will respond there, if I feel qualified to comment. While I agree that sometimes there is no identifiable "best answer" possible, I do feel that it would be common courtesy if the asker would not simply ask a question, and then fail to respond in any fashion to the posted answers.

This has happened to me twice. One poster even emailed me for a followup; and after I spent considerable time assisting them, they then failed to reply to my rather lengthy personal email. Letting me know whether the solution worked, or not , would have been reward enough.

I guess I'm saying that you can't teach or require manners, but it would be nice if you could.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 7:14 PM on November 12, 2005

I try to follow up on my questions with a "this is what I did" response, but even when I do pop back in I rarely have anything substantive to say beyond "thanks!" That may be a property of the sort of questions I ask, though.

I have never seen a followup acknowledgement to my own followups, however, which suggests to me that I am likely the only person tracking my questions after an initial 2-3 day period.

Personally, I think that followups should in fact remain a matter of personal etiquette and judgement -- do so if you care to, but that is the whole of the matter.
posted by cortex at 8:24 PM on November 12, 2005

I do feel that it would be common courtesy if the asker would not simply ask a question, and then fail to respond in any fashion to the posted answers.

Exactly. People are spending their time and energy to help you out; the least you can do is say "thanks," even if there was no "best answer."

cortex: I think you can take it for granted that many of the respondents are checking the thread (I always check threads I've commented in); it's kind of silly to expect acknowledgments of your followup, though. It could get très Alphonse-and-Gaston:

Thanks to everyone for your answers!

Well, thank you for acknowledging our hard work!

I appreciate your taking the trouble to say that!

That's very kind of you!

[continue ad infinitum]
posted by languagehat at 7:06 AM on November 13, 2005

Mmm... lager question. Goes down smooth.
posted by Eideteker at 8:55 AM on November 13, 2005

Well then, how about:

AAAAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++++++++++++++++

posted by mischief at 8:58 AM on November 13, 2005

All I know is that Krrrlson might learn something from having his AskMe posting rights revoked for a week. Some people need to learn some manners on AskMe.
posted by Rothko at 1:46 PM on November 13, 2005