Can You Repeat The Question? July 30, 2008 2:47 AM   Subscribe

Is it okay to keep asking a question until you get the answer?

I see that rephrasing a question to clarify the kind of answers you're after is okay, but this is an exact repeat in a bid for fresh eyeballs, after only a week.
posted by jack_mo to Etiquette/Policy at 2:47 AM (34 comments total)

One went to 'Society & Culture', the second to 'Writing & Language'.

I think some people see questions in specific categories. I dropped this question into the wrong category myself and was tempted to repost after some folks emailed me pointing this out.

I didn't repost mine, but one question a week - don't really see a problem.
posted by Mutant at 2:57 AM on July 30, 2008


One went to 'Society & Culture', the second to 'Writing & Language'.

Ah, I didn't notice that. And I wasn't calling jujube out as such - it just seems that if re-asking caught on, Ask would get a bit gummed up.
posted by jack_mo at 3:04 AM on July 30, 2008


Don't really think so - the unanswered page lists about 1-2 questions per day. Even if every one of them was reposted the following week, the change in volume would not be noticeable.
posted by ghost of a past number at 3:37 AM on July 30, 2008


Every week I'm going to ask "Is this annoying?"
posted by Jofus at 4:10 AM on July 30, 2008 [3 favorites]


And every week I'll flag it as chatfilter.
posted by jacalata at 4:26 AM on July 30, 2008


It's okay but not optimal. I know this sounds silly but if we saw them asking a third time, we'd probably axe it.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 5:27 AM on July 30, 2008


Yes?
posted by turgid dahlia at 5:33 AM on July 30, 2008


It's interesting that, in this case anyway, it worked. It would suck if the site was full of repeats all the time, but the goal here IS to answer questions.

Well, a goal.
posted by dirtdirt at 5:44 AM on July 30, 2008


Do these pants make my penis look too big?
posted by Meatbomb at 5:52 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


the unanswered page lists about 1-2 questions per day. Even if every one of them was reposted the following week, the change in volume would not be noticeable.

The first question wasn't unanswered - it just didn't get the correct answer. "Unanswered" (the tab) should be changed to "no answers" because it's misleading. There are definitely more than 1-2 questions a day that don't get the "right" answer.
posted by iconomy at 5:57 AM on July 30, 2008 [2 favorites]


Do these pants make my penis look too big?
posted by Meatbomb


*sigh* Go on, then... Eponysterical.
posted by RokkitNite at 5:57 AM on July 30, 2008


Why do you wanna know?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:56 AM on July 30, 2008


Why do you want to know?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:58 AM on July 30, 2008


Yes.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:04 AM on July 30, 2008


Do these pants make my penis look too big?

An old cowboy and a young cowboy were sitting around the campfire, jawing after a long day of cowboy work. The old cowboy says, "Here's something you've never seen. I bet you a dollar I can make your horse laugh."

"You're on, old man, I'd love to see a horse laugh," the young cowboy says.

The old man walks over to the horse, leans in towards its ear, and whispers something. Sure enough, the horse laughs for a few seconds and the old cowboy collects his dollar.

Then, the old cowboy says, "You ain't seen nothing yet. I bet you five bucks I can make your horse cry."

"Well you sure made him laugh but I don't think a horse even can cry. It's a bet."

The old man walks over to the horse and stands facing it for a few seconds. The horse hangs his head and bawls, tears running from his giant horsey eyeballs. The man turns around and returns to the campfire, collecting his five bucks.

The young cowboy is incredulous. "OK, you gotta tell me. How the hell did you make my horse laugh?"

"Well, I just went up to him and told him that I had a bigger penis than him," the old man says.

"Alright, that's pretty funny, but now how the hell did you make a horse cry?"

"I showed him."
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 7:37 AM on July 30, 2008 [3 favorites]


Of course it should be OK. If it's not chatfilter and initial post went unresolved, why would you care how someone decides to "spend" their one question per week? And if the question gets answered on the second time around, doesn't that prove the value of posting twice?
posted by HotPatatta at 7:42 AM on July 30, 2008


I hope so, because I got nothing on my question about sumo porn. And I know that shit is out there!
posted by ottereroticist at 8:11 AM on July 30, 2008


Thanks for asking this - when I read the second post I thought it seemed very familiar, and was trying to work out where else I'd seen it. I assumed it must have been on a different site - it didn't occur to me that someone had reposted so quickly.

Wow, my brain really goes to sleep over the summer, huh?
posted by badmoonrising at 8:12 AM on July 30, 2008


TheOnlyCoolTim..that is one of my favorite jokes of all time. Probably says a lot about me.
posted by spicynuts at 8:15 AM on July 30, 2008


I have been tempted to post a question a second time. Specifically, when your question gets caught up in a flurry of activity and you end up off the front page really fast and you wonder whether very many people actually even saw it.
posted by pixlboi at 9:34 AM on July 30, 2008


Are we there yet?
posted by GuyZero at 10:00 AM on July 30, 2008


I hear The Question is a chick now.
posted by Artw at 10:03 AM on July 30, 2008 [1 favorite]


Do these pants (trousers) make my penis look too big?
posted by Meatbomb at 10:03 AM on July 30, 2008


No. They really don't.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:25 AM on July 30, 2008


it just seems that if re-asking caught on, Ask would get a bit gummed up

Then if it caught on, someone would have to do something about it. In the meantime, no need for anyone to solve problems they don't have.
posted by winston at 11:07 AM on July 30, 2008


I think at one question/week it isn't too big of a deal.
posted by arnicae at 11:20 AM on July 30, 2008


Is it okay to keep asking a question [even after] you get an answer?

(i.e., even this Metatalk question has been asked before, by someone else. While I don't believe that there is nothing new under the sun . . . this isn't it!)

(ps: jessamyn gives a basically consistent answer both times!)
posted by onlyconnect at 1:03 PM on July 30, 2008


Oh crap! You already saw that! Doh!

*skulks off, hanging head in shame*
posted by onlyconnect at 1:05 PM on July 30, 2008


Does this X-ray make me look fat?
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 1:26 PM on July 30, 2008


Mom?

Mom?

Mom?
Hmm?
Mom?
Yes, dear?
Mom?
What is it?
Mom?
WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?

I just swallowed a goldfish.
posted by chillmost at 3:19 PM on July 30, 2008


Are we there yet?
posted by grapefruitmoon at 3:51 PM on July 30, 2008


Oh good, I get to ask this question again!

(crossing my fingers hoping someone answers it this time!)
posted by headnsouth at 5:17 PM on July 30, 2008




Better like this, or better like this?
posted by The Bellman at 1:38 PM on July 31, 2008


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