1y ago

Should we be more enthusiastically asking questions to build content on here?

Over many years of using messageboards, forums and reddit, I've had the 'search, don't ask' ethos drilled into me, the idea being that creating new threads to ask simple questions is a bad thing because it decreases the signal-to-noise ratio of content.

But now that we're trying to grow a new platform, it occurs to me that a lot of appeal in established platforms is the searchable index of knowledge that has come out of people's questions being asked and answered.

In light of that, do you think we should be creating question posts more enthusiastically to build up our library of information, even if it might be stuff that could potentially be answered by doing a reddit search?

19 comments

A lot of people on kbin are here because we don't support reddit anymore, and we are especially displeased with spez holding decades-worth of accumulated knowledge and content for ransom.
Even if they're questions which could be easily found on reddit or with a Google search, I think it's a good idea to ask them here (and on other instances) anyway. It will give those who are boycotting reddit a new space to search for answers, it will foster more content creation on kbin, and it will decentralise the combined niche knowledge and expertise of all netizens, so that it is less likely to be lost or held hostage again.
I think it's also a good starting point for anyone who is usually a lurker, but would like to create quality content here to promote community growth. Ask a question you could easily search (or maybe one you already know the answer to?)
We can come together as a community to ask and answer those questions, rather than each user trying to single-handedly create valuable content from scratch, which is much more daunting.

I've been being a bit more lax with what I'd ask compared to Reddit and what others have been asking too, I can't exactly google especially kbin questions and people have been helpful, and I've tried to be helpful back where I can.
Unless I hear otherwise I'm going to try to engage way more on here than I'm used to, adds content and starts conversations. I may make a cheese ball or bad joke here and there, maybe get an answer wrong but hey you miss all the omelettes you don't swing at.
- A journey of a thousand miles begins with breaking a few eggs.
  
  You can't make a shot without breaking an omelet

Yes.
New rule I have adopted - going forward, any time I struggle to find good search results on something and find myself wanting to append "reddit" onto the query, I will instead be creating the thread on an applicable forum on a federated site. I recommend others do the same.
It may not give me the immediate answer I'm looking for, but with a bit of patience we can hopefully rebuild a library of knowledge in a more stable way, not vulnerable to the whims of corporate profit.
- That's a great idea! I've kept adding reddit to my queries (because it works), but I need to change that
- You know what? That's a damn good rule and I'm humiliated that I didn't think of it. Count me in.

Yes, I think so. I have the same "problem" as you where I would much rather search for something than ask a question myself which in lights of recent events needs to change so that we can stop relying on sites such as Reddit asap.

The “search, don’t ask” gate keeping is one thing that really annoys me about a lot of forums. Part of the value is not only the answer, but different users opinion and the discussion around it.
Example: when I’m looking for honest opinions on a product. I’ll find multiple discussion threads and usually find value in each thread.
- "Search, don't ask" is fine when it's a question that doesn't lend itself to opinions. "When is the next full moon?" would be the kind of thing you should just search. We should never gatekeep curiosity("what causes a full moon?"), but it's ok to say to someone "nah, I'm not gonna do all the work for you to spoonfeed you an answer." That is to say, you can ask whatever, but if your question is a basic fact type question, no one owes you an answer either. No one here is your teacher. You need to enter the discussion in good faith, and if you just expect others to do the work to provide you an answer that you don't want to figure out yourself, that's not in good faith.

In light of that, do you think we should be creating question posts more enthusiastically to build up our library of information, even if it might be stuff that could potentially be answered by doing a reddit search?
Yes.

We don't just need more of us to ask questions, but those of us with knowledgeable and valuable answers and information to those questions is what will make these platforms appealing.
It also means you have to be careful, I myself am not going to ask worthless questions or provide answers to things that I do not feel particular qualified or add any contribution to.

The whole premise of asking basic questions is flawed. A wiki is perfect for answering 95% of peoples questions, so do that instead.
Discussion forums are great for complex, esoteric issues. But few people have those. Most have basic questions, so if you want bland content for the sake of it then go right ahead. Bye bye signal to noise.
- Wiki has knowledge but not questions which can make answers harder to find when all you have to enter into a search is the question. If someone else has asked the question your searching then the answer pops right up but if not then you would need to refine your search or read about large amounts of unrelated info to get the specific bit you want. Having knowledge referenced by questions about that knowledge makes that information more available to the masses.

Of course, we should be more enthusiastically generating content to make this platform thrive.
However, I do hope that content doesn't chronically come in the form of "opinions I definitely already hold, phrased as questions that I'm not really asking except inasmuch as the rules say I have to phrase my opinion as a question to post here."
If you catch my drift, OP. ;P

Another thing to do is, if you happen to find the answer to your question in your own search, to post a TIL. People who didn’t know the answer to your question, nor had the question to start, can learn something!

The content is not indexed. Search functions still have some way to go. Also, it's possible for it to fill with garbage content just for the sake of it.

19 comments