Some jellies answer as many questions as they can to get lurve. Some are lonely or bored at night. It helps to put a disclaimer with your question that only helpful answers only please.

I get unhelpful answers when I talk about parapsychology or super spiritual questions.

I try to avoid answering questions in general when I don’t have a good answer. If I have a funny quip I PM the OP and tell them the joke that I just have to share.

Can you give an example?

This reminds me of my guacamole recipe.
I make really good guac, but I still order guac when I go out to eat in a Mexican restaurant. I always evaluate their guac, and consider the differences. Some add corn, some add cilantro, but I don’t see the attraction people have to cilantro. I suppose fresh is better than the bottled and crushed (just on principle).
That reminds me of Mr. Woolfson, the Principal of my Junior High School. He used to say that while a Principal is principled, he is your princiPAL. He was a neat guy. He beat Bobby Riggs in a seniors tennis match. He actually had a tennis racket model named for him.
Anyway, back to the question. Don’t bother with cilantro, but don’t go short on the onions.

You joined in 2012… and now you’re asking me?

I think most of the answers here fit most of the questions, for better or worse. But in this case the real issue is why don’t you like guacamole?

^most excellent!

You’ve been on Fluther since 2012 and your asking this now? I don’t understand this question at all and I completly agree with @JLoon and @chyna. But to answer the question People do answer questions on Fluther.

@RedDeerGuy1

Some are lonely or bored at night.
I know, right. It’s obvious ;)

It helps to put a disclaimer with your question that only helpful answers only please.
Yes, I have noticed some people do that to avoid precisely what I’m saying. They can see what’s coming and want to be a step ahead.

I try to avoid answering questions in general when I don’t have a good answer.
So do I, especially if it’s something I know very little about, such as, parapsychology and spiritual topics I’m afraid. Not my strong suit.

@KRD What part exactly don’t you understand?

@Yeahright The internet is infinite. Have you tried Quora if you’re looking for a Q&A site. You don’t seem happy here. I’ve asked many questions over the years and received innumerable helpful answers. I asked one today and got some good ideas.

This site is far from perfect. The interface is ridiculously out of date. No improvements are being undertaken. It exists due to the good will of one founder. The user base is stupidly small. However, we’re a friendly bunch. We know a lot about each other, and we genuinely care about each other. I have friends in real life I met here. If the site was awful, I wouldn’t think twice about simply leaving.

The last time I had my hair cut was about 6 weeks ago.

@Yeahright yes they do.

A few years ago, somebody decided that they disliked Fluther as much as you seem to and left and started their own site, where the members were free to bitch and whine about fluther and some of the members here.

That is always an option for those who really don’t think this site is a good fit for them.

Generally speaking. Some digress to extremes right off the bat and seem to lose sight of the basic question at hand.

^ Right. That’s where I was coming from. I fail to see why some here are mocking and others are offended by my question. Some are even showing me the door. What is sad though, is that these sites mirror society at large.

@Yeahright Totally agree with that society mirror remark.
Wherever one goes, there’s always a gentle soul around to show one that they are loved (too) and that gives out free hugs.

༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

@rebbel Thank you…much needed…{ }

Half the questions I ask are filled with answers from people “questioning my motives” rather than actually answering the question. I sometimes tell them to fuck off (but then I get moderated). Oh well. ‘Tis life.

@Yeahright Your question could be seen as a criticism of or complaint about the users here and people don’t like being criticized and they don’t generally like questions that complain about this site and its user base.

@Demosthenes I see that evidently some people took it as criticism or a form of complaint, but if you (anyone) read the OP carefully, there is nothing there that suggests either of those. It is a legitimate question. I usually check my words carefully and I think it is a very matter-of-factly post as a result of an observation of mine in the general section.

If some people here are that sensitive about complains or criticism, that is on their end, but do not put that on me, and don’t go mocking my question and ask me to go away.

I was not complaining nor criticizing, but if that had been the case, it is my right. Any group or organization, should be willing to hear what their members have to say and agree or disagree in an understanding and objective manner.

First off, we do have some new members who are obviously not reading the rules before posting.

Second, on a recent General Q I asked, I had more answers about why it was a worthless question than actual answers (Which Coronavirus origin do you believe?) As if science isn’t constantly evolving.

Third, I believe some people exhibit attention-seeking behavior here, or peer approval, and it’s very obvious who those people are when you see their posts over a period of time.

@Yeahright On a personal note, we have people who have been here a long time, that perhaps feel some type of emotional ownership of the site that can be disconcerting for new users or members. It’s a bit frustrating when they ignore the rules, too, because then newbies feel like it’s okay to do as well. Sorry but it’s an unfortunate part of online sites, even here.

@KNOWITALL I agree with all you said, and I also understand the emotional ownership of the site. But, as I have said before on a similar situation, too much of a good thing can be excessive and harmful, and rather unfair to others. As I told one of the members in a PM, the active member base may be small, but this is still a public site that gets new members every day and are they promoting an environment to accept them or to scare them away?

Also, the main purpose of a Q&A site is crystal clear but it seems some need to be reminded that it is O.K. for all members—new and old—to question things and express their views without fear of being cancelled or ridiculed.

@Yeahright As I’ve told many newbies over the years that came and left, it’s not a safe space.

Imagine walking into an old bar with 60 regulars and you’re considering whether to stay or try your luck elsewhere. Some will be nasty, some welcoming and you are the only one who can decide if it’s the ‘bar’ for you, over time.

The fact is the site features are not being updated, no one is actively recruiting or advertising, from what I’ve heard. This site isn’t typical in that way, more of a throwback.

@KNOWITALL It is not a bad analogy at all, but as you imply, those 60 are not a homogeneous group. It is rather a typical case of a silent majority and a loud minority. Those who want to impose their hostile ways just because they think they can, and those that like you, are explaining the facts of the site in a clear and objective manner.

Sure, the choice is mine whether to stay or go, whether to place a higher value on the positive against the negative. But I’d like to keep that as a choice and not have a few trying to usher me out the back door.

@Yeahright Well good luck finding a site without a few jerks. Unless the mods kick you off, you have just as much right to be here as any old timer. :)

The honest questions get the most honest answers. Questions with a lot of spin tend to fly off at unexpected angles.

some people ask the OP why they’ve asked that or just make comments that are irrelevant to the question itself. Some reply with even more questions and not a single answer.

Your problem is that you assume that all questions in the General section are straightforward, easy-to-answer ones.

A lot of questions require debating and critical thinking, things like politics, philosophy or morality. These kinds of questions can’t be answered with just a straightforward response, and there will always be different opinions that clash with each other. But that is what debates are for, to exchange ideas.

I had a debate with someone recently about whether the Covid virus was a bioweapon. Our debate went like this:
The person: do you Covid is a bioweapon designed by China? I think so!
Me: suppose that claim is true, what is their purpose for making the virus?
The person: to sell drugs.
Me: and what kind of drug did they push out? And when did they make it?
The person: uhh… I don’t know. There are so many countries out there making drugs I can’t keep track of them all.
Me: that’s the point. There are so many countries making drugs. Moreover, the first vaccine to be announced didn’t even come from China. So if their goal was to sell medicinal stuff, they were failing miserably. How the hell could they compete with so many countries when they couldn’t even come up with a vaccine first?

I asked questions throughout the debate, but I was answering the main question the entire time. The questions were to help guide the person to my point. Now are my questions considered off-topic by your standards?

Some assume stuff that is not even there.
And why do you think it’s not there? Did you ask for clarification or source of the claim? Sometimes a wild claim actually has a lot of merit if you are willing to look deep into it. It could come from a logical but flawed place, or it could even be something true that just happens to sound crazy. And that is exactly where the exchanging of ideas comes from, to help everyone understand things from different perspective.

If you hate Fluther for not answering questions and want a place where everyone is always on-topic, I suggest the StackExchange website. They have a very strict rule that literally everything has to be in the format of question/answer. Answers have to be directly related to the question or they will get deleted. There are a lot of categories on the website for you to choose, from programming to history to relationship advice. But you also have to make your question as unambiguous and straightforward as possible or your question gets deleted. And also you have to do your own research and show them what research you have done before you can ask questions I don’t know if it’s true in every category, but it’s true on my history board.

@Mimishu1995
Your problem is that you assume that all questions in the General section are straightforward, easy-to-answer ones.

No, I do not think of any question as being easy-to-answer and actually look at general as indicated in Fluther: Strict guidelines. The focus is to help people get the answers they need.

The type exchange that you gave as an example is not what I was referring to either. What I meant was more on the lines of what @Demosthenes said of people questioning the OP’s motives and derailing from the actual Q. Your example illustrates a normal exchange of addressing a topic and having a conversation, not the scenario I was referring to.

If you hate Fluther for not answering questions and want a place where everyone is always on-topic.

This is your interpretation of my question. It is on you. I never said any of that. It is out of my control how you want to read my question and what you think my feelings are. Which is partly what I meant by Some assume stuff that is not even there.

I always try to write as neutral as possible but some people will still read stuff that is not there and, even if you clarify things, they will continue to project their own reading of the Q. Take this question for instance, it didn’t matter how many times I said it was not about the nightstands, still some insisted in linking it to the nightstands. Same here, some will continue with the you hate Fluther line. It is totally out of my hands.

Thanks for the suggestion of SE, I think I have been in the grammar section there. Will check it again.

This is really a perfect example of “sea lioning” as described by @sorry’s question from May 25.

^^^^^ G. A. ! ! ^^^^^

@KNOWITALL

…I believe some people exhibit attention-seeking behavior here, or peer approval, and it’s very obvious who those people are when you see their posts over a period of time.

You may be right.

@Yeahright Journalism was my first love, psychology my second.

Human nature is very interesting to observe in action and many never realize facets of their own personality that are obvious to others in this particular format.

One of the reasons I asked my Question about the Coronavirus origins was not only to discuss the theories (which I personally found interesting), but also to see who answered and how they answered.

You alone know your goals here, but your observations aren’t wrong. I know I’ve felt bad for @Desmosthenes many times, as he really tries to have some deep conversations about important issues but we never really seem to get into the ‘meat’ of the issue.

Maybe people are just suffering from Covid fatigue and need lighter threads right now on pandemic year two.

I’m doing fine, thanks! Yourself?

I don’t know if I can do this. I guess I’ll find out. I’m copy/pasting this comment from a question from 2010:

I like the separation and how there are areas for jokes that won’t completely overlap the serious questions. I like seeing people who haven’t been active for a long time, finally feel that their question will receive honest, factual and helpful answers. Not every question should have joking in it, I feel…I try to remember that the person asking the question has the say of what input they would like. Now, instead of them getting frustrated by non-answers, they have a section where their question is ‘safe’. For those of us who are in the mood for a more relaxed Fluther experience- there is the social side.

Just thought it was apropos.