To answer unanswered questions or not?

Question

I noticed that some questions never seem to get answered. ( At least from what I could tell being a member for only a short while) What is the fate of these questions? If they are always left unanswered wouldn't that discourage those who formed the question from staying in the forum actively? Do we have a responsibility to check the unanswered questions tab each time we sign in to keep our forum healthy? Or is it healthier for SpanishDict to "weed out" poorly worded questions by allowing them to go unanswered?

Answer 1

Hi Renae! My personal opinion is that Yes, all unanswered questions should be looked at. Of course no one is obliged to do so, but I think you're right that doing so helps maintain an inviting atmosphere.

However, I would not want to answer a question that has only been sitting there for a few hours if I didn't have something worthwhile to offer. I have seen some questions 'answered' with "Hey, good question. I don't know the answer, but I hope someone does..." That, if anything, could be the death knell of such a question.

At the moment I notice there are no 'stale' unanswered questions. Considering the global nature of the membership (time zones, schedules, etc.), questions that have been around only a few hours or even a day are still fairly new and will be answered by someone. The ones about errors being found probably are best left for Admin. (I suppose when you asked this 2 hours ago, there were some, but maybe your question prompted everyone to look them over. In that case, Nice Job!)

"stale" questions - what a great image :) - sheila-foster, ENE 18, 2010

Amazingly enough unanswered questions seem to develop their own life arounde here! Sometimes a thread you don't think will be interesting at all has fascinating responses! - renaerules, ENE 18, 2010