Why won’t they be banned by Quora Inc.?
Is it bad to ask questions on Quora that could easily be answered via a Google search?
In particular, Charlie Cheever’s answer (Quora is a cache for Google) and Adam D’Angelo’s answer (Quora is a cache for Google, plus the answers will be better anyway.)
That’s Quora Inc.’s perspective. For what Quora users think of this perspective, see e.g. Robert Frost’s answer .
Read it.
No, srsly. Read it.
(And for amusement, compare Robert Frost’s answer to Why do some people ask questions on Quora that could easily be answered by using a search engine? two years previously.)
What Patrick O’Neill describes is an edge case. The questions I’ve seen in the Greek feed, and most of you have seen on your corresponding language feeds, are mostly not ríastrad , or a culture-specific notion as in How do I translate the Greek word filotimo?
Instead, you see
- What does the Greek word “mou” mean? (= “my”)
- What is the Greek word for “medicine”?
- In Greek, how do you say “thank you”?
- What is the Greek word for “sweet”?
- How do you say “my love” in Greek?
- What is the Greek word for “fast”? And its correct pronunciation?
As they stand, these are not questions for which a Google Translate query is not adequate.
Robert Frost, I would argue, changed his mind between 2013 and 2015—because
It clutters the feed with crap. I expect my feed to be filled with content that will be interesting to read, not simplistic factoids that can be found anywhere. Encouraging easy questions on Quora makes Quora a less enjoyable place for me.