People of Quora.

I am shocked.

No, shocked I tell you. I am blown away. I am flabbergasted.

Verklempt, even.

Orphaned answers: No Notification

Herein, I had posted a month ago about the fact that we get no notification that questions we have answered have been deleted.

Well, we do now:

… I’d hate to think Quora UX got the idea from me…

Originally Answered:

What are some major social faux pas to avoid when visiting Australia?

Sitting in the back seat of a cab. I occasionally see Indian cab drivers unaware of the unspoken egalitarian norm here, hurrying to clear their crap from the front seat. But by default, if you sit in the back seat of a cab, you are taken as treating the cab driver as the Hired Help.

And yes, the cab driver is the hired help. But woe betide you if you actually act like it.

Thanks, Martin!

I went to my mobile; I didn’t even know that feature was on there. (And why it would be on mobile not desktop is puzzling.)

164.

I am not conscious or discriminate about topics I answer, although there are no-go areas for me—science for example. I don’t have humanities training as such (linguistics does not comport itself as a humanities), but the answers I enjoy most are those where I venture into cultural studies or history, armed with a couple of Wikipedia pages and my own good sense, and try and make sense of a narrative.

But I do have core topics of competency, and I write more about them than others. I do worry that I write too much meta-content (Quora), especially as my Quora answer count has recently overtaken my Greek Language answer count. But I don’t find that results in me choosing not to answer a question about Quora. The way I manage my mountain of A2As is to take my time about getting to them: if someone else has gotten to one before me, and has done a good job of it, I can cross it off my list in good conscience.

I do feel bad about not answering enough questions about programming, and none about IT policy; but I’m not used to doing it (despite Miguel Paraz’s best efforts).

Are there topics I won’t answer despite being knowledgeable about them? No, not really. I’m just not circumspect in that way. I barely even correct myself here…

I’ve already written Nick Nicholas’ answer to How can one use the word “Quora” in a limerick? But how could I pass up an A2A from Vicky?

1. I would have felt much jubilation,
   had Quora sent notification
   that User
   limericked mentioning me;
   but @-mentions… lack mitigation.
2. So, there once was a young synaesthete
   who gained fandom with Quora’s elite.
   She’s regaled us with stories
   of her working girl glories
   and entranced us with jokes indiscreet!
3. When on Quora, I write unabashed.
   A2A me? I’ll give it a bash!
   I make friends near and far,
   and I follow my star.
   But UX fails shall sting to my lash.
4. Where the erudite gather to grumble,
   and the recondite rally to rumble:
   where the droll draw their japes,
   and the heroes their capes:
   there you’ll find me, in rough and in tumble.
5. “Share and grow the world’s knowledge,” said D’Angelo,
   crisp as bacon, and sharp as a tangelo.
   Yet on Quora we socialise,
   because knowledge, we realise,
   is much harder to pin down than flan jello.