One-liner, the question says?
OK then:
NOT: to share and grow the world’s knowledge. (Our Mission by Adam D’Angelo on The Quora Blog)
That’s a mission statement. Far be those from me.
NOT: a place to get answers to my questions.
Yishan Wong’s answer to Why are my questions not answered on Quora?: “Quora is not a place to get your question answered. […] Quora is a great place to write answers and to read answers, but it is not a good place to get your own questions answered.”
How do I explain Quora to outsiders?
I make no apology whatever for the fundamental disconnect between Quora’s notion of itself, and my own:
Facebook for smart people.