Why Do Questions Without Answer Requests Rarely Get Answered on Quora?

Unless one has an overall view of all Quora questions, it is not accurate to make such a broad general assumption. A review of the profile of the original poster (OP) highlights a history or pattern of offensive and confrontational questions and answers. Therefore, the question might reflect the OP's personal experience rather than a universal truth.

A Personal Perspective

I don’t know if this is true; I answer questions that interest me or align with my expertise. Often, I avoid requesting answers when the question has already been answered by multiple others, and I have nothing to contribute. The decision to answer or not is deeply personal and based on the content and interest level of the question.

Understanding Quora as a Platform

Quora is not a source of curiosity or information; it is a platform where users ask and answer questions. The platform uses an algorithm that takes into account the user's areas of interest, followed people, topics answered and upvoted, and browsing habits to show questions to relevant users. Due to this algorithm, a particular question may or may not appear in the feed of those who could offer interesting answers.

Fortunately, Quora provides an 'Ask to Answer' feature that doesn’t rely on the algorithm. This feature allows users to direct potential answerers to your question, ensuring it reaches the right audience and potentially increasing the likelihood of receiving a valuable response.

The Impact of Unanswered Questions

Some questions on Quora remain unanswered for years. Misspellings and lack of clarity can significantly decrease the chance of receiving an answer. The 'Request Answers' feature was introduced to help such questions. This feature allows you to ping your followers or find people who frequently answer questions within the same topic as your question to increase the chances of getting an informed response.

Quora does have a bot that harvests questions from other places on the internet, but most questions originate from users who might not have the exact words but have a genuine interest in getting answers. This feature helps bridge the gap between the user's intent and the platform's algorithm, ensuring that unanswered questions can receive the attention they deserve.

Conclusion

Understanding the context and mechanics of Quora can help explain why some questions face a higher chance of going unanswered. The 'Request Answers' and 'Ask to Answer' features are tools to combat this issue, increasing the chances of receiving valuable and informed responses.