Q&A NEEDS

1. 79

   Don Bobbittposted 7 years ago

   
   After answering over 50 "Q&A" questions from the public, I find that if this system is going to continue there are a few tools I need to manage what is presented to me.
   First of all, there needs to be a SPAM switch for those nonsensical "questions that I get, most irritating is a series of questions asking; Are you a Boy, Are you a Girl, etcetera.
   Second, there needs to be a standard response of "Sorry, But you have not provided enough information for me to respond!"
   Third,  there needs to be a switch that send a response of "I am happy to answer your question as best I can, but I am not allowed to communicate directly with questioners. Please send more details if you still need information".
   And finally, If the questioner has multiple questions on the same subject, there needs to be a link to the other question so that I can quickly find the original data. Often, a questioner will not be able to use the original answer and will ask in more detail later, but the search for the original is time consuming.
   I'm sure there are more improvements that become obvious as we get further into this Q&A system.
   Just a thought here, and I know that the concept of categorizing all of the Hubs that get questions is an impossible task, but being able to have the questioner select a "keyword" before asking their question could be of some statistical analysis interest to HP. In fact, the Hub writer could set up such a "keyword" list strictly for questions ?
   I find it entertaining reading and responding to these questions when they make sense to me.
   DON

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   1. 91

      Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I get around 500 views a day, so the jury is out about how valuable this option is for me.
      
      But I also get awful questions which are answered in the article itself. Many ask questions that have nothing to do with the article, and it's obvious they haven't read it. If we take the time to answer, we have no way of knowing if they came back to read the answer anyway. Of course, others may benefit from your answer.
      
      You do have the option of deleting it if you really get spam or nonsense. Or you can "Pause" the feature for a few days if you need a break. Since I write mostly about astrology, I get freeloaders who want a whole horoscope for nothing. They ask one big question each day, and yes, don't provide the info I need to answer it. But they provide enough so I can recognize them when they come back under another name the next day!
      
      My horoscopes are not related to HP, only my teaching hubs are here. What they want for free costs money and takes up at least 10-12 hours of my time. It's on a totally different blog. So I have a love/hate relationship with this feature.

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      1. 98

         DrMark1961posted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Although you can never be sure about a specific person coming back to read, you can tell if your question has ever been read by anyone. Go to your Q&A via the account page, look at the chart, and hit "show more" as much as you need to in order to view the bottom. At the bottom are those questions that have never been viewed. I have about a half dozen that even the questioner never came back to look at, and no one else, so they were a complete waste of time. Disappointing, but there is no way to say what is going  to take off, and what will not get any views. (kind of like hubs, right?)
         
         With 500 views per day you are probably making 2 or 3 dollars a day. 500 times 60% (your impressions, and 40% to hp) times your CPM. I made that estimate based on a CPM of about $10, so if yours is a lot different then your pay for questions is a lot different too. I still am unsure how the questions are affecting our page rank, so you may be earning a lot more than this (through increased page views) but I have asked hp staff and they said there is no way to tell at this point. Actual impressions from this program cannot be tracked by us at this time.
         
         I "pause" a lot of questions too Jean. This may help a lot of readers, but sometimes the info they ask for is right there.

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         1. 91

            Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Oh, I have a few zeros at the bottom when I look at all the questions.. So those are the ones who never come back to read the answer!
            
            Thank you for figuring out the impressions and what they make. I do see a difference of about $2.00 a day, now that you told me that. Plus the articles on niches do pretty well. I guess the administration will make a decision soon. Take care.

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            1. 98

               DrMark1961posted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Glad I could help. Those questions are weird at times, but last night I realized that almost all of the questions on one article are about another subject. Either I have the title wrong or I need to write another hub that tells people what they need to know.
               I guess it is not such a bad thing after all. (At least at times.)

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   2. 74

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I just hide the questions that are not understandable or make no sense.  No big deal. One thing I found that is nice, though, is that sometimes a question gives me a good idea for writing an article.  One thing I find interesting is when people ask me about questions nobody could possibly know the answer to, such as "It is legal to park my RV on my own property in Timbucktoo County?".  They must think I'm an encyclopedia!

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2. 98

   DrMark1961posted 7 years ago

   Asking if you are a boy or a girl is annoying, but it is not spam. You already have the option to ignore those stupid questions. I do.

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3. 79

   Barbara Kayposted 7 years ago

   I hate the questions that already have the answer in the hub.

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4. 68

   Sherry Hewinsposted 7 years ago

   If I don't think the question is pertinent, I ignore it.

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