Why the Same People Keep Answering Every Question I Ask

Have you ever noticed that the same people keep popping up to answer your questions on platforms like Quora? It can be frustrating when the same individuals provide the same answers, no matter how many times you ask the same question. Why does this happen?

Why Same People Answer Repeatedly

Commonality of Questions

Firstly, many people tend to ask the same questions repeatedly. There is an old saying, 'If I have told you once, I have told you a million times—don’t ask the same question twice.' This is because the answers to their questions remain the same. For example, questions like 'Which answer/picture/screenshot/meme deserves upvotes' are asked frequently because they tend to get a lot of engagement from users. These types of questions provide more visibility and can result in higher ad revenue and more views for the platform.

Quora’s User Dynamics

The dynamics of the Quora community contribute to this phenomenon. The platform hosts a massive floating population, with millions of users joining and leaving after just a few months. Many new users aren’t aware of the answers to popular questions because they haven't been around long enough to see the older answers. Consequently, they keep asking the same questions, leading to the same answers being repeated over and over again.

Saturation with AI and Canned Responses

Another reason for the same answers being repeated is the presence of AI bots. Many accounts on Quora are using AI tools like ChatGPT to generate boilerplate answers and then copy-paste them. This leads to a flood of similar content, drowning out the quality responses from genuine users. The use of AI exacerbates the issue, making it hard for real answers to stand out.

Quora has had to address this imbalance. They have rolled out their own AI systems to generate content, but this has only made the platform less attractive for genuine users who want to share information with authenticity.

Addressing the Problem

One way to combat the issue of repeated questions is by merging duplicate questions. Quora has features that allow users to identify and merge redundant questions. By doing this, older and more established questions can retain their value and visibility.

Merging Duplicates

To merge questions, you can follow these steps:

Click on the question title to see detailed answers. Determine if the question is a duplicate of another and follow the options to merge it.

This process helps to consolidate information and prevent the same answers from being posted repeatedly, ensuring that users can find the most relevant and helpful information.

Conclusion

The presence of the same people answering repeated questions is a common issue on platforms like Quora. It is due to a combination of user behavior, platform dynamics, and the use of AI tools. While this can be frustrating, taking steps like merging duplicate questions can help to address the issue and improve the user experience. It is important for users to be aware of these challenges and to actively participate in finding solutions to make these platforms more useful for everyone.