I found a way to get real answers from vague 'ask anything' posts

The problem was people would post 'what's the best way to learn guitar?' and get ten generic replies. I started replying with a specific question of my own, like 'what's the one chord change you're stuck on right now?' It forces the person asking to actually think. After trying this for a week, I got way more detailed follow-up questions and real advice started flowing. It turns a lazy ask into a real conversation. Has anyone else found a trick to cut through the noise in these forums?

3 comments

3 Comments

white.ryan1mo ago

Totally works. I do something similar with recipe posts, asking what specific ingredient they're trying to use up. It completely changes the replies.

aaron_cooper1mo ago

It reminds me of a blog post about how asking for a constraint, like @white.ryan said, actually boosts creativity instead of limiting it. People just need a clear starting point to work from. Framing the question right makes all the difference.

wendy_ross711mo ago

Hey, that's actually a really smart trick... but I think you meant to tag aaron_cooper there, not me.