What are the best Quora alternatives in 2022?

2023 © Wikiask
Other topics: Q&A
Short answer:
  • There are many Q&A platforms, however, most of them lack to serve as a reliable and authentic medium to share answers that people are looking for.
  • wikiHow, Wikiask, Reddit, Digg, Stack Overflow, Answers.com, Medium, Blurtit, Fluther, Ask.fm, Snippets, and others.
  • Wikiask is capitalizing on making a major shift by offering reliable questions and answers, referenced from acceptable sources.

This page is an essay and does not (yet) meet the standards of having a Neutral Point of View. Please feel free to edit and improve it.

Interface of Wikiask

What is Wikiask, and what are the advantages over other Q&A platform[edit]

Wikiask is the wiki of questions and answers: a reference-based Q&A website that anyone can edit, similar to what Wikipedia is doing for biographies, companies, and reliable topics. Anyone can a question on Wikiask, and anyone can answer it. All activities is moderated by Wikiask’s team, including all answers and questions very closely to set a high standard for any Q&A platform. Unlike any other Q&A platform, it allows users to ask questions only on reliable topics that can be answered and edited by the editors through collaboration.

Advantages of Wikiask over others[edit]

  • Answers are never outdated, they can be updated anytime with the passage of time.
  • Answers on Wikiask are not opinionated, they are referenced from reliable news sources.
  • Wikiask is expected to become the standard for online answering, similar to Wikipedia is doing for encyclopedic content.
  • Setting up high notability standards for Q&A platforms and their editors.
  • One question and one answer. Multiple contributors can contribute to one answer.
  • Filling the space where Wikipedia and Quora have not filled.
  • Avoids misinformation and provides insights to share.
  • They don’t allow low-quality questions such as, "What do I need today?"
  • All content is licensed under CC-BY SA.[1]

Where Wikiask needs to improve[edit]

  • Number of questions answered is still low.
  • Website is new and still has bugs.

What is Quora?[edit]

Quora is a website where users may publish answers to questions that others have asked. Additionally, it gives users the ability to follow topics, people, and particular questions, which is helpful for staying on top of new developments and inquiries that its users have not yet encountered. It has one of the most active Q&A communities and users. As it covers a broad range of subjects and hobbies, Quora has something that will draw anyone's interest. Users also have the option of searching for solutions to certain queries directly in the search box that is located on each page.[2][3]

Interface of Quora

Advantages of Quora over others[edit]

  • Storytelling style of writing by users.
  • Quora is one of the most used platforms for the sharing of cultural ideas.
  • Users may get and provide information while maintaining their anonymity.
  • Conversations with other individuals, whether or not they share similar interests, who have the potential to improve both life and outlook on it.
  • Quora often fills the function of a welcome diversion, which is something that everyone needs every once in a while.
  • Access to its platform that may serve as a repository of information and a forum for the exchange of personal experiences pertaining to subjects that users find fascinating.
  • Offers as a learning topic on varied topics.

Where Quora has failed as a Q&A platform[edit]

  • Most of the answers on Quora are opinionated
  • Collection of anonymous true-life tales is light years ahead of many Hollywood films.
  • Those who dislike any answers, may band together to downvote and report anyone's stuff.
  • Quora Help is not designed to be easy to use. The vast majority of the time, appeals do not take this into consideration. It has very little in the way of assistance.
  • The moderating mechanism on Quora has certain issues. The policy they have adopted is faulty. It's possible that the user's material was removed because it violated the website's terms of service, which would explain the collapse.
  • There are certain questions that have been asked a thousand times before. Quora does not take any action in response to this issue.
  • When questions that seem to be similar are merged on Quora, the process might completely alter the meaning of the original question.
  • Despite the fact that Quora focuses on information, the site has a culture of "upvotes" that is similar to the "likes" feature on Facebook. Quora has evolved into another Facebook for adolescents and young adults.

What is wikiHow?[edit]

wikiHow is a platform that offers instructions on how to do any task, everything users read on wikiHow was contributed by an individual with the intention of assisting another reader. Leveraging the principle of open collaboration seen in wikis to enable users to contribute new material, create new content, and modify existing information.[4]

Interface of wikiHow

Advantages of wikiHow over Q&A platforms[edit]

  • If an article has a green checkmark next to the word "expert," it indicates that the content has been verified by a real-life subject matter specialist.
  • It has a great concept, presented in a format that's just right, complete with pictures.
  • Every user on wikiHow has the ability to make changes to the article, and a staff of people devoted to the site reviews even the smallest of these modifications to ensure that they do not affect the site's accuracy.
  • The wikiHow article database has a plethora of valuable information that may be applied to almost any circumstance.

Where wikiHow is failing as a Q&A platform[edit]

  • wikiHow is only a wiki platform for only how-to guides, which can cover only limited topics.
  • The quality standards for wikiHow are substandard on the whole. Despite the fact that wikiHow includes a Writer's Guide that acts as a kind of style guide, it is in no way intended to be taken as an official standard.[5]
  • The revenues for the website has come mostly from the advertisements on its pages, which has its own limitation.
  • Neither a notability nor an inclusion criterion exists for asking questions.
  • Does not have a policy of neutrality, which may lead to inappropriate, biased, or unnecessary "steps."
  • There are a lot of articles that only make sense in a certain social, economic, or cultural setting, which renders them meaningless.
  • Has an aim that is only loosely defined, and its effectiveness is highly dependent on the person who is reading it.

What is Reddit?[edit]

Reddit is a website that integrates social news sharing with a community forum. Posts on the site are voted up or down by other users to determine their prominence. It revolves around users sharing links, photographs, and text, which may then be voted on by everyone else in the community. The most popular and highly rated content is brought to the forefront, while lower-rated material falls further down the rankings.[6] Reddit is broken up into hundreds of smaller groups that are referred to as subreddits. Each of Reddit's subreddits focuses on a certain subject area, such as gaming, politics, or music. The postings include a wide variety of media, such as images, videos, articles, and discussion threads.[7]

Interface of Reddit

Advantages of using Reddit[edit]

  • Reddit is user-friendly, which is particularly beneficial for beginners. Redditors like learning about new things and debating a wide variety of subjects; nevertheless, if anyone wants to be successful on this site, they must refrain from posting spam.
  • Reddit is a platform that is favorable to business. Businesses may market their goods and services via sponsored advertisements, or they can have dialogues with other users about how they affect their businesses. People from all around the globe are able to communicate freely and without the threat of censorship thanks to Reddit.
  • If a user is able to build buzz about their website and the products or services they have to offer, Reddit will send that user's website free traffic. Sharing stuff that other people are likely to find interesting is one way for them to achieve this goal. They also have the option of initiating a conversation that is relevant to their niche area, provided that there is sufficient interest in the topic among Redditors.
  • It is generally agreed that Reddit is one of the safest sites available on the internet. It is not necessary for users to have an account in order to comment on the material.

Where Reddit is failing as a Q&A platform[edit]

  • Reddit isn't always the ideal place to spend free time, despite the fact that using the platform itself may be enjoyable at times.
  • Reddit is often not a good place to post material since it does not always have credible sources. There are a lot of individuals that use the website, and a lot of those users will upload articles from other websites, some of which aren't very widely known, which makes it tough to check the legitimacy of the articles.
  • It may be difficult to sift through the stuff that people publish on Reddit because of the large amount of information that is constantly being uploaded.

What is Digg?[edit]

Digg is a website that combines the features of a social network with a news aggregator. Users submit articles for a possible promotion, and the articles are then either digged (marked as favorable) or buried (marked as unfavorable). The most widely read articles are shown on the homepage, which may result in a significant increase in traffic to the associated websites.

It would seem that the purpose of the organization is to assist people in navigating a media landscape that is becoming more cluttered, so making it simpler to recognize and take advantage of the most significant news items, videos, and Internet trends of the day.[8]

Interface of Digg

Advantages of using the Digg platform[edit]

  • A positive digg impact is likely to provide a site's visitors additional inbound links from other websites whose users considered the content of their site to be interesting. 
  • After becoming dugg, businesses will see a boost in the number of visitors that visit their site on a daily basis as well as feed subscribers. There won't be as many visitors as there were on the day they were dugg, but there will be more than there were before the digg effect.
  • If a website gains popularity on Digg, it almost always gains popularity on other social media platforms not long after.

Where does the Digg platform need to improve?[edit]

  • Low quality content targeted only at bringing the traffic.
  • There is no defined purpose in a long run.
  • There is no moderation policy on the platform.

What is Stack Overflow?[edit]

Stack Overflow is a question-and-answer website that brings together computer programmers from all around the globe. The website acts as a storehouse for knowledge pertaining to many aspects of computer programming. It gets its name from the software error that appears once an application exhausts all of its available memory. Collaboration, problem-solving, and the exchange of information are all made easier for individuals, groups, and companies via the use of Stack Overflow.[9]

Interface of Stack Overflow

Advantages of Stack Overflow platform[edit]

  • Ask questions and receive practical, clear answers about computer and technology fields.
  • The use of tags and filters makes it simple to locate queries and replies.
  • Communities of computer programmers who share knowledge and have similar interests.
  • No advertising or spam.
  • Method of selecting winners that encourages correct responses.
  • Participants who are astute and quick to respond.

Where Stack Overflow lacks as a Q&A platform[edit]

  • Only limited to tech and computer related questions
  • It is challenging for newcomers to understand how to ask questions from various guides.
  • Members of the community giving a negative vote without providing a reason or instruction
  • There is no way to modify or improve the already-existing questions and answers.
  • It's not always the case that moderators can effectively facilitate talks.

What is Medium.com[edit]

Medium.com is a website that provides a platform for users to read, create, and engage with the stories that are most important to them. The visual attractiveness of Medium as well as its user-friendliness have earned it a lot of praise. It was started in 2012 by Ev Williams, who was a creator of Blogger thus with that, plus his Twitter expertise, it is likely that Medium emphasizes on simplicity and online publishing with a powerful social aspect.[10]

Interface of Medium.com

Advantages of Medium platform[edit]

  • Due to the fact that Medium.com is primarily concerned with enhancing the writing and reading experiences of its users, it was only a matter of time before the website began to draw authors and readers from all over the globe. 
  • Users are able to target the ideal audience with the information they publish on Medium. By concentrating on tags and the preferences of the readers, they will rapidly reach their intended audience since it will be simple for that audience to locate them.
  • People will engage with the information if they find it to be of high quality.
  • While a user is reading a Story or scrolling through the feed, they are provided with a great user experience that includes an excellent degree of white space, high-quality font, mobile optimization, and an overall design that is both simple and attractive.
  • When composing a Story, all of the choices, tools, and draught previews are intuitively laid out and simple to use.
  • One of the primary motivations for people to post on Medium is search engine optimization (SEO). A significant portion of staying current consists of routinely changing the material on your website.
  • When anyone writes on Medium, their software will automatically match the text with the relevant HTML components.
  • There are three different types of biographies that may be found on a publication: the owner, the editors, and the authors.
  • Anyone may use them on Stories to reach the intended audience as a writer, and anyone can use them to identify subjects that interest them as a reader. Both of these uses are possible with the same set of tools.

Where Medium lacks as a Q&A platform[edit]

  • Since the Medium community is still relatively tiny, anybody who wants their material to be seen by a larger audience will need to market it on other platforms in addition to Medium.
  • It's possible that Medium might be taken down at any time. When or if Medium makes a decision to modify its terms and conditions, any user material that is dependent on this platform runs the risk of being lost permanently.
  • Users are only able to highlight text, remark, and share when they are reading a Story. There is no easy way to communicate that "I enjoy this Story" without engaging with it in some manner, and there never will be.
  • Medium is the one that profits from the writing and narrative talents of its users, as opposed to the website, which does not get any traffic.
  • It is difficult to arrange user's material, despite the fact that this is not a fundamental aspect of the site.
  • The most fundamental level of analytics is the medium level. In the case of Publications, they examine the number of views, visitors, and total time spent reading; in the case of Stories, they examine the views, reads, read ratio, and recommendations.

References[edit]

  1. "Wikiask:Terms of Use - Wikiask". wikiask.org. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  2. Montti, Roger (2022-09-03). "What Is Quora & How It Works". Search Engine Journal. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  3. Stimac, Blake (2019-10-16). "What is Quora and How to Use it Right". Wix Blog. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  4. Tiffany, Kaitlyn (2019-11-11). "How to Make a Website". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  5. "22 Ridiculous WikiHow Pages That You Won't Believe Actually Exist". ScoopWhoop. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  6. Stegner, Ben (2019-04-02). "What Is Reddit and How Does It Work?". MUO. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  7. Diaz, Jesus; published, Rory Mellon (2021-10-27). "What Is Reddit and How to Use It: The Definitive Guide". Tom's Guide. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  8. "What Is the Difference Between Digg & Reddit?". Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  9. An, Le; Mlouki, Ons; Khomh, Foutse; Antoniol, Giuliano (2017-02). "Stack Overflow: A code laundering platform?". 2017 IEEE 24th International Conference on Software Analysis, Evolution and Reengineering (SANER): 283–293. doi:10.1109/SANER.2017.7884629. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. "The Pros and Cons of using Medium for Marketing | Ably Blog: Data in Motion". Ably Realtime. Retrieved 2022-10-20.