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Ask HN: Why is Quora popular all of a sudden?

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Re: Ask HN: Why is Quora popular all of a sudden?

#21

Post by meowface »

SwellJoe wrote: post #17

I dunno about its changing popularity, but like Expert Sexchange before it, I actively avoid Quora. It was the first site I added to my Google Personal Blocklist, and the reason I installed the plugin. Their unsubscribe form is (or was last I saw it in 2015) a nastier piece of work than I could imagine, even if told: Come up with the most annoying unsubscribe form you can. Make it really hard to unsubscribe from ever…

On mobile, they make you install their app to look at anything at all.

Any company that needs dozens of "dark patterns" and tricks to stay afloat probably shouldn't exist. LinkedIn is the same.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Quora popular all of a sudden?

#22

Post by taneq »

SwellJoe wrote: post #17

I dunno about its changing popularity, but like Expert Sexchange before it, I actively avoid Quora. It was the first site I added to my Google Personal Blocklist, and the reason I installed the plugin. Their unsubscribe form is (or was last I saw it in 2015) a nastier piece of work than I could imagine, even if told: Come up with the most annoying unsubscribe form you can. Make it really hard to unsubscribe from ever…

You got to the unsubscribe form? Every time I inadvertently follow a link to that site, I get to their "show the article then cover it in a popup demanding I register" screen, think "to hell with you" and close the tab.

Which is a pity because it seems like they have a lot of interesting content, but there's no way in hell I'm going to give them my Facebook or Google+ account to get at it, and I can't be bothered creating a new throwaway email just for them.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Quora popular all of a sudden?

#23

Post by moonshinefe »

doseofreality wrote: post #9

Please login to see the answer to this question.

Do they still make you sign up to view all the answers? I remember being greatly annoyed that the site kept coming up at the top of Google results, only to be blocked by needing to login.

Whereas other rivals sites like the ___ exchanges didn't have this nag.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Quora popular all of a sudden?

#24

Post by moonshinefe »

said wrote: post #20

I've seen some great answers on Quora, but their growth is possibly due to spam. I hate to accuse them of that, but... Quora lets you sign up using a Google account. Normally, this means you won't need to create a new password. However, Quora immediately asks you to provide one. With that in mind, what's the point of linking your Google account? Well, according to this recent thread, Quora tries to access your contac…

That seems possible. Everything I've seen from that site indicates it's terrible.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Quora popular all of a sudden?

#25

Post by adarsh_thampy »

Google algorithms keep changing all the time. Personally, I haven't noticed Quora results come up in Google search more often.

It could be that Google is tracking your clicks with cookies and showing you more of the sites you click frequently in the search results. Or the queries you are using might be dominated by Quora.

While I dislike Quora for forced sign up (with an even weirder explanation for why you need to have an account), some of the answers there are top notch. I haven't seen such depth in any Q&A sites.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Quora popular all of a sudden?

#27

Post by zodiac »

SwellJoe wrote: post #17

I dunno about its changing popularity, but like Expert Sexchange before it, I actively avoid Quora. It was the first site I added to my Google Personal Blocklist, and the reason I installed the plugin. Their unsubscribe form is (or was last I saw it in 2015) a nastier piece of work than I could imagine, even if told: Come up with the most annoying unsubscribe form you can. Make it really hard to unsubscribe from ever…

While they are both Q&A sites, I would consider quora and stack overflow to be in different markets.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Quora popular all of a sudden?

#28

Post by jdross »

My understanding from speaking with former PM's is they moved their sign-up-to-view "paywall" from the first page you view to the second page, at least when you come from a social network or search engine. That obviously increases the relevance and search score when the answer is high quality.

Re: Ask HN: Why is Quora popular all of a sudden?

#29

Post by insulanian »

Because asking a question on Stack Overflow is becoming a formal skill, for God's sake!

It gets more annoying and restrictive every day so that I have to think trice before deciding if I should go again trough that agony of asking a question and fight with SO admins to keep it from being closed.

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