Why Not to Use Quora • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#181

Post by kokx » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 2:15 PM UTC

dandare wrote: post #155

> Nearly every major online service has had a security breach: Facebook, Google, Twitter, Yahoo, Tumblr, Uber, Evernote, eBay, Adobe, Target, and Sony... Security breaches like these are a strong argument for using a password manager... I don't recall a major password manager security breach, but I am afraid it is only a question of time. And the consequences will not be just compounded, they will be multiplied.

This is why most password managers use encryption to store your passwords. They should never be sent to the provider of the password manager in plaintext form.

And if you are still afraid of that, use a password manager which does not store it's data on somebody else's server.

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#182

Post by sevensor » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 2:17 PM UTC

corporateguy6 wrote: post #43

askafriend wrote: post #6

All philosophical views aside, there are some really core issues that got me to stop using Quora and unfortunately the case to stop using it is made by the site itself: * The content quality has deteriorated significantly since the site's inception. The content is far cheaper than before and far less interesting in very obvious ways. * Moderation systems have not done a good job of growing the site as a community. Th…

I’m actually surprised at how bad their ML model is. Funny to see someone else mention how overfit their model is. There’s literally no content discovery, it’s the same extremely specific topic. But you know what? I’ve also noticed this phenomenon on YouTube, maybe there’s something to it from an advertising revenue perspective.

Despite the fact that I use YouTube only for music videos and technical content and have never watched a Jordan Peterson video, YouTube recommends only Jordan Peterson videos to me.

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#183

Post by robertsd247 » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 2:19 PM UTC

I agree with this article 100%. I have posted answers on quora to only have them disappear. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason on posts, moderation, and who sees what answer.

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#184

Post by exotree » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 2:28 PM UTC

It’s a bit odd that the author did not seem to take on Quora’s legitimate concern over a writer’s ability to edit or remove content from Quora and to then see that reflected in Archive. There are consequences to that, sure. But honestly that makes me want to contribute to Quora more.

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#185

Post by vntok » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 2:32 PM UTC

sevensor wrote: post #182

corporateguy6 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m actually surprised at how bad their ML model is. Funny to see someone else mention how overfit their model is. There’s literally no content discovery, it’s the same extremely specific topic. But you know what? I’ve also noticed this phenomenon on YouTube, maybe there’s something to it from an advertising revenue perspective.

Despite the fact that I use YouTube only for music videos and technical content and have never watched a Jordan Peterson video, YouTube recommends only Jordan Peterson videos to me.

Have you tried watching one or two? You might be the type of person prone to find them interesting, that's what the machine thinks of you anyway.

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#186

Post by sevensor » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

vntok wrote: post #185

sevensor wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Despite the fact that I use YouTube only for music videos and technical content and have never watched a Jordan Peterson video, YouTube recommends only Jordan Peterson videos to me.

Have you tried watching one or two? You might be the type of person prone to find them interesting, that's what the machine thinks of you anyway.

I tell computers what to do, not the other way around :)

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#187

Post by C1sc0cat » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 3:09 PM UTC

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #156

zenexer wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never found the quality to be anywhere near as good as Stack Exchange, even when Quora first launched. Why anyone would knowingly use Quora over Stack Exchange is a mystery to me; I suspect that most Quora users simply aren't aware that Stack Exchange exists, since SE traditionally catered primarily to a technical audience. Edit: One of my biggest gripes with the platform is that it's always solicited a large numbe…

SE and Q do different jobs. Q is better at "soft" knowledge - psychology, personal history, experience, opinion. SE is better for "hard" knowledge - clearly-defined problems with specific solutions. Having said that, I find SE very, very frustrating. Given any problem, the answers invariably seem to include multiple takes with distracting or irrelevant side points; show-boating comments, often nit-picky, about very m…

Agreed I have seen many SO answers in areas where I have expertise where wordy waffly feel good answers - that don't actually answer the question asked get preferred of short and to the point 3 or 4 line answers.

There is also to much vote whoreing going on with people chipping in with non relevant answers. I wish I had a pound for every employment answer that mentions "right to work" when its not an American employment question.

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#188

Post by anonymouzz » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 3:42 PM UTC

mettamage wrote: post #173

codedokode wrote: post #171

I avoid Quora links in search results because it hides content from unauthenticated users and I don't understand why I have to register only to read the answers. Stackoverflow is so much better. I wonder what is the motivation for the users to contribute to a site that hides their knowledge from others?

Control. Or is that answer too simple? I think control, final answer. I don't know why control though.

Can you explain? Whose control over what?

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#189

Post by tokyodude » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 3:43 PM UTC

I'm curious, doesn't the GDPR require sites allow users to download all their data, in other words their questions and answers on Quora? The article claims they don't allow this.

Re: Why Not to Use Quora

#190

Post by dasil003 » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 3:48 PM UTC

busterarm wrote: post #92

corporateguy6 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m actually surprised at how bad their ML model is. Funny to see someone else mention how overfit their model is. There’s literally no content discovery, it’s the same extremely specific topic. But you know what? I’ve also noticed this phenomenon on YouTube, maybe there’s something to it from an advertising revenue perspective.

A coworker of mine was recently sharing an encounter with an engineer at Quora to me. The gist of it was that the Quora engineer was saying that they've built the best engineering team in the entire industry -- that they're the 'smartest guys in the room'. Both my coworker and I were impressed by the gall of such a suggestion and then began to wonder how much self-deception and double-think must be occurring, cultura…

If you were an early employee at Facebook it takes significant self-awareness to realize that that success may not be directly linked to your formidable brain power. Especially if you that was your formative professional experience in your 20s.