But who will think of the QUESTIONS?

June 24, 2007 2:12 PM

AxeMe's orphanage. It's just so sad - don't the unanswered deserve a shout-out on podcast?
posted by DenOfSizer to Feature Requests at 2:12 PM (19 comments total)

"Cruise Elroy."
posted by thatweirdguy2 at 2:19 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

Despite the tags, these aren't necessarily unanswered.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:21 PM on June 24, 2007

This is a better list.
posted by brain_drain at 2:41 PM on June 24, 2007

And you can page backwards through that list with URLs like this: http://ask.metafilter.com/home/unanswered?page=4.
posted by chrismear at 2:45 PM on June 24, 2007

If AxeMe can't take care of her questions, she needs to take her broke-ass querydaddy to the Maury Show for a paternity test and then nail him for inquiry support.

Tagging unsatisfactorily answered questions with 'unanswered' seems like a bad idea, unless the poster/tagger is going to check back and remove the tag once it's deemed answered to their satisfaction.
posted by CKmtl at 3:00 PM on June 24, 2007

I'll try to put a plug in for the orphans at the next podcast.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 3:00 PM on June 24, 2007

Agreed, brain_drain , but how do you get them there?
posted by DenOfSizer at 3:18 PM on June 24, 2007

The questions that have zero answers tend to be that way because they are ridiculously specific, and this is usually the too general a forum for them. If one out of a thousand members even understand the question, it's not a very deep pool at all.

Or sometimes they are "how do I do this seemingly impossible thing?", and the answer is "you don't".
posted by smackfu at 3:25 PM on June 24, 2007

I thought the proper tag was "stumped."
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 3:42 PM on June 24, 2007

Little Orphan Answers. Maybe they'll be adopted by Daddy Whatthefucks.
posted by jonmc at 4:54 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

"Cruise Elroy."

Well, shit. An answer two years in the making. Thanks, thatweirdguy2!
posted by danb at 5:10 PM on June 24, 2007

"Cruise Elroy."

I dunno. He's rough trade, Rerry rough.
posted by jonmc at 5:14 PM on June 24, 2007 [1 favorite]

Despite the tags, these aren't necessarily unanswered.

This one even has a best answer marked.
posted by oneirodynia at 7:37 PM on June 24, 2007

OP found that one on his own and flagged himself as best answer, so he did technically strike out the side.

(I kind of enjoy that I answered "not Thomas Mann's brother", when the actual answer was "Thomas Mann". That counts, right?)
posted by ormondsacker at 8:49 PM on June 24, 2007

48 posts tagged with stumped.

Jessamyn, plug this tag too, please. (Not that I have a vested interest or anything.)
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 7:39 AM on June 25, 2007

I still can't believe none of you geeks have that Guy Maddin DVD set.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 11:04 AM on June 25, 2007

If I were an orphan question without an answer, I would go over to that thread looking for questions but not answers and just hang out all nonchalant like I belonged there.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:50 PM on June 25, 2007

I've used the "unanswered" tag for AskMe questions a few times when the question was not answered (even though there may have been comments in the thread). Most of them were several years old, so they are closed to new comments.

I thought the proper tag was "stumped."

Guess I missed that thread. I'll start using "stumped."

Also, I've come across one or two MeFi threads in which no one commented, and I tagged those as "nocomments," mostly for the novelty factor. I've contacted jessamyn about removing that tag from a post that has four comments.
posted by initapplette at 1:06 PM on June 25, 2007

The problem with "stumped" is that it can also apply to terrible accidents.
posted by smackfu at 2:36 PM on June 25, 2007