You mean, Unclebeer lied to me?!? That bastard! He musta been drunk…
Are you sure he’s not talking about the person who made the funny cat story, trying to emulate Cecil’s wit, and who didn’t really answer the question? 'Cause that person’s already been called an asshole by mail, and has decided an occasional sense of humor in GQ is Just Not Worth It.
Maybe this mail guy oughta be nicer in GQ. That kind of crap only gets you somewhere in BBQ Land.
Or, you know, in a “But, Butt, Butts! XXX” movie. Ahem.
It’s partly a conversational device, isn’t it? It goes something like this “I don’t know the answer specificially, but I’m interested in the general subject, in this other respect.”
I just posted to a thread about the asteroid that follows Earth’s orbit, not answering the OP. Its horseshoe orbit was something I might have known about, but didn’t. I did have a little extra information that might have helped the next poster down the line (even if it meant disagreeing with my points).
Wow…lookit all the high post counts.
Should I be in awe?
No, you should be in fear. (Or in a nice pink dress if it suits you.) Look upon this, my 302nd post in all of three and 1/2 years, and cower. Snivel, too.
But if that rule were enforced a certain someone would lose thousands of posts. :rolleyes:
How about those that don’t have an answer at all? There has been a huge problem of people answering GQ questions with a lame joke or pun. It’s an especially crappy thing to do when a fresh newbie asks a legitimate though silly question and the first few responses are jokes and mockery. Once that happens you can pretty much say goodbye to a potentially fine new member of the Boards.
Haj
I also concur with the Polycarp Method[sup]TM[/sup], and I rarely post in GQ because of it. Only the very few subjects I actually have knowledge of, or have verifiable proof to support, are subjects I post to.
However, I also agree with partly_warmer (for once) and have to agree that it is motivational to have additional voices in there.
Even if they are not completely accurate, they open additional avenues of thought - brainstorming, if you will.
It makes more people think and try harder to find the most accurate answer.
Um. Oops. 
I think it’s OK to do this, but only after the question has been answered exhaustively.
I share Gorgon Heap’s view. Sometimes, coming up with an answer in GQ is a collaborative process, not a one-shot, bing-bam-boom individual effort.
Such collaboration is especially necessary for questions that are not easily Googled – Google does not tell all.
Thank you, bordelond. While I have to note some exceptional people here, such as Anthracite, who are well-known for their intelligence and/or research abilities, this is not and Ann Landers advice column.
Most people who are here would rather like to get more than a single reply to their thread, even it the first is the “official” word. Not only because more answers offer more credence and support each other, but this is an internet community, and many vues and/or comments are a welcome must.
If someone didn’t want more posts and the occasional silliness, they would go to a damn library and look it up in solitude.
“Vues.” [scoff] Good one, GH. It seems enlightenment is always an inch out of reach.