# What were you THINKING? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 13, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532 "2023-10-13T19:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 253
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5343 "2025-06-29T19:18:35Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > This one was fine in FQ, i think, but probably should have been asked more precisely. It looked specific to me. > are there any legitimate peer reviewed materials that are really proven to hasten and promote healing? People chose not to answer the specific question. Then it became a free-for-all. There was no moderation, despite my flagging it. I like many others first came here for FQ. I can get opinions anyplace. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5344 "2025-06-29T19:21:52Z")
To be fair, it isn’t always a problem. It’s just that FQ seems to be drifting into IMHO territory, to the detriment of the board. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5345 "2025-06-29T19:58:46Z")
Not a Pit moderator, nor a FQ moderator. But if there’s this much concern about drift in FQ (to be fair, almost all of it our [read us as posters] fault), maybe we should create a thread in ATMB to talk about best practices? A lot of people choose to never read the Pit, and so bring it to the community to improve our overall performance. And of course, don’t name names there, _that’s_ more proper Pit territory. Though this is speaking as someone who rarely posts in FQ, because 99% of the time, someone smarter, or with more professional experience, or superior Google-Fu has provided a better answer than I could ever have. 🤷‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5346 "2025-06-29T20:26:37Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > maybe we should create a thread in ATMB to talk about best practices I almost started a thread there, but I was on my cell phone, and didn’t want to start a thread without hunting down examples of problem threads first. I agree that’s probably a better place for this. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5347 "2025-06-29T22:44:24Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > To be fair, it isn’t always a problem. It’s just that FQ seems to be drifting into IMHO territory, to the detriment of the board. The ‘corporate jargon’ thread is a prime example of this. 90% of the responses were IMHO material, including the AI generated jargon. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5348 "2025-06-29T22:47:05Z")
It’s unclear to me there were any realistic FQ answers to that multi-part rant thinly disguised as a question. Bad question → bad answers. Nearly every time. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5349 "2025-06-29T23:00:05Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The ‘corporate jargon’ thread is a prime example of this. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > It’s unclear to me there were any realistic FQ answers to that multi-part rant thinly disguised as a question. That’s a tough one. In this case I kind of agree with @LSLGuy. I hadn’t even looked at the thread, assuming it was another “worst corporate jargon” threads and not FQ. Reading the OP, I get he’s asking when did it begin, but it’s doubtful there’s an actual date, and a poster early on described how it’s been a thing for at least a hundred years. It does sound a bit like a rhetorical question, perhaps. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2025, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5350 "2025-06-29T23:12:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Problem is, we get a lot more IMHO-type FQs than we get FQ-type FQs. And now that wiki is as wide-ranging as it is, and our headcount of esoteric experts is ever shrinking, it’s harder and harder to find a sweet spot for questions wiki can’t answer but one of our experts can. And let’s not forget another resource, ChatGPT. I know that GPT has its detractors here, and it’s far from perfect, but it has genuine utility, especially with the latest refinements. It can be very effective at answering questions that Wiki doesn’t address, perhaps because the answer is obvious to an expert, or because it touches on some obscure subtlety. My response to the naysayers is that in my experience, GPT has been accurate far more often than not, and genuinely helpful. It’s just important to keep in mind that it’s not **always** right. > [@ParallelLines](#): > > But if there’s this much concern about drift in FQ (to be fair, almost all of it our [read us as posters] fault), maybe we should create a thread in ATMB to talk about best practices? A lot of people choose to never read the Pit, and so bring it to the community to improve our overall performance. Once a question has been answered, I would consider a reasonable amount of drift on related subjects to be a feature, not a bug, exploiting the interactive nature of a discussion board like this, something distinctly lacking in static media like a Wiki or a book. Provided of course that it doesn’t interfere with the OP’s question being answered. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5351 "2025-06-30T00:23:32Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Once a question has been answered, I would consider a reasonable amount of drift on related subjects to be a feature, not a bug, exploiting the interactive nature of a discussion board like this, something distinctly lacking in static media like a Wiki or a book. That’s exactly how the FQ sticky reads. The problem is when people jump the gun. Once people read one anecdote written too early, they jump in with their own. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5352 "2025-06-30T00:24:01Z")
Most FQ threads are asking for advice. But they want “fact-based” opinions so they got to FQ. Even though opinions are clearly IMHO territory (it’s right in the name). (Okay, probably not most but far too many. Any number greater than 0 seems like too many.) If someone wants an example, try the thread titled, “I don’t want wires running from my dash cam to my adapter”. Clearly asking for advice about the best way to set up something in a car. Not a question looking for a factual answer. These are not rare. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5353 "2025-06-30T00:29:23Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Okay, probably not most but far too many I’m not seeing it. Out of the first 20 or 30 threads, I see _maybe_ 2 that might be misplaced. Although I suspect the OPs might disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5354 "2025-06-30T00:43:38Z")
Other examples: Give me ideas to block a light on my TV. The “should I worry about Melamine” thread is borderline, because there’s kind of an FQ question about it getting into groundwater. Otherwise it’s asking for opinions. I can’t tell if there is a FQ in the “sir yes sir” thread. The thread about importing Excel into SQL is seeking advice, there’s no FQ in that one. It’s currently not as bad as I’ve seen it in the past but there are more than a couple threads that don’t seem to have factual questions in them among recent threads. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5355 "2025-06-30T02:42:03Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Out of the first 20 or 30 threads, I see _maybe_ 2 that might be misplaced. Sometimes they do get moved, so you aren’t seeing all the inappropriate stuff that starts its life there. For example, the “[Looking for a Dream Job](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-dream-job/1020223/44)” thread was posted in FQ. I reported it (maybe others did too, I don’t know) and it was moved. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5356 "2025-06-30T03:39:37Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Give me ideas to block a light on my TV. Huh. I thought he wanted actual ways to block the light but not block the signal, not advice on whether it was a good idea. He got some pretty precise instructions how to do it. I can see it your way, too, though. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5357 "2025-06-30T04:11:01Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Huh. I thought he wanted actual ways to block the light but not block the signal, not advice on whether it was a good idea. “Actual ways to block the light” isn’t a factual question. It’s seeking technical advice, which is explicitly what IMHO is for. > [@About the In My Humble Opinion category](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-the-in-my-humble-opinion-category/911004/1): > > (IMHO) “What’s your favorite …?” For frank exchanges of views on less-than-cosmic topics. This is also the place for polling. > > The forum for Computer/Tech, Legal and Medical Advice If you are looking for advice on something, that’s not what FQ is for. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5358 "2025-06-30T05:15:44Z")
Kinda seems like opinions of what is or what isn’t factual questions means different things to different folks. Hmmm 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5359 "2025-06-30T05:29:24Z")
The general rule of thumb is that advice belongs in IMHO, and generic questions about the world might be suitable for FQ, is they have a factual answer. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5360 "2025-06-30T06:53:19Z")
If you read the “TV LED” thread, people give suggestions, the OP tries them, reports that it kind of worked but not quite, and then people make other suggestions. All based on trying to get the OP’s TV to behave in a way they like. “It blocked some of the light, but it still leaks out.” “Then did you try…” That doesn’t seem like how FQ is supposed to work in any way. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5361 "2025-06-30T12:47:21Z")
A good FQ has a single uncontroversial answer. Period. It may be very obscure, but it’s uncontroversial to the people who know enough to provide it. And it’s those folks’ jobs to explain it at an appropriate level for the questioner, and the rest of us, to understand it. All else is IMHO 😉 an IMHO topic. IMO ... This is a good FQ: > [@What causes a big light to "thunk" when power is turned on?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-a-big-light-to-thunk-when-power-is-turned-on/1020246): > > I’m sure you’ve seen it in a movie-someone turns a switch, and a series of lights make a “thump” noise as they are turned on, sometimes in a sequence in a hallway. What causes that noise, or is it just a movie effect to sound impressive? And this is a terrible FQ: > [@Getting on the plane even after final boarding call](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-on-the-plane-even-after-final-boarding-call/1020216): > > I was just barely in time to get on the plane today for the second leg of my US domestic trip. The gate agent was announcing “Final boarding call” as I fast-walked up to the gate, having been delayed by no fewer than three postponements of my earlier flight. Then, just as I’m getting settled into my seat, the captain announces that there’s a maintenance issue that they have to look into. Almost an hour later, we finally leave the terminal and take off. If I’d been five minutes later, ticket … Right now of the last week’s worth of FQ’s, I’d move over half of them to IMHO if I was a Mod. Not based on how the thread developed, but based entirely on the OP. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532/5362 "2025-06-30T13:32:58Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > “Actual ways to block the light” isn’t a factual question. It’s seeking technical advice, which is explicitly what IMHO is for Sure looks like a factual question to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=252) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-you-thinking/991532.md?page=254)