Corrective or critical? Commenting on bad questions in Q&A

Vargo, Andrew W.; Matsubara, Shigeo

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/89320 Copy

Description

Title

Corrective or critical? Commenting on bad questions in Q&A

Author(s)

Vargo, Andrew W.; Matsubara, Shigeo

Issue Date

2016-03-15

Keyword(s)

• Q&A
• online communities
• community feedback systems
• qualitative methods

Abstract

What kind of comments do Q&A community members prefer on bad questions? We studied this question on Stack Overflow, a large-scale community-run question-answer site with strong reputation and privilege systems and clear guidelines on commenting. Peer-production systems often employ feedback dialogue to engage with producers of low quality content. However, dialogue is only beneficial if it is constructive, as previous work has shown the adverse effects of negative feedback on quality and production. Previous studies indicate that feedback is likely critical, but the extent, orientation, and actors within this assumption are unknown. In this paper, we contribute a basic taxonomy of commenting and perform analysis on user types and community preferences. Results indicate that the most popular and frequent comments include criticism, and that different user types leave similar feedback. A better understanding of community feedback norms can inform the design of effective rules and incentives for peer-production systems.

Publisher

iSchools

Series/Report Name or Number

IConference 2016 Proceedings

Type of Resource

text

Language

eng

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89320

DOI

https://doi.org/10.9776/16199

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2016 is held by the authors. Copyright permissions, when appropriate, must be obtained directly from the authors.

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