Why are there so many steps to the user flow for asking a question?

We thought about changing the question asking process, but it would be hard to do given the amount of information you’re entering. One page devoted to entering all the information is a bit much. We thought it made it more straightforward to enter one thing at a time and click “Next” to move on. Plus, the whole Prev/Next wizard paradigm is common among desktop applications and probably familiar to most people. (Btw, I’m writing this answer as jellyclaus, but I’m also @camertron).

Welcome to Fluther! It is to keep the quality of the questions high, and to guide new users through selecting the right type of question (general or social or meta), and the get the right topics. It also gives you plenty of chances to read over for typos, etc.

great answer, @marinelife

<——Bows to jellyclaus.

I never thought of the process as complicated. Maybe it’ll take some time to get used to but it allows the person to think things through better, imo.

I’m a complete technidiot and I don’t find the process at all difficult or cumbersome, just the opposite in fact.

Works well for me. I like having to think it through.

(Can’t @Jellyclaus share his hat with Dr.J?)

I think it makes for better quality questions.. Welcome to fluther.

Welcome to Fluther!
After asking a few questions you will appreciate the question asking process. Instead of haphazardly throwing a question out on the site, you get an orderly step by step process which can help you minimize errors (especially in spelling).

@jellyclaus you are so adorable. Thank you for visiting Fluther!
P.S. What I want for Xmas is the GA’s & GQ’s to return to the Community Feed. Think you can make it happen? :D

The above covers it. I feel like there are only four steps – three that serve the purpose of ensuring quality -

(1) You ask the brief question – and you want to be sure it’s clear.

(2) The details ensure that you think about the various aspect of your questions, and that you are thinking out what you’re asking instead of just plowing up a question.

(3) You include topics to ensure that (a) if the question has been asked before, you might find your answer there by being given an alternative from the same topic, or (b) your question can be included in those topics so that users can search for it more easily.

If you want people to invest time in to answering your question (and here at fluther we do answer questions – very few pass by each day with out a response) you should be willing to invest a little time in to asking it.

@MisterUX if I can work through the process, anyone can. Btw, welcome to Fluther!

Thanks for the answers and welcomes. I think I will grow to like the process. It’s just different than what I am used to at other Q&A type sites, and that may very well be a good thing.

@MisterUX Stick around a while; you’ll come to lurve us.

I don’t think the process is too complex. In addition to the answers other people mentioned, it cuts down on the number of “omg does heee liek mee??!?!?!!!??!11” type questions.

Actually, I think the steps for entering a question are very simple and straightforward. Each piece is entered/edited on a separate page, which makes it easy to go back and change/edit one piece at a time.

@Seelix OMG it is hard to imagine that the number of “does heee like me?” or “what is so great about boyz?” questions are reduced. It gives me pause to think how many there would otherwise be . . .

Well – but what is so great about boys?

@janbb I agree. I’m all about the men.

@papayalily <waves>.

@FutureMemory Yes, like you ::bats eyelashes::