What is your definition of a "Great Question"?

Something that provokes a debate that I want to be part of or something that I would like to know an answer for myself but haven’t thought to ask!

Something that generates alot of responses which aren’t spam and a topic which interests me.

I tend to give GQs when a question makes me laugh, makes me think, is something I’ve often wondered about before but never thought to ask Fluther, or is something I know about and wish more people would ask.

And sometimes I’m just in a lurvey mood and give points to people who are nearing a milestone number that’ll earn them one of the awards.

My favorites are Qs that show someone is really looking closely at the world, turning over its rocks to see what’s underneath, as it were.

Something I’ve never heard of, a subject that I enjoy or a deeply personal question that took guts to ask. Funny is ok but doesn’t usually get me to GQ.

Basically what @MacBean said. I give GQs for different reasons. Even before the advent of awards, I’d GQ a decent question from a new user to encourage them to keep posting. Other times, it’ll be something really thoughtful that provokes a good discussion and makes me think, or questions that I’ve always wondered and didn’t even think to ask here. The best ones, I think, are great questions asked that whatever it is never even occurred to me. Funny ones that are also meaningful also get a GQ from me.

Then, sometimes I go on lurve fests and will GQ stuff that might not ordinarily pass the above standards.

Thought-provoking, clever, inventive, funny, interesting in any other way, or all of the above.
It also helps if it defends a controversial point of view I agree with (not going to lie) or if it’s something I’ve been wondering about myself.

:)

I think I prefer good discussion, things I’d like to know and just plain silly.

Also: do you always answer the ones you’ve given a great answer to or only when you have some decent input?

I’m a stealth Lurver usually.

I try not to clutter the thread if I don’t have anything useful to say. Whether or not I think the question is a great one does not influence that for me.
But I am more likely to award a GQ to a question I’m involved in through answering it. So it does work in the opposite direction.

@anon – You’ll see me in threads start to type an answer and then abandon it because I realize mid-typing either I don’t have enough knowledge to comment or that I’m not contributing as much to the discussion as I’d like. A GQ to me is a GQ, regardless of whether I know the answer or feel I can add anything to the thread.

I usually give GQ’s to questions that gets my brain engine running. You know ones that make you really sit back and think. I also give GQ’s for ones that are witty and make me laugh. Although, regardless of how I give GA’s when I asked a question that really isn’t personal to me and just am curious about the subject I questioned, I’m usually a lurve whore. I give lurve for just about every response, lol. I was actually hoping I’d get more GQ’s on my latest, personally I thought it was a great question, but ehhh.

I think people are often supportive of interesting and/or thought provoking questions.

@all Maybe my sense of humor needs a visit to the repair shop, but I don’t recall seeing a lot of humorous questions. In fact, my understanding was that humorous questions wouldn’t make it past the mods. If we can ask them, what’s the trick to keep them from being removed?

Well @daloon this recent question is witty, comical and makes you think. I think if you can cleverly throw everything in with a thought provoking result, the mods might even like it themselves, haha.

The humor is often in the details or topics of the Q, rather than in the question itself.

One that provokes thought and discussion.. or was simply one that makes others say “yeah… why is that..” or “wow… I really wanna know the answer to this myself”

lmao I just realized that the question I plugged in this question was written by the same person (@anon), haha. Well, I guess now you know I’m honest. Maybe I should really pay more attention to the authors of the questions. ~smacks forehead~

Oh yea @anon Welcome to Fluther :)

@Axemusica Haha, I actually thought you did it on purpose and I was worried it might have been sarcastic.

Thank you!

@Axemusica I guess my sense of humor needs some repair.

It’s OK @daloon, I lurve you too. ;D

@anon Seriously—I am humor deficient. I never understand what other people find funny. Sometimes people say I’m funny, but I don’t know why. It’s not you. It’s me. It is very rarely that I laugh at other people’s humorous efforts. I’m sure that question was very funny. I just didn’t get it.

“It’s not you. It’s me”? Are you breaking up with me? @daloon ;P
It wasn’t actually meant to be funny anyway. Don’t worry about it ;)

@anon Seriously? ;-)

One that results in a public riot, panic, fire, civil unrest, armed incursions, rapid, uncontrolled velocipedes, greatly diminished surface temperatures in Hell, winged pigs emerging from the nether regions.

“Hi pdworkin, I’m Harp, one of the Fluther mods. We noticed that your last question caused winged pigs to emerge from the nether regions. Since this is not the first time you’ve engaged in this kind of deliberate plumed porcine provocation, I must warn you that any further incidents may call into question your continued membership. Thanks, and happy fluthering!”

Zen_again (or whatever his new name is)‘s questions.

I like questions that make me think.

I especially like questions that make me think again.

Questions that make me think, yeah, definately.
But questions that are original… not big ‘profound’ over-used topics, if you know what I mean?
... I like this question! lol

Questions that make me think.

@daloon: Often when questions make me laugh, it is unintentional on the asker’s part. A recent example: “How would one stretch out their butt?”

A question that I can’t immediately answer.

Also, a question I can answer, and then I have to go back and change my answer after thinking about it more, or seeing other people’s opinions.

@daloon what about this? do you think this is funny?

saw this on my way home from work this morning, haha.

It’s witty and clever, but it doesn’t reach the level of funny.

@daloon come on, not even a smirk from your childhood in the mud with one of those awesome toys? ;)

I’ll go look again and see…..
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nope. no smirk ;-)

thought-provoking * insightful * clever/humorous * concise