How do questioners decide what advice to take and apply?

i will ponder and think about all the different answers. i will decide which one seems the most sensible or use a combo of several. i think sometimes it can be more helpful to get advice from strangers because they are not biased from knowing me or knowing the people and/or situations i am asking about. sometimes it is helpful to ask here because i may not want to tell the problem to people i know and have them ask nosy questions, or gossip about me to others.

I see people choosing whatever answers fit their preconceptions rather often, and quite predictably.

I generally don’t ask for advice on major life issues from anyone whose opinion I don’t already respect or want. Why would I?

First of all, if it is a huge problem, you usually should talk to someone you trust in real life. Sometimes that’s too hard (I know from personal experience what that’s like), so you have to ask strangers on a QnA site. It helps when it’s a small-ish community (like Fluther!) because then you actually get to know the people who are answering.
In answer to your questions:
I think you have to take the suggestions that people give you and think out the possibilities of the outcomes of each one. You should rule out atleast one by doing that. Also, you should ask yourself, “Which one seems like they know what they’re talking about?”. This should help. If it still isn’t narrowed down, then I look at people’s profiles and look through their answers. Ask yourself, “Does this person seem like someone I would trust in real life?” If so, go with their answer. If not, then you’re in trouble. Ask someone in real life that you trust.

@Dr_Lawrence:Over a year ago, my first cat arrived here, unexpectedly. I needed some immediate tips from cat owners on cutting the cat’s nails. I got some very useful and practical suggestions and just ignored the banal and fatuous jokes.

On the entire “how to survive with a cat” issue, Fluther really saved my hide, which was getting systematically scratched and poked. It was easy to determine whom to trust, who was experienced and who was mature.

I use my better judgement. I pick the one that best reflects my situation. I try on all the advice and see if I think it would work for me. I look for unique, untried ideas I feel are sound and I run them up the flag pole.

I have so far mostly asked questions about technical issues or things in which I have little life experience.

It usually isn’t difficult to pick out the answers given by knowledgable people.

Other times I just want to get an idea about how others have handled a particular situation or decision.

Even tho many of the answers may conflict with one another, the info people add about why they have made whichever choice they did has given me new perspectives which I wouldn’t have come to on my own.

The way I see life in general is that more information is preferable to less and it’s usually impossible to have too much info.

As Martha says: “it’s a good thing…”

I do not take anonymous advice… so I ask general questions , that are not emergencies in my life… OR about situations of people that I know ; again noting that is an emergency…

However; when making a decesion on which answer(s) are best to use ; I just go thru them and THINK about the answers given… and tend to apply the one that I believe makes the most common sense…

I asked for advice about a weird problem with my foot. I didn’t know what kind of doctor I ought to visit—family physician, neurologist, podiatrist, or what. A fellow flutherite who worked in a podiatrist’s office told me what condition she suspected from my description and advised me to see a podiatrist without a lot of intervening steps. I did, without mentioning her suggestion. He gave me precisely the diagnosis and treatment that she had anticipated.. I had confidence in her recommendation because she sounded knowledgeable, but I still did my own verifying.

I don’t think I have ever asked for advice on personal matters, but I have asked for a lot of information. Overall I look for knowledgeable-sounding answers, especially from flutherfolk who already have shown me a good track record, and for evidence and citations. Then I do my own research and checking. It is usually just the push in the right direction that I am looking for, and I have been very lucky to find it here frequently and reliably.

I usually just go with the answer that clicks with me, and makes the most sense to ME, or if everyone’s saying basically the same thing I go with that.

I don’t ask for advice. I ask for experience. Then I learn from the collective experience.

I also try to resist giving advice as advice, per se. I try to remember to talk about my own experience instead. Inevitably, the urge to tell someone what to do becomes overpowering. But I hope that, over time, I can learn a little more humility, and only tell my story, and let others figure out if it means anything for them.

I’m in bit of a bind because I usually won’t take my own advice. If I’m not able to use my advice, why should anyone else? Maybe they are just better at making things happen than I am.

It’s pretty much like using the Magic 8 Ball, or rolling dice. It helps with tips, ideas and different points of view, but the individual results vary.

I mostly agree with @pdworkin. I think many people want to reinforce whatever decision they are leaning towards already.

When it comes to medical advice I have a lot of difficulty having had many bad experiences. I get kind of mentally paralyzed. Like @Jeruba I have had people in our collective help guide me. I also have a family member who is a nurse, who sometimes has some insight. One of the best contacts for me has been a rheumatologist who is incredibly smart and has a lot of knowledge outside of his specialty. He is very patient oriented.

On other personal matters I would bounce a situation off of my husband, but he is loath to steer me in a direction. My girlfriends are great for support, but many of them don’t seem to have much more experience than I do, and our lives are very different in many ways (which I find interesting as I write that, never really thought about it). My father, who can be a tremendous source of information, still can royally screw me up. I seem to listen too often to him, even at the age of 41; many times the advice does not really fit me, or is full of the fears he tends to have.