Why do people ask questions in a retort that we’re not asked?

[Apple_Robert]

Where did this fascination of asking questions that where not asked, and then answering them come from? I see it on forums and t.v all the time. It is really annoying. And it is especially irksome to see or read such dialogue from journalists.

 

[akash.nu]

Example?!

 

[Apple_Robert]

Example?!

Example: a post in the IPhone forum talking about battery replacement: Was I mad that I had to wait in line? No, I wasn’t. That example is the kind of thing I was speaking to. The forum member inserted a question into his post, as if another forum member had asked him, when clearly that was not the case.

There is no logical reason to insert such questions in a retort or article, when no such questions have been asked of the author. It looks rather foolish, in my opinion.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Example: a post in the IPhone forum talking about battery replacement: Was I mad that I had to wait in line? No, I wasn’t. That example is the kind of thing I was speaking to. The forum member inserted a question into his post, as if another forum member had asked him, when clearly that was not the case.

There is no logical reason to insert such questions in a retort or article, when no such questions have been asked of the author. It looks rather foolish, in my opinion.

I suspect that it has come about through the habit (of some, through social media and texting) of using the written word as though it was a form of informal speech, in other words, in a pretty informal setting - such as this forum - writing as you might speak.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I suspect that it has come about through the habit (of some, through social media an texting) of using the written word as though it was a form of informal speech, in other words, in a pretty informal setting - such as this forum - writing as you might speak.

That could be. When I was growing up, I never heard or read some expressing themselves in such a manner, unless it was purposely relaying a story.

If this due to social media, that does not bode well for us seasoned people, in my opinion

 

[Huntn]

Example: a post in the IPhone forum talking about battery replacement: Was I mad that I had to wait in line? No, I wasn’t. That example is the kind of thing I was speaking to. The forum member inserted a question into his post, as if another forum member had asked him, when clearly that was not the case.

There is no logical reason to insert such questions in a retort or article, when no such questions have been asked of the author. It looks rather foolish, in my opinion.

Some people, I may be guilty at times, treat posts as a conversation, but because we are not face to face, read into your words which are absent body language, and use the opportunity to question your motivations, or to better understand your emotions. Independent judgement of whether that is right, wrong or neutral, would be based on the particular exchange.

I’d have to see the iPhone conversation, but were you particularly whiney about something in that post? It’s equally, if not more likely possible, the person just liked picking fights.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Some people, I may be guilty at times, treat posts as a conversation, but because we are not face to face, read into your words which are absent body language, and use the opportunity to question your motivations, or to better understand your emotions. Independent judgement of whether that is right, wrong or neutral, would be based on the particular exchange.

I’d have to see the iPhone conversation, but were you particularly whiney about something in that post? It’s equally, if not more likely possible, the person just liked picking fights.

I haven’t responded to the thread in question.

I can see some reasoning for your supposition. Maybe it is a mixture of what you and Miss Scribe suggest.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

That could be. When I was growing up, I never heard or read some expressing themselves in such a manner, unless it was purposely relaying a story.

If this due to social media, that does not bode well for us seasoned people, in my opinion

Well, when I was young - even if you were rendering speech in a story, or essay - you were expected to treat (or were taught to treat) the written word as though it was a more formal means of expression than the spoken word.

My grandparents wrote completely grammatically correct letters in a beautiful copper-plate hand-writing, but I think - especially with the advent of texting, and later, the development of other forms of social media - informal forms were encouraged and became more of a norm.

I still write emails (unless to close friends and family) formally, and even then, - to friends and family - my emails still read like proper letters, as do those of the people who reply to me; I have simply transferred the formal patterns of speech and writing I was brought up with to a new medium.

However, in other cases, especially with a lot of the youngsters, I suspect that the medium itself (texting and social media) has shaped how they use it; hence, the clear and marked preference for informal speech - rendered in the written form.

 

[0002378]

Where did this fascination of asking questions that where not asked, and then answering them come from?

The "fascination" you speak of is just the human craving for attention that is disgustingly obvious on any social media site or forum.

The human ego craving attention, approval, or even conflict ... anything it can get to strengthen its sense of self directly or indirectly (by putting another down) ... is the content of 99% of any such forum (including this one).

Few are posts that contain nothing other than neutral information for which the forum/site was originally intended.

 

[Eric5h5]

It's called a "rhetorical question"; it's been around forever, and is generally used to make a point. Can it be overused? Of course it can, like everything else. Is it nonetheless a perfectly valid literary device? Yes it is. Does it have anything to do with social media? Absolutely not. Why are your knickers in such a twist over something common and typically inoffensive? I have no idea.

--Eric

 

[Apple_Robert]

It's called a "rhetorical question"; it's been around forever, and is generally used to make a point. Can it be overused? Of course it can, like everything else. Is it nonetheless a perfectly valid literary device? Yes it is. Does it have anything to do with social media? Absolutely not. Why are your knickers in such a twist over something common and typically inoffensive? I have no idea.

--Eric

I know what a rhetorical question is, and that is not what I am talking about.

My knickers are not in a twist over the subject matter.

 

[Eric5h5]

Sure it's what you're talking about. "[A]sking questions that [were] not asked, and then answering them." Rhetorical questions. They're for making a point. Sometimes dramatic effect, sometimes just anticipating questions/objections.

--Eric

 

[C DM]

Sure it's what you're talking about. "[A]sking questions that [were] not asked, and then answering them." Rhetorical questions. They're for making a point. Sometimes dramatic effect, sometimes just anticipating questions/objections.

--Eric

Usually rhetorical questions don't really require an answer as they are there to imply something themselves without an answer or to start some sort of a dialog. What's mentioned in this thread seems to be more along the lines of a particular approach to written communication that some people take, either to perhaps bring in a bit of levity to what they are writing, to make it more colloquial/approachable, to add some of their style to it all, etc.

 

[ActionableMango]

Am I responding to this thread? Yes.

Did I read every single one of the posts in it? No.

Is it possible I'm making a lame, easy, unfunny joke that was already made in the thread? Yes.

 

[jtara]

Are posts under exclusive ownership and control of the author? No.

Is this a forum for discussion and free exchange of ideas? Yes.

Do some people get overly agitated if a thread doesn't go in the direction THEY want? Yes.

 

[leekil]

With your original example, it sounds like the poster is anticipating that someone will ask that question and is preemptively answering it.

 

[bopajuice]

Example: a post in the IPhone forum talking about battery replacement: Was I mad that I had to wait in line? No, I wasn’t. That example is the kind of thing I was speaking to. The forum member inserted a question into his post, as if another forum member had asked him, when clearly that was not the case.

There is no logical reason to insert such questions in a retort or article, when no such questions have been asked of the author. It looks rather foolish, in my opinion.

Your frustration sounds like it is because you were expecting a certain response or reaction and did not get it. Maybe if you tell us what you are looking for we can respond and make you feel better.

I think sometimes people ask a question, but other people do not respond the way that was expected. Who knows whats going on in the mind or the physical situation the person sitting on the other side of the keyboard is dealing with when they respond.

 

[BigMcGuire]

I find people often have very different things going on in their heads. Is it possible the person actually thought the other person was thinking that?

I've spent a long time on forums and people love to fight and argue and often very quickly get offended while typing --- these same people, in person, talking about the same topics often have really positive, fun conversations with no fighting.

I know with my wife, we often will "fight" more because of misunderstandings from text chats that never happen in person because we confused statements or assumed hostility where there was none.

 

[D.T.]

I've spent a long time on forums and people love to fight and argue and often very quickly get offended while typing.

No we don't, that's a ridiculous thing to say!

 

[eyoungren]

The "fascination" you speak of is just the human craving for attention that is disgustingly obvious on any social media site or forum.

The human ego craving attention, approval, or even conflict ... anything it can get to strengthen its sense of self directly or indirectly (by putting another down) ... is the content of 99% of any such forum (including this one).

Few are posts that contain nothing other than neutral information for which the forum/site was originally intended.

^^^Pretty much this.

It's a presumption of self-importance.

In other words, "I am so important to YOU, that I KNOW these are the questions you WILL have in your head when I talk about MY topic. Therefore I am posting those questions and answering you in this manner".

Social media means you are the center of your own reality. People tend to take that to forums.

Which is one reason why they later on get upset when challenged (on forums). Forums don't operate like social media. You can't block people from your thread(s).

 

[MacDawg]

When I first joined the MacRumors Forums back in the day, there was a great deal of sharing, camaraderie and good will. Folks joined to ask specific questions about issues they were having, to find out about the latest news, share ideas and to generally "pal around", especially in the Private Forums.

Nowadays, people whine and moan, bitch and complain about EVERYTHING and want to blog their thoughts in walls of text. I see far less postings about legitimate questions, etc. So much is "am I the only one who finds the notch nauseating" when there are 12 other threads right there when they post. Or "iPhone X costs too much, who is with me!" Apple is doomed, Tim sucks, and on and on and on. The "I'm right and any other user's workflow or opinion or taste be damned" mentality reigns.

Some say the change started with the advent of the iPhone and then the iOS/Android wars in the Forums fueled by the influx of much younger members. That may well be. I'm sure there are other factors.

So yeah, it isn't surprising that posters will ask a question and answer it themselves in the manner described above. After all, in this narcissistic social media society they are talking to themselves most of the time anyway.

 

[Huntn]

The "fascination" you speak of is just the human craving for attention that is disgustingly obvious on any social media site or forum.

The human ego craving attention, approval, or even conflict ... anything it can get to strengthen its sense of self directly or indirectly (by putting another down) ... is the content of 99% of any such forum (including this one).

Few are posts that contain nothing other than neutral information for which the forum/site was originally intended.

I think the MR Community Forum is pretty good in this regard over a wide variety of topics.

 

[Volusia]

In a previous life, I was a Public Information Officer who often had to deal with local media. They would often ask ridiculous questions that they should know that I would not be able to answer (identity of a victim prior to notifications, statements made by a suspect, etc.). Many of these folks were just beginning their career and, I guess, thought they were slick sneaking in a question that they knew you were not authorized to answer at that time. The standard reply was to ignore the question and repeat your basic message.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

With your original example, it sounds like the poster is anticipating that someone will ask that question and is preemptively answering it.

Which differs slightly from what I sometimes see in PRSI, where people misconstrue someone's argument to present it in the worst light possible, then re-framing it as a rhetorical question: "So you want everyone to have crappy health care and die? Got it." That is especially passive aggressive.

Preemptively answering a question is only a problem if the anticipated question is one that no one would actually ask, and thus answering it is condescending to the people reading your post.

Nowadays, people whine and moan, bitch and complain about EVERYTHING and want to blog their thoughts in walls of text. I see far less postings about legitimate questions, etc. So much is "am I the only one who finds the notch nauseating" when there are 12 other threads right there when they post. Or "iPhone X costs too much, who is with me!" Apple is doomed, Tim sucks, and on and on and on. The "I'm right and any other user's workflow or opinion or taste be damned" mentality reigns.

On the flip side, I often feel like I have to include disclaimers if I am posting a criticism of Apple or an Apple product (and I don't mean "Tim sucks", I mean a legitimate grievance or problem). In such a post I make sure to include that I hate Windows and Android, that I'm a long-time Apple user, and that I'm not an "Apple hater". What I really hate is that I feel I need to include all that. But I've found that if I don't, I get attacked and belittled. I wasn't here in the "old days", but as someone who posts primarily in PRSI, I often find less hostility there than in the Apple sections of the forum, and that's really saying something.

 

[0002378]

I think the MR Community Forum is pretty good in this regard over a wide variety of topics.

Eh, it's the same here. Just expressed in more subtle forms in places (and quite overtly in many places). Just have to be able to see it

I'm not saying it's not a nice place to hang out. I'm just saying there's no escaping the human ego.