Why can't people ask questions like this (check the site)?

Question

I was looking into some material that my help me answer some questions and I found the Volcano World and USGS FAQ site and saw real geology questions, then I thought to myself why can't these be asked here? This is what gives me the drive to go to Y!A and answer questions. I hate seeing Bio questions and end of the world questions here.

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/yvo/faqs.html

Well I could only find volcano ones but you get my point. Earth Science related!

If you are asking "Is this girl trying to scare people with biology questions and nonsense questions away?" My asnwer is yes. lol. And there are many others who agree. Do you?

Answer 1

People only ask questions for two reasons:

1. The answers directly affect them.

2. The answers are entertaining.

The average Y!A user is not a geologist, so the questions you linked will likely fall into neither of the above two categories.

Answer 2

Well, if you want to discuss geology on a higher level than just the questions of the general populace, YA is a poor forum for that, as you point out.  Usenet back in the late 80's and early 90's was great for that, but usenet is no good anymore.  Now you have to be linked into the specialized sites.  There has been a bit of a pushing off into the corners of the more advanced forums as the internet has evolved.

YA was never intended to take the place of Usenet, it wasn't intended to do what you would like to see.  It is sort of like an encyclopedia except a person answers rather than a pre-established text.

I find the absence of a means to discuss rather than post a one-shot answer is the biggest drawback to YA.

And yes, there are a lot of silly and trite questions and answers on YA.

Why is the sky blue eh?  (grrrr)