Thing 34 - Online Answer Sites

The appeal of an online answer site is that you could need some bit of information and be able to find a site where like-minded people may have the answer to your question and you don't need to make a phone call, get put on hold.... you just get on your computer and go...

There are all sorts of questions on these sites and many of them may be more apropriate to this sort of forum, rather than through a library because you get a number of ideas from different people and can decide which is most helpful to you. Some examples of recent questions on Ask metafilter:

What is this sticky residue on my tea kettle?

Please tell me the name of this recent British TV comedy series featuring two guys and usually started with their walking down a long white hall and then opening a door and entering into a scene

Other than vampires and zombies, what human-like beings are rumored to be immortal? Obscure and obvious answers all appreciated!

Please recommend your favourite books on editing.

Please recommend some smart, nifty-looking, story-heavy Xbox360 games for an relatively artsy, overly cerebral, 30-something newbie.

The list goes on and on.... Some of these questions are "opinion" type questions where it may be good to read a lot of peoples ideas and opinions rather than try to get help at the library although some of the questions potentially could have answers a librarian could help with such as the tea kettle or TV show question above.

WHere I have had great luck with these sorts of sites is when I have a computer problem. I'll often throw it up on google or a Mac?apple site and find that others have had the same problem and often solutions are provided. Also, one time recently my wife was having a problem with her hotmail account so we searched and found that hundreds of people were having the same problem so were reassured that it was their glitch and not something we did.

I looked at the slam information and it could be useful to do this for some of the more factual questions asked. I did not get far into it or answer any questions myself at this time.