@hominid Whether or not “successful” conversationally implicates “better” is, of course, contextual. As such, it is neither surprising nor contrary to my previous claim that you can present examples where the former does not imply the latter. Furthermore, “here’s a case where language isn’t used this way” does not entail “language is never used this way.”
One might ask, then, in what sort of case “successful” does carry a connotation of “better.” And the standard case, it seems to me, is exactly the sort we are considering: when the (putative) success of someone or something is being used to question someone or something else. “Look at you, lying here on the couch all day. Your sister is twice as successful as you!” Here there is a clear implication that the sister’s success is being held over the person being spoken to.
Finally, it seems to me the assertion that Quora is more successful rests precisely on this sort of comparison, as well as on the (mistaken) assumption that success is to be measured in quantitative terms—which then generates the implicature to which many people reacted. Sure, one is not forced to read the question that way. But in the light of historical events, I do not find it unreasonable that some people did.
@dappled_leaves Nothing is said or asked in a vacuum, and language depends very much on interpretations of a speaker’s intentions. Consider the following exchange:
A: Excuse me, my car is running low.
B: There’s a gas station around the corner.
B’s response rests on the assumption that “running low” means “in need of gas.” It also implies, though it does not state, that the gas station around the corner is open, not out of gas, and willing to sell to A. We don’t need to utter these things to express them, however, precisely because ordinary language works in large part on the mutual reading of intentions.
Note that this in no way entails that members get more or less leeway based on their standing in the community. What it entails is that questions will—and should—be interpreted based on what is known about the asker. Some people famously try to resist this, of course, and insist on hiding their agenda behind a smokescreen of “hey, this is a totally independent question.” But we all know this is bullshit when they try it.
Similarly, new people have a conversational duty to make their intentions clear when entering a new discourse community. This is not always an easy process. I can report that I personally got into disagreements early on in my tenure here that would never occur these days now that I better understand the people I was conversing with and they better understand me. This is just the burden that comes with meeting new people. And while we have some responsibility to be welcoming, it is a mistake in any conversational situation to assume that all of the responsibilities belong to a single party.
Conversation is a cooperative enterprise, and all the parties to it must try to both understand and be understood. That the asker of the other question did not attempt to clarify—and indeed never even returned to the site to read the answers that were given—is both conversationally uncooperative and a classic indication of trolling behavior.
As for your last point, my experience is starkly at odds with yours. During the brief time I tried out Quora, I ran into quite a bit of disdain for Fluther. I have barely even seen Quora even mentioned here, and never in a negative light unless brought up first by someone new. I am also drawing on some behind the scenes knowledge here, but I have been advised that I’m not supposed to talk about that. As such, I will let this point go.
