How come it's easier to leave responses than ask questions?

I don’t think you can use proportion as a measure, as questions are limited and responses are limitless.

BUT, I think that much of the time, people sometimes go after questions in a “how can you ask that?!?” way which discourages them (again, sometimes), and the thread can feed off of those responses…so as an OP, it can be easy to feel like you’re being ganged up on.

I can think of answers a lot easier than I can think of good questions. When I do think of what I think will be a good question, I am usually not at home and end up forgetting it before I get home to ask it.

Like @Seaofclouds I usually think of questions while I’m out or driving and can’t remember it by the time I turn on the computer. Or sometimes when I think of a question, it’s already been asked several times. But answering is much more fun anyway. IMO ;~)

It used to be a lot easier.

http://i.imgur.com/h7jAv.png

But a bunch of people came along and wondered if people here liked ice cream.

@Seaofclouds
@AmWiser
That’s what happens to me to, I’ll think of something worth asking, and forget it.

Formulating a thoughtful question that has not been covered well before or recently is challenging. Formulating a response should be approached thoughtfully as well. If you know the answer, responding well may be easy. If you don’t, you probably won’t respond.

For me, it goes back to my school days when I was afraid to raise my hand and ask what might be called a “dumb” question, a horrible thing to contemplate when you’re a kid. Of course, I worry the same about my answers, but I soldier on nevertheless.

Questions on so many different topics have come up that many of the newer ones have regurgitated themselves. Answers are easier because they are more variable. I think it depends on the person themselves. Some ask more questions than others probally because they enjoy doing so more and vice versa. There’s a mathematical reason for this as well, unless you are getting one answer per question you will have alot more answers than questions to begin with.

The Fluther “economy” is super-saturated with answers. You’re less likely to taste the spoonful of lemon in a gallon of water than you are in a cup. Ergo the pressure placed on answers is lessened.