What is the best question you have seen here at askville? how do you define a good question?

The best ones can't be answered by "copy & paste" but require some thought, knowledge, advice, and are fun to answer. A recent one that (IMHO) meets that criterion, which I enjoyed answering was "What's the best digital slr tripod made for travelling, backpacking (which is still very sturdy! )?" (askville.amazon.com/askville/ClosedQuest...) It required my personal knowledge of photography and tripods, required me to do a little research into current availability of the model I have and recommend, but not merely copy & paste from Wikipedia (something that the questioner could have found himself), and I enjoyed giving my two cents worth to help this person on his or her quest for the best tripod.

Another good question, which sparked a very interesting follow-up conversation on the Discussion Board, was "What should Bush decide about Iraq? " askville.amazon.com/askville/AnswerViewe... There's no easy answer, educated opinion is valued, and there was room for different answers.It's boring when someone asks an easy question that there's only one right answer for and you read five people's answers that are all saying essentially the same thing. But this one had a good variety of answers.

People had strong opinions, but in general stayed courteous to each other, and we all came out ahead for having participate in the question, I believe. I see some of the regulars here posting a whole slew of random questions just to get points. I think a good question is also more likely to be one that the asker really wants/needs to know the answer for.

Otherwise it is just wasting other people's time. Those are some of the things I think make for good questions. I've been guilty of asking some not-very-good questions in the past, but I think the quality of my questions is improving the more I use Askville.

I like answering questions more than I like asking them. I learn a lot through the process, and I like helping other people. But I've also been rewarded greatly by asking a good question and getting some help finding an answer to something that had been puzzling me.

I like two types I like questions that require some hard work and research to answer and I love questions that ask more for personal experience as the only reference material. The extensive research questions that I like most are the ones on topics I know little about (I have been enjoying answering art questions). It gives me a chance to increase my knowledge since I like to do a lot of work to give a good answer.

If it's a topic I'm already familiar with (nursing, health care), then I like finding reliable (peer-reviewed) resources that answer the question. The questions that are looking for personal experience are my absolute favorite. To me, those are the questions, answers and discussions that set askville apart from google or about.

Those are the topics that create a sense of community. Here is one of my favorites from a few days ago... "When you were little, did you know what you wanted to be when you grew up? " Topics: work, careers, jobs Asked by: AngGeo Sources: personal experience johnniegirl's Recommendations 20 QUESTIONS DELUXE (YL600) Amazon List Price: $19.95 Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 (based on 4 reviews) .

Please pass this on to all of Askville. " "What do you think of the five answer limit on an Askville question?

Hypothetical question...what do you think Askville would do if....

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.