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The Questions & Answers part of site is overwhelmed with dead questions which very unlikely will be ever answered. Some of them still have considerable value. Most of then really use resources and distract members' attention at the expense of decent posts.
Such dead questions could be automatically removed on certain condition (I'll discuss the conditions later), with notification sent to their author (so they would have a chance to legitimately re-post them after serious and proper re-formulation), but there is some risk of removing something good. This risk is not too high, because anyway, presently good but unanswered questions get sunk in the crowd of useless posts if they are not answered during certain period of time.
If this automatic sanitation is not acceptable, what would be the way to remove them in a human-judged way, by some consensus of experts? The volume is too high. One option is this: adding one more tab in the tab control here: http://www.codeproject.com/script/Answers/List.aspx[^]. This tab would list the candidates for permanent removal.
The criteria for putting a question on this list could be this: 1) not answered during certain period of time; 2) having certain score of reports like "unclear or incomplete", "re-post", "not a question", etc.
What would be a criteria for permanent removal? We could have a control like "vote to remove", so the removal could be done automatically on certain score of such reports. Such vote could require a written comment confirming the reason for removal. Some small number of point could be awarded to a member participated in this useful work.
Thank you for attention for this suggestion,
—SASergey A Kryukov
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What would be the benefit of removing old questions? Is it so they don't show up in searches, or so they aren't "touched" and resurrected back onto the homepage?
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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I hate when I have a question, I Google it, I arrive at a site where somebody else has asked the same question 5 years ago, and it has no answers. Too many of those and my overall opinion of a site is affected. If I often find questions with good answers on that site, I may be more inclined to visit it before I visit other sites.
Also, unanswered questions may hurt your SEO. If you get to a site via a Google search, then click the back button in your browser, Google will give you the option to hide all future results from that site. They may incorporate that as one of their factors when deciding how to rank results from that site, regardless of whether or not the user actually chooses to hide the results from that site.
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AspDotNetDev wrote: I hate when I have a question, I Google it, I arrive at a site where somebody else has asked the same question 5 years ago, and it has no answers.
Excellent point.
"the meat from that butcher is just the dogs danglies, absolutely amazing cuts of beef." - DaveAuld (2011)
"No, that is just the earthly manifestation of the Great God Retardon." - Nagy Vilmos (2011)
"It is the celestial scrotum of good luck!" - Nagy Vilmos (2011)
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Occasionally I answer old unanswered questions when I feel boring so please don't remove.
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Please be bored and answer sooner then.
Luc Pattyn [My Articles] Nil Volentibus Arduum
Fed up by FireFox memory leaks I switched to Opera and now CP doesn't perform its paste magic, so links will not be offered. Sorry.
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I hope you don't see yourself as boring, but merely bored 
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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You see, it looks like two other members supported my ideas.
I thought I explained my point with was a bit different: the site is overwhelmed with dead questions. They are usually not dead because no one could not answer yet, but more usually because answering in the form "Add a solution" makes no sense at all. The problem is: author of good but just difficult question suffer, because the chances to get noticed become less and less with time.
Imagine how we pick question for answering. For example, I post the answer in form of solution to a small percent of the questions. In many cases I'm not competent enough, but in many cases I just click the one question and see that answering makes no sense. It looks like scanning the lost of questions takes more time then answering (even though I tend to put a lot of detail in the answer). This is bad, but we hardly can improve this situation.
What's worse, if the question was not notices for certain period of time, it has less and less chance to get noticed. Why will scan all the history from recent to old? One can click "unanswered questions" and see more of them per page, but the problem is then needle in a haystack. If dead questions were gradually removed, it would be much easier.
Unfortunately, this a part of a bigger problem: I can see that the Questions & Answer site gets worse and worse with time as more poor questions and more poor answers arrive increasingly compared to decent stuff. There is nothing wrong with it, but good stuff gets lost. Isn't it a time to think of harder moderation of such posts? I know, this is not an easy problem, but reputation of the site suffer.
Just think about it.
Thank you very much,
—SASergey A Kryukov
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What's better? To find a way to encourage more questions to be answered, or to delete questions that aren't answered and simply have them reposted?
The issue you are seeing is that the Unanswered Question list is becoming large, so you'd like questions that are a certain age, and unanswered, removed. Would it not be better to provide this as a view ("Show recent unanswered") instead of permanently removing them? That way we allow others to have a chance at answering them.
As always, an unanswered question that truly can't be answered because it's far too open or too poorly phrased should be removed immediately.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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SAKryukov wrote: The Questions & Answers part of site is overwhelmed with dead questions which very unlikely will be ever answered.
Since the questions are presented in order asked, or updated, in pages, 20 per page, and you also have the option, in your settings for 'Forums, to hide posts you have viewed before: and, we have the option to filter by active, answered, unanswered, etc.
How does the total number of back-pages directly affect you ... assuming you do not review every single page (now #1963 of them, and growing) that's ever been posted very often ?SAKryukov wrote: Most of them really use resources and distract members' attention at the expense of decent posts
How is that these back posts distract your attention ? I'd like to understand exactly what you mean by that.
Now: the second issue you "mixed-in" in this paragraph: of the possible "burial" of "decent posts" in the large number of back-posts: I see that as a separate issue, entirely, and I agree with you on that, and think a remedy is called for by some mechanism like a selector button for "highest rated" posts (as found on StackOverFlow, for instance).SAKryukov wrote: Such dead questions could be automatically removed on certain condition (I'll discuss the conditions later), with notification sent to their author (so they would have a chance to legitimately re-post them after serious and proper re-formulation), but there is some risk of removing something good. This risk is not too high, because anyway, presently good but unanswered questions get sunk in the crowd of useless posts if they are not answered during certain period of time.
Yet we, the responders, do have two mechanisms available now: one is that if you have a certain "rep" you can delete questions ... that's one I have used only once, and am extremely reluctant to use. The other mechanism, the "bump," is to add a comment, or update, in order to promote the post back up in view-order: another mechanism, imho, is not constructive; I think it leads to "gaming the system."
But I find myself in agreement with you that under "certain conditions" posts should be automatically removed: I would make these very simple, for example:
1. a post that has been up for one month and had no solutions, or no comment that at least included a link: off with its head.
2. posts that have been up for a month that are vague, diffuse, and where the author does not respond to more than one query from responders asking for clarification ... if there is no perceived substance in the question: off with their heads.
Note that once again, in this paragraph, you mix-in the issue of salvaging good questions that have real substance, but just may not have been responded to for a while, which I agree is a good issue to raise.SAKryukov wrote: If this automatic sanitation is not acceptable, what would be the way to remove them in a human-judged way, by some consensus of experts? The volume is too high.
StackOverFlow uses a "posse" system (consensus of high-ranking members) to remove and cancel posts, flagged as "duplicates," "too general," etc., but usually leaves them up with an explanation of why they were cancelled, or halted (and often some of these "halted posts" actually have some good answers.SAKryukov wrote: One option is this: adding one more tab in the tab control here: http://www.codeproject.com/script/Answers/List.aspx[^]. This tab would list the candidates for permanent removal.
The criteria for putting a question on this list could be this: 1) not answered during certain period of time; 2) having certain score of reports like "unclear or incomplete", "re-post", "not a question", etc.
Okay, now you click on this Tab: and what do you see, and what can you, the responder do ? Vote for their removal, vote against their removal ? Please say more about this idea.
SAKryukov wrote: What would be a criteria for permanent removal? We could have a control like "vote to remove", so the removal could be done automatically on certain score of such reports. Such vote could require a written comment confirming the reason for removal. Some small number of point could be awarded to a member participated in this useful work.
Okay, this sounds pretty good to me, but don't we already have a mechanism in place on CP, for example, in the Lounge, where a certain number of 1 votes, or votes to remove, or reports of abuse, result in message elimination ? Couldn't this same mechanism be adopted to work in QA ?
To me, the most interesting issue you raise is the "elevation" of certain QA questions, and/or their answers, to some sort of "Valhalla:" where some of the very high-quality material that, I agree with you, is now "submerged" in the near 2000 pages of QA can remain easy-to-find, easy-to-get to.
But, to take the other-side of this entire set of concerns raised here: does the ability to view QA answers now by "Top Rated," "Popular", and "Active" render a lot of these considerations raised here ... still relevant ?
And, just to blow my one-note horn again: I once again parade the idea that a simple pop-up form that requires clarification of a question's basic parameters ... as a pre-condition of accepting a question for posting ... would go a long way to addressing the issues discussed here.
best, Bill
"Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery, like the idle, curved tunnels of leaf miners on the surface of a leaf. We must somehow take a wider view, look at the whole landscape, really see it, and describe what's going on here. Then we can at least wail the right question into the swaddling band of darkness, or, if it comes to that, choir the proper praise." Annie Dillard
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BillWoodruff wrote: StackOverFlow uses a "posse" system (consensus of high-ranking members) to remove and cancel posts, flagged as "duplicates," "too general," etc.
We have a similar system. Flag a question (or answer) and if 5 or more members flag it, it's gone.
I'm surprised that members aren't flagging more. We even give a 5-point bounty on each flagging.
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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Hi Chris,
You are enlightening me so frequently that I may have to start addressing you as "Roshi Chris."
Obviously the assumption I've made, that I read all the FAQs, or retained the details of what I read: are wrong.
best, Bill
"Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery, like the idle, curved tunnels of leaf miners on the surface of a leaf. We must somehow take a wider view, look at the whole landscape, really see it, and describe what's going on here. Then we can at least wail the right question into the swaddling band of darkness, or, if it comes to that, choir the proper praise." Annie Dillard
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I would say sod the points. Can't people just do things to try and help out for once without seeking points?
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cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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Hi,
I've just read this question in Q&A: Winform Manageable workflow program[^] and in my opinion it would be better suited in the Collaboration and Beta-Testing forum.
Is there anything that needs to be done to be empowered to do such things like moving a post from to a more appropriate forum? 
I reckon there is some kind of notification towards OP that the post has been moved, or is there?
Regards,
Manfred
"With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine."
Ross Callon, The Twelve Networking Truths, RFC1925
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I normally just add a comment or response suggesting the OP repost it in the suggested forum and leave it up to them.
Unrequited desire is character building. OriginalGriff
I'm sitting here giving you a standing ovation - Len Goodman
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Hello ,
Please tell me when the CP member can get authority to "Improve Question" and other ?
Also tell me what are other authorities which should CP get in his member ship.
Is there any such page in CP where I can get all this information.
Thanks in advance.
--Rahul D.
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Rahul Dhoble wrote: when the CP member can get authority to ...
All these things are based on reputation points, which in turn, are based on your contribution to the site. So more time spent answering questions instead of asking is likely to increase your reputation points, and thus lead to earning the right to do more. Just keep reading the forums (including the ones on subjects you are new to) and see how it works. Look at the useful answers to questions and feedback from the questioner and you will soon see how it's done. You can also gain points by writing articles, tips & tricks etc.
Unrequited desire is character building. OriginalGriff
I'm sitting here giving you a standing ovation - Len Goodman
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This article[^] for various reasons was put live whilst still in draft (it's a case study in why proofreading while tired is a bad thing) . When I noticed this and submitted updated HTML for it as it was edited by an Editor so I can't update directly.
My Question: Did you get the new version submitted on the 30th? If not I'll re-submit.
My Suggestion: Some form of acknowledgment that a change has been recieved, an icon on the "My Articles" page for example.
I've had acknowledgement of completed updates but can't recall seeing anything about pending updates.
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I've asked Sean to check if he got it. Did you send it via email or the online form?
cheers,
Chris Maunder
The Code Project | Co-founder
Microsoft C++ MVP
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Online form. I have the HTML (at home, I'm supposedly working now) so I can easily re-send it when I get back if needed.
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We've got it
Thanks,
Sean Ewington
The Code Project
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Good, less effort for me 
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