I am curious about the Ask The Administrators forum.

[Tipperary]

I wanted to see what questions posters ask, but I see that no questions are posted until the admins answer.

Is there always such a long delay between question and answers? Now, I know I could have asked the admins this question, but I thought some of you longtime DUers might have (speedier) answers.

[KG]

1. they may not answer your question if they deem it...unworthy.

[Tipperary]

2. I see. Well, there appear to be a number of unworthy quesions

right now.

[libodem]

3. Apparently

There are such things as stupid questions.

[Renew Deal]

4. What is your question?

People here can answer most questions.

[Tipperary]

5. I wondered why the most recent questions in that forum had not been answered

since the beginning of June. I wanted to know if that was usually the case or something unusual.

Perhaps summer vacay getting in the way?

[Blue_Adept]

8. Most of the questions unanswered are probably NYC_SKIP questions

Or things related to it, since we had the epic threads on it and those always generate ATA questions to try and get guidance, score points or just to make certain concerns out there.

[Solly Mack]

6. Depends. Some questions get answered quicker than others.

Needs of the site, and all that.

They still won't tell me where all the Swedish Fish went.

[Exilednight]

26. Did you check Skinner's bottom left drawer? Found my Starburst there last primary season.

[Solly Mack]

38. I did, but he seems to have put a lock on it.

I didn't know he had a Starburst fetish as well. The things you learn on DU!

[NightWatcher]

7. You should've Asked The Administrators

[Warren DeMontague]

9. You posted this in the wrong forum.

Three guesses as to where it actually belongs.

[Tipperary]

14. I mentioned that in my post actually lol.

There seemed to be such a lag on answers and I just wondered if that was the normal. So many Duers in GD seem to have been here a long time, so I thought they might have the answers.

I am still learning my way around. I keep stumbling over different groups and forums. It is really kind of fun.

[winter is coming]

23. My personal impression is that questions that report problems are answered fairly quickly.

The nine-billionth whinge about the jury system, not so much.

[MADem]

27. Welcome and Help might be a bit better, too... nt

[hrmjustin]

10. I usually pm them if i have an issue. i usually hear back that same day if it is in the daytime.

[lpbk2713]

11. The Admins have been out of town for a few days.

And/or otherwise occupied.

And some questions in AtA may be rhetorical and don't get or don't deserve an answer.
Like ... "why does so-and-so have to be such an asshole?" ... may not get a reply.

[MineralMan]

12. From what I've gathered, they rarely answer questions that

are in the form of rants about anything. I think that many of the current unanswered questions may well fit that description, based on when they were posted.

[Tipperary]

17. That would certainly make sense. I think I would ignore numerous questions about banning

a poster etc. I certainly saw all those multitudes of threads about the recent banning.

[Spazito]

13. Well, a little history might be in order here so...

Ask the Admins forum was originally a forum on the previous version of DU (DU2) where DUers could whinge, ask legitimate questions about DU, etc,. When the current version of DU (DU3) came about the Admins didn't have an ATA forum and, instead, added a forum called Welcome and Help/Meta (can't remember the exact original title) where DUers could post responses but turned out to be mostly Meta posts, whinging, attacking, etc., so the Admins took the Meta out of Welcome and Help and added a separate Meta forum where DUers could have their own 'fight club'.

The Meta forum was a spectacular train wreck, one I admit was a must read for me, it was awesomely awful, lol. The admins completely removed all evidence of the train wreck and re-instituted ATA. Given the current tone and tenor on DU these days, I am not surprised the admins aren't in a hurry to deal with the posts in ATA.

I think I have the sequence right but stand to be corrected.

[Tipperary]

15. Thank you for your answer. That is really interesting to learn the history.

Actually, it took me awhile to catch on to what "meta" referred to here, but I think I've got it now.

[Spazito]

16. You're welcome...

DU has gone through multiple transitions and ATA is definitely part of those changes over time.

[MADem]

28. I was a META host.

What has been seen cannot be unseen.....

[Spazito]

29. LOL!

I should be ashamed to admit this but a part of me still misses it. It was many things but one thing it wasn't and that's boring.

Kudos to you for volunteering to referee DU's version of fight club, much braver than I!

[scarletwoman]

30. Oh gawd, so was I. It was ... challenging...

I even signed up for a second term (WTH was I thinking?!?), but ended up bailing after a few weeks. It wasn't too long afterward that the whole thing was shut down. What a relief!

Honestly, Meta was actually fun in the beginning, but then it got uglier and uglier and uglier. It was like a whole bunch of DUers transmorgified into ravening hyenas. Horrible, just horrible!

[MADem]

31. They should have just called it "Man's Inhumanity to Man" and be done with it...!

I remember you as a META host--you really tried to keep an equilibrium going!

Talk about a thankless task! I did two rounds too--it was more than enough

[scarletwoman]

37. Or, "DU Cage Match"!

I enjoyed getting to know you during that time. I often found myself applauding your rationality and insight.

But I'm glad Meta is gone.

[MADem]

39. Hee hee...I can remember a time or two, looking at your spinning thingy, and

talking myself down!! It really was a cage match up in there! Hammer and tongs!

I wonder if the admins kept those threads, or if they just blew the whole thing up? Reading some of them was like watching a train wreck in slo-mo!

[scarletwoman]

40. My impression is that they totally nuked it. Made it gone & didn't look back.

Ran a metaphorical backhoe over it and buried it.

All that's left is the memory - like a bad dream.

[LostOne4Ever]

18. Sometimes they are just busy

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]It pays to have patience [/font]

[Tipperary]

19. Oh I am sure that they are.

This is a huge site, as I am just discovering. I just found myself interested in the questions in that forum. See, just because I cannot see them makes me WANT to see them. I have no real need to see them. It is just a curiosity thing. Lol, I so KNOW that I need to be more patient. One of my worst flaws is my impatience.

[Nye Bevan]

20. You would think that at the very least, folk who donate their hard-earned cash to this site

could expect an answer to a reasonable question without having to wait several weeks.

And for those star members who ask a question that never gets answered, a DU mail explaining why would be nice to receive.

Obviously it's the admins' site to run as they please but if a bunch of people were sending me money regularly and I wanted them to keep sending me money I would do my best to be as responsive as I could to keep them as happy as possible.

[winter is coming]

24. I think the reasonable questions do get answered.

And some of the unreasonable ones, as well. Part of the fun of reading AtA is seeing people wonder why they were blocked or had a post locked. They're mystified! And when you go back and see what was actually said, it's usually pretty obvious they were being a jerk.

[MineralMan]

25. And yet, people continue to use DU,

and contribute, even if their questions go unanswered.

[MADem]

33. Ahhhh, DU! It's like the Trevi Fountain!!!

[MineralMan]

35. Perfect!

[olddots]

21. I just did some de caff acid

ask me anything .........but really. I sence they try hard to reply to alot of disgruntled DUers and do the best humanly possible .

[Hekate]

22. The only thing your responders didn't mention yet is that The Admins are not employees....

They founded the site, they own the site, and they run the site.
You are new, but it's amazing to me how many around here who should know better don't seem to grasp that fact.

[MADem]

36. I figure I am a guest in their home. If I really am unhappy, I know where the door is.

I am especially amused by the people who gripe about how their "free speech" rights are being trampled when they get a post hidden for being a jerk. Like the admins pay the costs of operating the site out of some sort of charitable impulse, or that they somehow acquired some "free money" from the government to cover their costs. And like the "jury of their peers" is somehow separate from the "in' crowd with whom they associate....

[scarletwoman]

32. I'm a regular reader of ATA, and I can tell you that a 2 or 3 week delay for posts getting an answer

is fairly normal. But as others have mentioned, questions about software glitches of one kind or another tend to be answered fairly quickly.

Since a great many of the other questions are actually complaints about jury results and the like, those are left hanging until Skinner feels up to dealing with them. I don't blame him in the least.

[pintobean]

34. There are 30 pages covering 2 years

of mostly answered questions.