An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 1 – HELLO FROM YOUR PASSIONATE USER
Adam D’Angelo!
Hello from Loy Machedo – one of your Quora Users.
I never thought of writing to you but today after receiving yet another slap-on-the-wrist from your Moderation Team for something really silly, insignificant and minor – I thought I should write this letter to you.
I am not banned however, I am pretty sure given how the Quora Moderation is doing its job – before I know it – I too will join the list of banned users.
And if that happens, I will graciously accept it.
I survived before I joined Quora.
I will survive online after Quora.
However, I feel something needs to be said to you and I think you should pay attention
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 2 – THE SHOCKING TREND
The manner in which worthwhile & necessary policies are being implemented by the Quora Moderation boarders from being poorly implemented to shockingly outrageous. And if this trend continues – it will be a matter of time before you lose all Great & High-Quality Quora Content Writers and you will be left with only New Comers, Visitors, Spectators & Readers.
So is this a big deal?
Let’s analyze.
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora – Part 3
PART 3 – WHAT MAKES QUORA GREAT?
The strength and popularity of Quora is not its new visitors, it is not its views, upvotes or shares – rather it is strictly THE CONTENT. And to get worthwhile and creative content – you need Content Writers who dedicate their time, their effort, their creativity, their originality and their passion to your website.
But now – where on one side you have Content writers like me who love to push for Great Content with a view to get more followers, more views and more upvotes – we face a massive problem:
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 4 – THE MASSIVE PROBLEM
- We have youngsters as young as 13 – who have just reached their puberty and for whom there is only one way of feeling important – to spam or troll worthwhile personalities online with their unwanted need for attention, quick-fix solutions and their ridiculous number of “Can you help me for FREE + sob story” requests
- You have scores of Haters whom – if they cannot reach big numbers – find the only solution is – hate, report or put down the Quora users who are doing very well.
- And last if not the least – the biggest problem among them all – Your Quora Moderation whose only job is to either give a slap on the wrists of Quora Content Writers telling them “Hello, Your answers (link) was a violation of XYZ Quora Policy. And so now you are punished in this manner”
Now having youngsters spam us writers – can be controlled. However, having haters simply have their focus on any and every mistake we make with the sole intention and agenda to get us banned – well that cannot be controlled.
And then the biggest problem of them all….
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 5 – THE ROOT CAUSE
And the biggest problem or your root cause is….Your Quora Moderation Team
A team of people (or bots) that no one can predict or control. And then with one email or message – all they do is throw their final verdict on the faces of Quora Content writers stating – “You are banned from Answer Edit” or “You are banned for a Week” or at its worst – “You are Officially Banned”.
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 6 – ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION….
I mean seriously – would YOU want to continue contributing to a website where all your contribution, all your effort, all the time you invested, all the creativity you put – lies in the hands of a Moderation team – whom with one JUST ONE EMAIL can block and banned you forever?
Seriously – would you want to work for such a company?
Be loyal to such a brand? or
Become a Fan of such an Organization?
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 7 – WHAT YOU NEED TO REMEMBER
What you are forgetting is that Creative People, Thought Provokers & Talented Individuals do not like to work or stay in an environment that is suffocating and holding a gun to the heads of people giving them the undue pressure that they can ‘fired’ anytime.
And you should know this more than anyone else because you yourself are a Trend Setter, A Thought Provoker, A Creative Thinker and a Talented Individual.
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 8 – THINK AND IMAGINE THIS…
If you were to start behaving like this in your company – how many people would want to work for you? Everyone will wait to find some place better and then jump ship. And this is EXACTLY what is happening on Quora.
Right now the buzz that most of the Quora users are talking about is – All-Great Quora Content Writers will eventually get blocked and banned. And you do not even need to take my word on it – just check the number of casualties that have become the victim of the infamous Quora Ban.
While you are focusing on the Business Side to keep Quora alive and afloat – the system that you have created to safeguard Quora to help it grow – is now poisoning itself internally. All your star and key contributors are being one by one slapped with blocks, bans and notifications. It kind of reminisent of being in school and having the teacher slap you for silly and ridiculous things.
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 9 – IF THIS TREND CONTINUES…
- Quora will lose many its key contributors who could have made Quora great.
- Quora will end up with average content writers
- And eventually Quora will become another hotmail, orkut, and myspace.
Don’t this the wrong way – but right now – right this very moment if Facebook or Google created a platform like Quora – I can assure you – you will lose a major share of your contributors who are fed up of your Quora Moderation and Quora Policing. And that will spell the end of Quora.
Agreed you are a thought-provoker and trendsetter who has started a great movement – but without proper implementation, without your high-quality contributors and without your fans who love Quora and ready to bleed for you – Quora will not survive. It will just not. The online universe is very cold, calculative and cunning. And if you do not plug in the leak – your ship will become another Titanic. And all that will remain is a beautiful memory.
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 10 – MY PLEA & MESSAGE TO YOU
So I take this opportunity to request you – PLEASE STOP BANNING AND POLICING GREAT QUORA CONTRIBUTORS BY A POORLY IMPLEMENTED QUORA POLICY.
Rememeber Facebook, Youtube & Google are not great because they have a Moderation team that is just waiting to slap them with a “you are bad boy – so now this is a warning” every single time and then finally giving them a shocker one fine day “you are blocked from editing for a week”.
If this is what all Great Contributors have to fear – that they will be treated like children and be permanently banned after putting hours and hours of work – would you seriously – want to contribute to such a website?
How many people would continue being on Facebook & Youtube if this was how its top contributors were treated?
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 11 – PLEASE ASK YOURSELF…
- When you yourself wouldn’t work for such a company that would threaten you for every mistake you make,
- When your own team wouldn’t work in such a hostile environment
- When no top talent or gifted writer or thought provoker would tolerate this childish treatment
then do you seriously think people who are contributing articles, answers and quality answers for your website – FOR FREE would want to remain there?
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 12 – ADAM D’ANGELO – I KNOW YOU LOVE QUORA….
I may not love Quora as much as you love your company. But I do love Quora nonetheless. However, if you are not going to seriously address the Quora Moderation and its disastrous policy of Banning very talented contributors – you will be left only with the rest of the pack – the people who are not worth being jealous about, the diplomats and the ‘nicey-nice’ folks.
It will be a matter of time before another competitor to Quora does come along – and if they come out with the SAME platform but much better Moderation policy – I see everyone jumping ship.
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 13 – WHY I CHOOSE TO WRITE TO YOU…..
I wrote this letter to you out of the genuine frustration and disappointment that a website so amazing that can one day become even bigger and better than Facebook – is now moving in a direction which – if not correct will eventually result in its demise.
I hope you consider my genuine request and not only stop this BANNED policy – but also fully reinstate all those your Quora Moderation team has terminated from using Quora.
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An Honest Letter to Adam D’Angelo – The CEO of Quora
PART 14 – IN CONCLUSION
Adam D’Angelo – stop losing out on talented people.
I am not saying allow Hate Speeches or Racist Comments.
Neither am I saying STOP punishing people through edit bans.
All I am saying is:
- Stop banning talented, gifted & thought provoking writers
- Sort out the mess that is currently the manner and method how your Moderation Team Operates
- Change some of these really Brand Damaging Policies
- Find a way to retain and not elminate your top writer
- Stop banning your Top Contributors
- Give your website a more ‘youtube-ish’ environment where there is variety & not just uniformity
Quora has the capacity to be one of the greatest website for people with various opinions & views.
Please change your policies SOON otherwise all it will end up doing is keeping 13+-year-old teenagers, average writers whom no one is interested to bother about and yes – once a while spectators who would visit your website and leave with no sense of loyalty or purpose.
Loy Machedo
The World’s #1 Personal Branding Coach
LoyMachedo.com
WhoIsLoyMachedo.com
ThinkPersonalBranding.Com
