How can I fix this linked question so that it'll get a positive response? What is wrong with this question?
2 Answers
Hoping to reverse the negative score of -3 to a positive one will be very very difficult. In my opinion, there's nothing the OP can do to "fix" it. The OP could instead focus their attention on improving questions that have received a single downvote or have been deleted.
For the time being:
refrain from asking questions about the same novel. Unless it's a genuine English language problem–not one spurred by mild curiosity–you will only need to annoy one user to earn their downvote.
Be more open-minded. Although in the end it led to an interesting genuine question that landed in the "hot questions" network, hearing a non-native speaker accuse an English author of writing “a bit sloppy English”, without realising how awkward that sounded, was asking for it. I would recommend not to modify or remove the phrase because it is too late, and its removal won't make any difference to the score. On the contrary, it's likely to worsen the situation.
Read the comments. The mocking ones should be flagged, but there were some comments the OP should have heeded to.
This comment at the top was helpful and friendly.
I'm confused; the question seems to start out saying "don't we need 'feel'?" and end up (rightly) saying "I guess we don't." Can you make the question clearer?
No response. No clarification. Ergo, no measurable improvement.
- Repair the questions with 0 or -1 votes. What about these?
- What does *monte* mean in the term *three-card-monte* game?
- What does "stick to one's guns" mean there?
- "A giant tap of Welsh nostalgia"
Tips and advice from the ages…
Why is it that changing a question doesn't affect existing close votes in the slightest way?
I've just been downvoted. How should I react?
Can I post a question I've already asked, but with more detail?
You can’t post new questions right now
FUTURE REFERENCE
General advice for any user who finds their posts are frequently downvoted:
Share the research. It's no good saying "I researched", show it in the question.
Fix the typos in your post.
Remember to always capitalise the pronoun I.
Spend more than one minute composing a question. Make it interesting.
Don't ask the same question with negligible variations five, ten or fifteen times.
In the OP's defence, philphil provides links to dictionary definitions, and they also make an effort to find the answer. For a non-native speaker, their grammar is very good, there are hardly any typos, the posts are formatted well, they are usually easy to read and easy to understand. The questions are original, they show effort, and philphil doesn't ask the same question over and over again as some users are wont to do. Then again, fifty questions about one novel is a little tiresome to read.
Eventually, users who have a fixation with a grammar point or vocabulary issue earn themselves a well-deserved question ban. Yay!
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Thank you. Sorry, what do you mean by ". . . you will only need to annoy one user to earn their downvote."? Why do you emphasise the word 'one' there?– philphilCommented Jun 22 at 13:11
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I'm wondering why I have got 4 downvotes but the post ell.stackexchange.com/questions/54336/… got 6 upvotes - and that before my question was closed!!! What does make the difference?– philphilCommented Jun 22 at 13:29
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1Stop using all bold and multiple exclamation marks it makes you look desperate/ irritated/ frustrated. I thought you would thank me for the edit I made on the "stripped bare" question that reduced the -4 to now +1. That's gratitude for you… It's been migrated, so I don't know if that helps improve your stats. Are you also banned from posting on ELL? Commented Jun 22 at 13:41
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@philphil As for the downvotes and closure... I said it would be a waste of time to edit the question. Now look at both questions and ask yourself if the two posts are totally identical. Are the two questions exactly the same? Which post is clearer in meaning? If the answer is "they both are", post on ELL meta and ask the community why your question attracted four downvotes while the older one received six upvotes. Commented Jun 22 at 13:43
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2"… you will only need to annoy one user to earn their downvote." Because all it takes is one downvote and you risk getting question-banned for the next six months. If someone out there dislikes you or your posts they will find any excuse to do so. Don't give it to them. BUT if you write a good question, a question that you do not already know the answer to (we all knew the answer to those "is this obsolete?" questions. Or are going to deny that?) you'll hopefully get upvotes and you can continue your journey. Commented Jun 22 at 13:49
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"Be more open-minded" - I'm open-minded but some commentators themselves have severely criticised the author's wording. Then, all of a sudden, they have praised her wording to the skies. (Of course, you are right, my wording is wrong and "was asking for it" in this context)– philphilCommented Jun 22 at 13:53
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Fumble-fingers said "Your source isn't exactly great literature, but the writer knows English perfectly well." You were critiquing the author's syntax and grammar not the writing style. Commented Jun 22 at 13:58
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Thank you very much indeed for helping. Sorry, I thought I've done so already.– philphilCommented Jun 22 at 14:09
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I don't mean FumbleFinger's "Your source isn't exactly great literature, but the writer knows English perfectly well." There were other comments criticising the author.– philphilCommented Jun 22 at 14:15
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@Mar-Lou A - "Are also banned from posting questions on ELL?" - No, I'm not and the ban on ELU is suspended :)– philphilCommented Jun 22 at 14:17
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That's reassuring to know. Good luck with your journey on ELL and live long and prosper. Commented Jun 22 at 14:21
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I have a question which came to me while I read this. Personally, I do not want to get anybody banned from asking questions unless there is a super-good reason for it. I didn't even know that existed. Can you please tell me how that works or a link to a page that explains it? Thanks.– LambieCommented Jun 23 at 15:01
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@Lambie Done, you should get a notification in your inbox. P.S There's nothing to stop you asking on EL&U meta or even here for that matter Commented Jun 23 at 15:30
It could be significantly improved by actually asking a question, or requesting some specific help.
The meat of the "question" is a series of statements, including a summary that states there's no issue to begin with. How should someone answer that?
A reader could infer a few different questions, but it's the OP's job to make it crystal clear what they want from answerers.
So as it stands now, that question should be closed because it's not clear what you want.
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I think I'm open-minded as Mari-Lou A is asking for. My question is: " I suspect this clause in question . . .. I'm missing the verb 'feel': (the whole sentence) 'She smiles in a way that makes him feel even more uncomfortable'. On the other hand I see that using the wording 'that makes him even more uncomfortable' is also possible almost having the same meaning because 'uncomfortable' can mean "uneasy, troubled, disturbed, embarrassed" Collins. In summary, I don't see much difference between 'make someone feel uncomfortable' and 'make someone uncomfortable'.". . .– philphilCommented Jun 22 at 16:02
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. . . that is, I leave it to the answerer to decide between three possibilities what is right and what is wrong or maybe both. I'm open-minded offering three possibilities which I am not sure of ("I suspect. . ."). @Nuclear Hoagie gave the best answer that can be given in this context in my opinion and I say a big thank you to them for it– philphilCommented Jun 22 at 16:02
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These two comments are answering to your " that question should be closed because it's not clear what you want". I don't mean any harm, though, and say thank you for helping and close-voting :)– philphilCommented Jun 22 at 22:48