When [Quora](http://www.quora.com/) came on the scene I was excited by the prospect of a questions site that might prove useful.  However, after spending some time exploring the site I simply couldn't find the motivation to stay.  I would return from time to time to see what had changed and noticed that the populated data seemed to grow at an incredible rate.  However, I just didn't get what all the fuss was about.  Part of the problem was that I was never able to garner valuable information in the sea of data.  Quora it seems posses the same characteristic as the class of wikis and black holes; that is, data goes in, but information never escapes.  However, I recently returned after following a Clojure-related link regarding the rise of functional programming or some such topic and it was then that the appeal of Quora finally dawned on me.

<a href="http://blog.fogus.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/opinion.jpeg"><img src="http://blog.fogus.me/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/opinion-300x240.jpg" alt="" title="opinion" width="300" height="240" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3349" /></a>
> People LOVE to give their opinion.

In hindsight the realization seems obvious and I must be more dense than I ever imagined to have missed it.  Alas, here it is - the secret of Quora.  Sadly, I am not sure that this bodes well for Quora.  Granted it is a beautiful site and its idea of community classification seems strong, but as a [keeper of opinions](http://blog.fogus.me/2011/02/28/the-keepers-of-answers/) I fear Quora's days are numbered.  When viewed under this lens it seems obvious what drove the early growth.  That is, in the beginning Quora was a vast frontier of unsullied questions awaiting opinion -- a virtual pontificator's nirvana.  However, this state can only maintain as long as there are opinions to be provided.  Granted the Internet is a veritable cornucopia of opinion, but this is part of the problem.  Quora's competitor is any pretty site willing to provide yet another untainted garden for others' to plant their sentiments.[^op]

But this is just my opinion.  Take it for what it's worth.[^nil]

:F

[^nil]: In my opinion, nothing.

[^op]: Don't get me wrong.  Opinions can have real value when they come from people whose judgement you trust or pertain to [subjects that you have no basis of knowledge for](http://www.quora.com/What-are-the-essential-Miles-Davis-albums).