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I have decided to risk the wrath of the bah humbug brigade and reveal all to you...

27 November 2007

A question of answers

by Jacqueline Alexander

I have just been told that I am in the prime of my life. Is that a compliment? What exactly is the prime of one's life? Is it an expression that relates to age, experience or achievement? Will I only realise I am in it after I have passed it?

Having pondered these questions for what must have been at least 30 seconds, I decided to go in search of enlightenment. I wasn't necessarily expecting a definitive answer, which was lucky, as I didn't get one but what I did stumble upon was a veritable trove of answers to literally thousands of questions.

From the sublime to the ridiculous via the sane and sensible, blurtit.com offers answers and opinion on literally thousands of questions. The subjects vary from loving to loathing, from sport to support, from money to music and from health to history; just abut every subject you can think of is here.

Who is Sir John Falstaff? Having studied Shakespeare in my youth (which apparently comes before my prime), I knew the answer to this one so went along to check that the answer was accurate. It was. This seemed a good way to check out the quality of the content as I didn't want to recommend a sub-standard web site. I checked out a few others that I knew the answer to and, luckily, they were all accurate.

Visitors to blurtit.com do a fine job of answering the straightforward questions with clear-cut answers. What does cynicism mean? How big is a DL envelope? What is a peerage? The list goes on but, it has to be said, these answers can be found in a hundred different places on the web. Arguably of more interest, is that those same visitors seem to do an even better job of addressing questions without answers. Opinion, speculation and debate ensue on matters of love, science, politics, relationships, nature, literature and the unknown to name but a few.

Some sweet soul has taken the trouble to ask if love hurts everyone. I have no idea who the author is but, in my mind's eye, I see a youngster who has been keeping an eye on the world around him or her and deciding that love is not all its cracked up to be. Perhaps they have been struck by Cupid's bow and are pondering whether a relationship is really the best course of action. I was relieved to see that there was a distinct lack of cynicism in the answers - most people reported back that, although love sometimes hurts, the lows are more than made up for by the highs whilst others argued that 'real' love doesn't hurt. I believe the jury is still out on that one.

I don't know if there is a collective noun for agony aunts (perhaps I should ask) but let's call them a 'brood' - does that work? The contributors to this section come together as a brood of agony aunts offering wisdom and warmth in equal measure. Advice threads come thick and fast for those needing insight on what to do either because they suspect their partner of infidelity or want to spice up their love lives. I think the latter is to avoid the former but I don't know for sure.

There is some suggestion that some of the askers are not who they claim to be. One user going by the name of 'zero' seems, at first glance, to be as sweet as he is innocent. 'I am twelve and want to know how to ask out a girl but I am afraid,' he asks. Ten people have offered their advice including step-by-step instructions explaining what to do. It is only when you read a question from the same author added just one day later that you suspect something may be awry. 'I am twelve and want to have sex.' Either twelve year olds are working a lot quicker these days or this person is not who they claim to be.

Unfortunately, sometimes a question is far superior to the answer. The answer to a question such as 'how can I achieve an instant smile?' should surely include references to good memories, a loved one, a humorous event or, at the very least, Ronnie Barker. I was somewhat perturbed to read the answer merely alluded to orthodontics! I suppose it's an answer of sorts but I am not sure if it really fitted the bill.

One contributor asks why we love our country - this thread is evolving into a study of patriotism. I couldn't help wondering if the author of the questions had been browsing the gems of Samuel Johnson when he was making noises about patriotism being 'the last refuge of the scoundrel'. Maybe he was looking to argue the point.

Having browsed through this site, if you cannot find the answer you are looking for or, more accurately, the question you seek an answer to, simply ask it yourself and wait for the wise and wise-nots to come to your aid. The standard of the answers is, on the whole, very good. The site is self-policing so if some numpty lowers the tone, you have the power to report this abuse of the system to the moderators and the offending answer will be removed. This is becoming a popular method of policing user-generated content and, on this site, it seems to work rather well.

So what is the prime of life? Apparently, the consensus seems to be that it is a time when achievement, satisfaction and contentment all come together at the same time. If that's the case, although it was nice to be told that I am in my prime, I am not sure that it's true. Yet.

http://www.blurtit.com/

http://www.blurtit.com

Jacqueline Alexander presents Web Watch every Tuesday at 5.45pm on BBC Radio Berkshire on 104.1FM, 104.4FM, 95.4FM, 94.6FM and DAB Digital Radio. To listen in, just visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire.

What is Web Watch?

Web Watch is broadcast on BBC Radio Berkshire, published in the Henley and South Oxon Standard and published online right here at web-watch.info.

As a cross-media project, Web Watch is designed to help you find the best sites here on the Internet.

You can catch Web Watch on air every Tuesday at 5.45pm when Jacqueline Alexander sits down with Phil Kennedy during the Drivetime show on BBC Radio Berkshire to chew the virtual fat.