It just works out that way, I guess. ABers may not be all that interested in serious questions, because so many of them appear to use AB as a kind of "recreational outlet," rather than as a place for serious discussions regarding current events and the problems of others, IMHO. +5

I wish I knew. Some random ones get thousands of points, but sometimes serious ones get a lot of points as well. It depends on the question.

more people have more to say on random questions. serious questions might take a little more thought & some just aren't into that or don't know enough about whatever subject it's on, so they avoid it.

idk maybe cuase everyone already has a tone of problems so when they come on here they want to laugh and have fun, so they avoid the serious and depressing ones. but sience yours was serious question, should i have not answered it and in addition have marked you down for asking it?? hmmm.... lol (jk)

The replies to this question should give you a clue. The answer is people are rather ignorant, they can't think, all they're capable of doing is regurgitating what their government and talking heads tell them to say/think. Any question that requires thought and effort is completely out of the real of their capabilities. Now, if you wanna do a little test of that, ask what they think about the release of the Lockerbie Bomber and you'll see that each and every single response will be: "Oh, terrorist!" "Oh, terrorism" "Oh, he should have died in jail for being a terrorist" "Oh, I feel so unsafe now, I want the government to protect me" and more brainwashed shit along those lines.

People like questions that they do not have to put a lot of thought into.

Because sometimes it's just more fun and people can be more "creative" with random questions than with serious ones. That's the great thing about AB, you have your choice ... lots of questions to choose from.

Why do my random answers get more points/comments than my real/serious ones?

Because responding to them doesn't take time and thought and effort. Consider: "What's the closest thing to you right now that is blue?" versus "Do you think that a primarily private health insurance system augmented with a public option would be more advantageous than either a solely-public single payer system or a solely-private system like we have now?" Trust me. You'll get more points for asking about what the closest blue thing is, because people can respond to that by simply saying "my couch" or "my rug" or "my cat" (assuming they have a Russian Blue). These answers 1) require no concrete thought or articulated opinion, or intellectual effort, so they're easy, 2) rarely attract trolls or downraters because, after all, who's going to DR somebody for saying that their carpet is the closest blue thing in eyeshot at the moment?, and 3) because most people who ask questions give points to people who answer them. It's an unfortunate fact of life that utter stupidity and pointlessness are often rewarded over substance and importance. Welcome to the human race. We're glad you're here. Resist the above discussed impulses as long as you can. We need help.

I don't know about anyone else, but here's MY truth. I don't know enough about some subjects to fill a thimble. I can read up on it, but I only understand part of what I'm reading. By the time I look up every word that I don't know specific to that subject, I'm too frustrated to give a crap anymore. So, when I try to add something, even if it's only a question asking for more information, I get downrated by those who judge that I "should" already know the answers. WTF - were they born with this knowledge? I get sick of the assholes, so I don't bother with politics, healthcare reform, or any of those things anymore. It's a ravenous crowd, and every damn one of them are meat eaters. +5

Because more people can answer the non-serious questions than can answer the real/serious ones.

thanks for the answers guys