Technically is the statement below a question? Should there be a question mark at the end?

"The only way to get many answers is to ask something trivial and then what was the point of asking in the first place."

Not too sure, but I think it should have a question mark at the end, plus there might be a comma missing.

Something like:

The only way to get many answers is to ask something trivial and then, what was the point of asking in the first place?

Technically, yes, it's a question (since it ends with a questioning request), and sometimes you can get away with leaving such a rhetorical question punctuated as a declarative statement to drive home the fact that "no answer is requested or expected". In this case, I would have included the question mark.

The more serious error is the mixed tenses: "is to ask" ... "what was the point". A minor error is the missing comma and improper conjunction: "and then".

So I would have stated it as:
"The only way to get many answers is to ask something trivial, so what is the point of asking in the first place?"
OR
"The only way to get many answers was to ask something trivial, so what was the point of asking in the first place?"

It is alright to make a statement, provided that it is followed by a question with the ? mark at the end. Eg: I love going to the movies. Do you?

You asked a question, "what was the point" therefore you should use a question mark. :o)

This is a poorly formed complex sentence but it is a question and should have a question mark at the end.

"The only way to get many answers is to ask something trivial and then what was the point of asking in the first place.? "


Yes it's a question. But the first part was a statement.

Another way could be:- ""If the only way to get many answers is to ask something trivial. Then what is the point of asking in the first place.? "

This lack of punctuation makes me crazy, but it happens so often on AB that, if I said anything, it would only succeed in making ME look like an ass. Plus, I'd be raining on everyone's parade, which isn't very nice. Just leave it alone. This isn't going to stamp out illiteracy (unfortunately). +5

It should have been written like this.
"The only way to get many answers is to ask something trivial. What would be the point of asking the question in the first place?"

It is probably not good the have a complex sentence that is both a statement and a question.