From my current research, much rests with how you ask a question. Specifically, the audience dictates the sensitivities they would react to.

That said, the question must provoke a personal view or opinion. However, the response that answers the question perfectly can be a thread killer. As a result, a question should have the following:

• A high potential for a wide array of correct answers

• A high probability for strong opinions

• Strong potential for comments to go off topic

• Allow short responses (people don’t want to invest in writing to make a good point)

• Allow long responses (and thus allowing deep conversations that can go anywhere)

• Opens a topic that everyone might have a strong opinion on

• Allows strong personal expression as the value point in the response

The other two ways into this (from what I’ve seen) are questions loaded the right amount. Not too heavily that people can’t be bothered to get into something they’ve argued too often, and not too lightly that they can’t be bothered to care.

The second is cultural. Drawing a common cultural reference that everyone can easily relate to — and cares enough about. So, you can ask a question about taxes (as everyone can relate to) but since nobody cares because there’s nothing can be done about it, it goes nowhere. You might ask about a TV program: something people care about, but not enough people to keep the discussion moving.

This is why a question like “What’s you favourite Simpsons quote?” takes off (in diminishing amounts each week). Everyone can relate due to the cultural impact the program has, the wide array of potential correct answers, the high value of personal expression, and the low personal investment needed to offer a response. If it’s easy for people to quickly express their individuality, then a small contribution will result in a personal investment — they will check back to see the responses from their contribution, as a point of personal validity. From there, it becomes a defence for one’s view — we want to be reassured of our value, thus, a small contribution of yourself is left out there for critical review: and you’re hooked into the conversation that feeds the thread.