[Modpost] Want to actually have your question answered? Try browsing /r/IAmA/new!

We hear many complaints from users who say that by the time they have seen a post, the person is already done answering and gone. Unfortunately, many AMA hosts are busy people who are unable to hang out here all day. Therefore, there is a limited window of time when they are answering questions. By the time they make it to the front page, they could be done answering already. The simplest solution?

Browse /r/IAmA/new!

We require that submitters start answering pretty soon (we recommend half an hour) after submitting, so posting your question when a post is new is definitely your best bet.

And, it is great for the subreddit because we want all AMA OPs to have questions to discuss and reply to, even if they don't get a lot of upvotes. It's so disappointing when an interesting person is ignored and has their time wasted simply because not many people noticed their post.

"But mods, I check the schedule in the sidebar all the time, so I show up for those AMAs!" you might say. Well, the scheduled AMAs are only a small fraction of our AMAs! Because we have limited room in the calendar, there are a number of posts that we can't schedule ahead of time. This includes a large number of AMAs from regular users who could use some more attention going up against big celebrities with name recognition. In addition, there are many big AMAs (including President Obama, Bill Gates, Gabe Newell, and Julian Assange) that choose to not be scheduled for whatever reason. So, by only following scheduled AMAs, you could be missing out on a huge number of posts!

Also keep in mind that some posts in /new, especially brand new posts, may not have sufficient proof or may violate the subreddit rules. If that is the case, report it to the mods!

tl;dr: if you want to ask questions and get a response, browsing /r/IAmA/new is definitely your best bet, and it's great for the subreddit too!

Comments: 37 • Responses: 10  • Date: 

longfoot18 karma

Better yet import the google calender from the side bar. Set it to send you an email 10 minutes before an event. You can get in on every single one if you want.

karmanaut12 karma

You can do that, but as we said in the text of this post: most AMAs are not scheduled ahead of time. So limiting yourself to calendar posts will only give you a fraction of new posts.

longfoot-1 karma

The big ones are aren't they? Don't think I've missed any that way.

karmanaut16 karma

From the text:

In addition, there are many big AMAs (including President Obama, Bill Gates, Gabe Newell, and Julian Assange) that choose to not be scheduled for whatever reason

And those are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head.

longfoot2 karma

):

karmanaut10 karma

That's why we are suggesting that users stop by the new queue every once in a while.

cvillemade12 karma

This is exactly why I'm subbed. Otherwise I wouldn't have gotten an empathetic personal story from RA Salvatore (I'm geeking out a year later) or a shoutout from Method Man.

karmanaut7 karma

Exactly. I browse /r/IAmA/new all the time as part of modding duties, and get answers to my question pretty frequently.

[deleted]5 karma

i just asked a physchologist a question. his post had only 3 questions

karmanaut8 karma

And you got an answer! The system works.

Derelyk4 karma

As an aside.. For the promotional AMA's are you guys prepping the Actors, as in... this is how Woody Harrelson did a promo ama for Rampart, and don't do that.

I'm not asking if you're telling them what and how to answer, just how not too.

There have been some great celebrity AMA's lately, Antonio's and Wesleys was suprisingly fun.

Anywho, keep up the great job.

karmanaut2 karma

We drafted a "beginner's guide to AMAs", and there is a "What not to do" section at the end.

[deleted]2 karma

Even the "new" ones are from 10 hours ago. FML.

karmanaut2 karma

We don't get many posts when it is night on the east coast; things usually start to pick up in the morning and most our of our posts are probably between 10 and 4, east coast time.

whycuthair1 karma

Are submitters usually late? I am currently browsing new, keep refreshing it for half an hour now, because Sean Bean was scheduled at 12.30 pm, yet I see nothing of him.

karmanaut2 karma

It's 12:03. He will be posting in half an hour.

Onomatopesha1 karma

Is there any way i can post a question before the AMA is open? This is because i may not be able to "attend" one, due to time differences.

karmanaut2 karma

Not at the moment, sorry. We would like to eventually be able to do that.

Onomatopesha1 karma

Thanks for the answer, hopefully someone will pose a similar question then.

karmanaut0 karma

Which AMA is it for?

What some people do is make a post on a related subreddit and say "I won't be able to make X's AMA, can someone ask my question if they get a chance?"