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I have a question that was asked on a low traffic window (you can see it in the views) and was not answered yet. This is my first experience with a question not being answered almost immediately.

I was wondering if there was a way to draw attention to it without expending rep in a bounty (because it's not that it wasn't answered to my sattisfaction, it wasn't really answered) and without editing it to bump it to the front page (a practice I don't like)

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  • 10
    You could post about it on meta and see if some people who find it there may answer it. Try it :-)
    – balpha StaffMod
    Commented Aug 24, 2009 at 14:11
  • 4
    Get a Tumbleweed and then come back.
    – random
    Commented Aug 24, 2009 at 14:14
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    Refining and bumping is the official way! Embrace it!
    – Ladybug Killer
    Commented Aug 24, 2009 at 14:16
  • This question also relates to meta questions on site-specific metas, where bounties aren't used.
    – Duncan Jones
    Commented Mar 10, 2015 at 14:03
  • A little late to the party, but there's no such thing as a low-traffic window. Or rather, there is, but it has no effect on the # of views.
    – Glorfindel Mod
    Commented Mar 18, 2019 at 21:38

4 Answers 4

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Keep researching the problem yourself, and edit your findings into the question. That will keep it near the top of the active and front page views.

You can also look for a related question to ask that will point back to your original. This will put something up on the "New Questions" view as well. I have a current example on serverfault, where I was foolish enough to ask a question during some "down time". First I asked a question about a problem updating an Active Directory domain. In researching that, I discovered one possible cause, and asked a new question regarding to that specific issue, which then pointed back to the first.

Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for a solution as well.

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    Using the How to draw attention to a question without creating a bounty question to draw attention to his question. This guy live in 2070.
    – scharette
    Commented Jul 17, 2018 at 18:38
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According to the FAQ entry on getting attention for your unanswered questions, editing it with a status update or retagging it is the best way to get it seen, excluding bounties.

Whether you like the practice of bumping questions by making edits or not (I'm not sure why you don't, theres nothing wrong with it as long as you're not abusing the feature), it is quite effective.

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    I don't like it because it essentially puts a 7 day time limit on the question, whether it's solved by then or not.
    – Joel Coehoorn Mod
    Commented Aug 24, 2009 at 14:19
  • I didn't mean the bounties, I meant the updating it with a status update. Sorry, I'll clarify.
    – Brandon
    Commented Aug 24, 2009 at 14:20
  • @Joel Coehoorn: The bounty system has been changed since you made your comment. I don't think this criticism applies any more.
    – Mark Byers
    Commented Jul 28, 2010 at 10:30
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If you keep providing meaningful edits, there won't be any issues with it getting constant bumping to the active page. It will also help users see what more information you can provide and make it potentially easier for them to jump in and start suggesting answers.

I've suggested in the past (or agreed to other suggestions) the ability to pay a little rep just to bump it up to the top of the page without having to make an actual edit. Consider it a bribe for the Community User.

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    I think I would like to see this feature of pay a little rep to bump my question. I offered a 250 bounty on one of my questions and I got one un-usable answer and only a few views. It sits down somewhere near the end, presumably because the order appears to be bounty questions ending next are at the top. It just seems to me that I will be waiting a few more days before I start getting attention.
    – Breadtruck
    Commented Aug 24, 2009 at 15:07
  • @Breadtruck: it won't work like because an answer has to also get votes to win the bounty. If you wait until a bounty is about to end to answer, you're not gonna do well. Anyone who really wants to win bounties works from the bottom up on that view.
    – Joel Coehoorn Mod
    Commented Aug 24, 2009 at 18:03
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Assuming you're trying to solve the problem on your own, post things that you have tried and explain why they don't quite work as the solution... "show you're working on it". Additionally, this provides real edits, and justifiably will bump the post to the front page. Beyond that, the bounty system is what has been designed to help find better answers to questions where the OP does not feel they have received a quality answer.

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