That's the problem when a very niche and exclusive product gets mass adoption. Quality goes way down. That's how I felt about Yahoo answers. Their challenge is going to be how to drown/filter out the crap and keep it interesting or engaging.
There's a reason exclusivity works. That's one of the reasons I like Dribbble as a designer so much. The quality of the work is so high.
Maybe if Quora only let you invite people when enough people like your questions/answers that might work. I don't know how they could go back to that once they've opened the flood gates.
Right--Quora needs to set up a walled garden. Either a $5 pay-to-post system (worth it for the exposure and recruiting taking place on Quora), or a QA team that frequently audits questions and answers...something to keep their bottled lightning alive. Quora is at an important point in its development here.
Could be interesting with a flattr-like system where people pay a lump sum every week, and the people whom you thank/upvote the most gets a proportionately big amount of your monthly fee (aside from the share Quora takes).
Keeps away the tossers and rewards the people who take the time to help. Of course, there's the chance that people start gaming the system in order to earn all the money, somewhat similar to a content farm.
There's a reason exclusivity works. That's one of the reasons I like Dribbble as a designer so much. The quality of the work is so high.
Maybe if Quora only let you invite people when enough people like your questions/answers that might work. I don't know how they could go back to that once they've opened the flood gates.