Dana Bell

From the City of Tyler news website:

Mayor launches Q&A web page
Do you have a question for the Mayor? Are you interested in what other people ask the Mayor? Do you want to learn more about what is going on at the City? If so, you will want to take a look at the new Ask the Mayor

Of course, this isn't new. I am thinking of two other local examples of such services, one at UTHSCT and the other at The Tyler Paper. As a service to employees, UTHSCT established an internal site called The Scoop. Modeled after another institution's site, it's purpose was to address rumors by answering questions about employees' concerns. Oddly enough, that site was down for maintenance during some of their layoffs. On a little different note, registered readers of the Tyler Paper can post comments on the news.

Unlike the FAQ that accompany software and other products and services, such Q&A resources are primarily PR in nature. In addition, there are several issues that such Q&A systems address, besides answering questions.

Authority
Primarily, a Q&A establishes authority. Any answers are presented as the authoritative word on the issue. When a Q&A is a part of the establishment that is being questioned, whether the City of Tyler, or Beijing (Pravda), its integrity can be questioned. (There is a reason we don't have government controlled media.)

Discussion Closed
Along the same lines, the second major reason for a Q&A is to close discussion. When a question is answered, that answer is presented as the final answer. Related questions can then be ignored. Similarly, based on the Q&A's so far, the City site is leaning strongly toward this with repeated mention of Tyler 21 with the clear message, "It's part of Tyler 21, Discussion Closed."

Censorship
Another problem with many Q&As is that sometimes questions are not answered at all, either because they are supposedly similar to questions already answered or because they are too controversial.
Shortly after submitting a comment on the tylerpaper.com site, I got notice about their new policy, including a note that harassing comments won't be posted.

Coverup
Not unlike political speech, carefully crafted answers expose just enough of the truth to maintain control over the situation. Several years ago, when the senior pastor of Bethel Bible Church resigned, it wasn't until weeks later that we discovered that his resignation was requested, that the elders wanted to go in a different direction. Partial truths are almost always lies. Such are some of the answers to many Q&As.

There really is nothing like the dialog of free speech as guaranteed by our Bill of Rights. Whenever the exchange of ideas is controlled, no matter what method is being used, freedom suffers. Don't accept any substitutes.