FAQ: Difference between revisions

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A/An '''FAQ''' is a curated list of questions and answers designed to address aspects of a topic that are important, often unknown or misunderstood. It is an [[acronym]] that expands to "'''frequently asked question'''" or "'''frequently asked questions'''". While either expansion implies that questions are often asked, they generally are not. FAQ is more about the question-answer format and an indication of the relevance of the content. Each question may be conglomerated from multiple real questions, what an author anticipates a reader will wonder about, or is simply a way of organizing information.<ref name="faqsaboutfaqs">Hersch, Russ. [http://www.faqs.org/faqs/faqs/about-faqs/ FAQs about FAQs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123062535/http://www.faqs.org/faqs/faqs/about-faqs/ |date=2022-01-23 }}. 8 January 1998. http://www.faqs.org/faqs/faqs/about-faqs/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123062535/http://www.faqs.org/faqs/faqs/about-faqs/ |date=2022-01-23 }}.</ref>

Although FAQ is commonly used and understood, the term has several grammatical ambiguities:

; Two pronunciations: The pronunciation is either as a word (fack) or as each letter (F-A-Q).<ref name="pron">{{cite web|url=http://www.faqs.org/faqs/faqs/about-faqs/|title=About FAQs: Pronunciation|publisher=Faqs.org|access-date=2013-06-13|archive-date=2022-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123062535/http://www.faqs.org/faqs/faqs/about-faqs/|url-status=live}}</ref> As such, the [[indefinite article]] used is either "a" for the former or "an" for the latter. As both pronunciations are correct, either article is correct.

; Two expansions: Oddly for an acronym, it can expand to either of two phrases. The plural form (questions) is the more commonly used, yet the singular (question) is also used.

; Usually a list: A common use of FAQ is to refer to a list of question-answer pairs. In this sense, the term is singular (a list), yet the expansion is plural (multiple questions).<ref>{{cite web

}}</ref>

; Plural form: The term "FAQs" generally refers to multiple FAQ lists.<ref>{{cite web

}}</ref> But, if the implied expansion is singular (question), then FAQs could mean multiple questions.

==Q&A==

Although the term FAQ is relatively recent, its format is the same as the older format Q&A: question and answer. For example, [[Matthew Hopkins]] wrote ''The Discovery of Witches'' in 1648 as a list of questions and answers, introduced as "Certaine Queries answered ...".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hopkins |first1=Mathew |title=The Discovery of Witches: In Answer to severall QUERIES, LATELY Delivered to the Judges of Assize for the County of NORFOLK. And now published By MATTHEW HOPKINS, Witch-finder, FOR The Benefit of the whole KINGDOME. |date=1648 |page= 1|publisher=Angell in Ivie Lane |location=London  |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951000896825x&seq=11 |access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref> Many old [[catechism]]s are in a Q&A format. ''[[Summa Theologica]]'', written by [[Thomas Aquinas]] in the second half of the 13th century, is a series of common questions about Christianity to which he wrote a series of replies.

FAQ originated as an Internet tradition in the early 1980s, driven by the limitations of early computer networks and mailing lists. The first FAQ was developed in 1982, several years before the World Wide Web, when digital storage was expensive and network resources were limited. On ARPANET's SPACE mailing list, it was assumed that new users would download and read archived messages via FTP before participating. In practice, however, many users did not consult the archives and instead posted questions that had already been answered. Repeatedly providing the same answers became tedious and was seen as contrary to emerging norms of netiquette.

As FAQs accumulated across Usenet, they contributed to the creation of the moderated "*.answers" newsgroups, including comp.answers, misc.answers, and sci.answers. These groups were established to collect and cross-post FAQs from the various comp.*, misc.*, and sci.* newsgroups, making commonly requested information more accessible to users.

==On the web==

FAQ is included in some [[website]]s. As part of [[web design]], FAQ can help achieve customer service and [[search engine optimization]] (SEO) goals, including reducing the workload of in-person customer service employees, improving site navigation, increasing the website's visibility by matching/optimizing specific keywords, and linking to or integrating with product pages.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kumar|first=Braveen|date=Aug 3, 2016|title=The Benefits of an FAQ Page (And How to Do It Right)|url=https://www.shopify.com/blog/120928069-how-to-create-faq-page|access-date=February 16, 2019|website=Shopify|archive-date=February 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217113824/https://www.shopify.com/blog/120928069-how-to-create-faq-page|url-status=live}}</ref>

Additionally, FAQ sections can enhance user experience by offering immediate, self-service answers to common questions, leading to faster resolution of inquiries and increased user satisfaction. By structuring FAQ content with clear headings and relevant keywords, websites can further improve SEO rankings and drive organic traffic. Tools like FAQPage.com help optimize FAQ content by providing schema markup and other technical enhancements, ensuring that FAQ pages are better indexed by search engines, which can result in richer search results and more visibility for the website.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://faqpage.com/|title=FAQ Page Optimization Tool}}</ref>

==Non-traditional==

In some cases, non-traditional FAQ-style informative documents are billed as FAQs, particularly in the [[videogame|video game]] field, which often contain detailed descriptions of gameplay, including tips, secrets, and beginning-to-end guidance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-09-09-what-the-faq-article |title=What the FAQ? |last=Teti |first=John |date=9 September 2010 |work=[[Eurogamer]] |publisher=Gamer Network |access-date=21 July 2014 |archive-date=22 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722051854/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-09-09-what-the-faq-article |url-status=live}}</ref> Video game FAQs are rarely in a question-and-answer format, although they may include a short question-and-answer section.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

Some content providers discourage the use of FAQs in place of restructuring content under logical [[subject heading|headings]]. For example, the UK [[Government Digital Service]] does not use FAQs because the service believes that its format primarily serves the needs of writers and creates more work for readers.<ref>{{cite web |website=Government Digital Service |url=https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2013/07/25/faqs-why-we-dont-have-them/ |title=FAQs: why we don't have them |first1=Sarah |last1=Richards |date=25 July 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200301081100/https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2013/07/25/faqs-why-we-dont-have-them/ |archive-date=2020-03-01 }}</ref>

* [http://www.faqs.org/topRated.html Original USENET examples]

* [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/F/FAQ.html FAQ definition], [[Jargon File|Jargon7767819960]]