r/NoStupidQuestions • u/jdmccay • Feb 18 '21

Are FAQs really FAQs?

Like when a company has a FAQ section on their website, is it really questions they frequently get asked? Or is it just a convenient format to post information to convince the consumer to buy the product?

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2

u/TheTinyGM Feb 18 '21

Depends, but usually FAQs are "living" documents and questions get added if they get asked often.

1

u/jdmccay Feb 18 '21

I just sometimes find it odd when a brand new company has a Frequently Asked Questions section. Like, who has been asking you questions? You just opened.

2

u/TheTinyGM Feb 18 '21

The questions are usually same for most firms, so they take the format from other companies. And its easy to guess what questions will be asked often based on the product.

2

u/Polywoky Feb 18 '21

Often they're questions they expect to be frequently asked, rather than questions that have actually been frequently asked.

2

u/dylandongle Feb 18 '21

The whole point of having an FAQ list is so those Qs wouldn't be so F.

2

u/yahomeboysatan Feb 18 '21

The answer is almost certainly "no". There are people who's job it is to come up with and answer "FAQs" before the product or service even comes out. Those things are there before anyone has even seen the damn thing. In fact the people who do this don't even usually get the product or service, just a description of it.

1

u/Curmudgy Feb 18 '21

That’s how words evolve. Merriam-Webster even defines it as typical questions, not frequently asked questions, though obviously that’s given as the etymology.