Social question-and-answer (Q&A) sites are platforms where users can freely ask, share, and rate knowledge. For the sustainable growth of social Q&A sites, maintaining askers is as critical as maintaining answerers. Based on motivational affordances theory and self-determination theory, this study explores the influence of the design elements of social Q&A sites (i.e., upvotes, downvotes, edits, user profile, and comments) on the survival of new askers. In addition, the moderating effect of having an alternative experience is examined. Online data on 25,000 new askers from the top five Q&A sites in the Technology category of the Stack Exchange network are analyzed using logistic regression. The results show that the competency- and autonomy-related design features of social Q&A sites motivate new askers to continue participating. Surprisingly, having an alternative experience shows a negative moderating effect, implying that alternative experiences increase switching costs in the Stack Exchange network. This study provides valuable insights for administrators of social Q&A sites as well as academics.

中文翻译：

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社交问答网站上新提问者的动机启示和生存：以 Stack Exchange 网络为例

社交问答 (Q&A) 网站是用户可以自由提问、分享和评价知识的平台。对于社交问答网站的可持续发展，维护提问者与维护回答者一样重要。本研究基于动机可供性理论和自我决定理论，探讨社交问答网站的设计元素（即赞成、反对、编辑、用户资料和评论）对新提问者生存的影响。此外，还考察了另一种体验的调节作用。使用逻辑回归分析来自 Stack Exchange 网络技术类别中前五名问答网站的 25,000 名新提问者的在线数据。结果表明，社交问答的能力和自主性相关设计特征 A 网站激励新的提问者继续参与。令人惊讶的是，拥有替代体验显示出负面调节效应，这意味着替代体验会增加 Stack Exchange 网络中的转换成本。这项研究为社交问答网站的管理员和学者提供了宝贵的见解。