Framing effect
Overview
The framing effect is a phenomenon in which people's judgments and decisions change when the same information is presented in a different way or within a different framework of expression (frame). It became widely known through the "Asian disease problem" experiment published in 1981 by the behavioral economists Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman.
"The surgery has a 90% success rate" and "the surgery has a 10% failure rate" state the same fact, but the first is more reassuring. "25% less fat" and "contains 75% fat" describe the same product, but the impressions are completely different. Human judgment is swayed not only by the content of information but also by how it's shown.
Framing questions
In a question box, the way a question is asked creates a framing effect. "What's something you disliked about running a question box?" and "What's something good about running a question box?" ask about the same person's same experience, yet the answers they draw out tend to differ a lot. The first tends to selectively call up negative memories, and the second, positive ones.
Whether the sender is aware of this effect changes the quality of the question. Framing it as "Why don't you quit your question box?" carries the assumption that keeping a question box going is abnormal. "What's your reason for keeping your question box going?" asks the same thing neutrally. Framing can quietly convey the sender's intent.
Framing answers
The person answering can also be the one using the framing effect. Even when conveying the same content, the choice of frame changes how readers take it.
For example, about the number of question box users, do you write "only 30% of monthly active users send questions" or "30% of monthly active users actively send questions"? The fact is the same, but the first leaves an impression of low participation, and the second, of lively participation.
What you should be aware of as the person answering is what frame you're using without realizing it. Answering with a negative frame tends to heighten readers' anxiety, and answering with a positive frame tends to give them optimism. What matters is not which one is right, but being aware of which frame you're choosing.