Halo effect
Overview
The halo effect is a cognitive bias in which one standout trait of something spills over into how its other traits are judged. Edward Thorndike reported it in 1920 in a study of personnel ratings in the military. The "halo" is the ring of light drawn above a saint's head, and the name comes from the image of one good impression lighting up the whole.
Good-looking people tend to be seen as having good personalities, graduates of famous universities tend to be seen as good at their jobs, and people with many followers tend to be seen as right in what they say. These are all examples of the halo effect. On the other hand, when one bad impression drags down the whole, it's called the "horn effect."
Question boxes and the halo effect
In question boxes, the halo effect works in two ways. First, there's the halo effect on the person answering. They have lots of followers, they've had answers go viral, they know famous people. With that kind of "halo," people tend to think "this person's answers are interesting" regardless of what the answers actually say. On the other hand, the same answer from someone with few followers gets less attention.
Next, there's the halo effect on questions. A question written politely tends to feel like a "good question," and a question written sloppily tends to feel like a "silly question." But how interesting a question really is and how polite its writing is are two different things. A blunt one-liner can get right to the heart of things, and a polite long message can have nothing in it.
Being aware of the halo effect
You can't eliminate the halo effect completely, but being aware of it helps soften its influence. As the person answering, focus on the content of the question itself, not on its writing style or your impression of whoever sent it. Instead of "this question is sloppily written, so I'll give a quick answer," think about "what's the core of this question?"
As a sender, judge the content of an answer with your own head, without being swayed by the popularity or fame of the person answering. Just because someone with 100,000 followers says it doesn't mean it's right. The halo effect is a shortcut your brain uses to "save the cost of thinking." When you notice that shortcut, you get closer to making more accurate judgments.