FAQ, Part Three: Questions and Comments

 

We get questions.

We get a lot of questions.

But there are some questions we get more than others.

This is the third of a multi-part series. As we post questions and answers on the blog, we’ll also add them to the FAQ page!

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• I have a question for the X-Perts! Where should I put it?
• Why haven’t you answered my question yet?
• Why didn’t you publish / why did you delete my comment?
• What else might get a comment deleted?
• I found an e-mail address for Rachel on her professional website / via an article she wrote. Can I send my podcast question there?
• Why haven’t you answered my e-mail yet?

 

I have a question for the X-Perts! Where should I put it?

You can send your question via any of the following means:

• Post it in the comments anywhere on this website.
• Use the website contact form.
• E-mail it to us at xplainthexmen (at) gmail (dot) com.
• Drop it in our Tumblr askbox.
• Tweet it at @xplainthexmen, or hashtag it #xplainthexmen on Twitter.

 

Why haven’t you answered my question yet?

When we get a question–an X-Plaining question, we mean, not, say, an immediate logistical question–we drop it into a massive spreadsheet, from which we then pull questions for the podcast. As of this FAQ, that spreadsheet contains over 300 questions, of which we have so far explicitly answered around 70 (and covered about that many others within the bodies of episodes).

We usually answer 2-3 questions every episode. Here are some of the factors that go into why we do or don’t pick any given questions for any given episode:

• Relevance: We try to pick questions that connect–at least tangentially–to what we’re covering in that episode.
• Novelty: If we’ve covered a question already–either explicitly, or in the body of an episode–we probably won’t revisit it. We’re working on an index of questions we’ve answered in previous episodes; when it’s up, we’ll update this FAQ to reflect that.
• Tone: Are you being a dick? Are you trying to bait us into bad-mouthing creators or other members of our community, or asking something super personal? We are not into that. Is your question a statement of fact or opinion–or a long diatribe–followed by the word “right”? We are also not into that.
• Utility: If your question can be answered with a simple Google search, we will probably not answer it on the podcast.
• Scope: We are good at doing research and entertainingly justifying our opinions. We prefer not to speculate on other people’s private lives and personal motivations, and we don’t have a secret channel to creators’ intentions or the “real” truth about things that have been written inconsistently in canon. If your question is about one of those things, we will probably not answer it.
• Channels: Did you send the question to the podcast contact form, e-mail it to the podcast address put it in our blog comments, ask through the rachelandmiles Tumblr askbox, or tweet to @XplaintheXMen? If not, your question has fallen down the Memory Hole, to be feasted upon by the Memory Eels who dwell therein.

THAT SAID:
There is one and only one way to make absolutely sure we answer your question: a few of our Patreon subscriber levels include a certain number of bespoke answers, which we will hand write, seal with wax, and mail to you in the dead of night. You can find out more about those here.

Why didn’t you publish / why did you delete my comment?

We are super lucky: most of our listeners–at least the ones who comment here–are rad as hell and make the job of moderating the comments incredibly easy. However, sometimes we come across a comment that we would rather not have on our site. Here are some examples of comments we have removed:

• Accidental double-posts. These account for the overwhelming majority of the deletion we have done thus far.
• Posts that contain no content or obviously posted mid-typing.
• Promotional links that have no bearing on the post you’re commenting on or the conversation you’re entering. Our comments section is not free ad space.
• Speculation about creators’ personal lives.
• Speculation about our personal lives.
• Comments about Rachel’s appearance and/or requests that she smile more, take off her sunglasses, &c. (The same would apply to comments about Miles; we just haven’t gotten any).
• Rape jokes or things that are so close to being rape jokes that the line is essentially academic.

 

What else might get a comment deleted?

Off the top of our heads?

• Threats or incitement to violence of any sort directed at real people.
• Blatantly sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise bigoted language.
• Blatant derailing.
• Outing anyone else’s personal information, including real names.
• Use of sock puppets.
• NSFW content, or links to NSFW content without warnings.
• Blatant spoilers for current or very recent media.
• Gratuitous meanness.

Note, however, that these aren’t hard guidelines, nor a comprehensive list. We reserve the right to remove or edit comments according to our judgment (Incidentally: if we alter the text of a comment, we’ll *always* make a note of that within the comment).

I found an e-mail address for Rachel on her professional website / via an article she wrote. Can I send my podcast question there?

You can, but it’ll go straight to the Memory Eels. Seriously, there are like six ways to send a question to the podcast. Use one of those.

Why haven’t you answered my e-mail yet?

We get a lot of e-mail. If it’s something super time-sensitive, please nudge us.