The downward slide on Quora started with the 'Top Writers' program, which created an elite tier of contributors who were anointed and then privileged by the pla

The downward slide on Quora started with the 'Top Writers' program, which created an elite tier of contributors who were anointed and then privileged by the platform, rather than voted on by the members. This created an aristocracy who could now guarantee high visibility for even mediocre answers, whilst hugely disincentivising everyone else - especially first time contributors - to even try and make a response. A commentator made the point elsewhere - this type of platform should be a non-profit, maybe a community owned platform.