asker

It's the right question, but the answer is more complex than the asker usually wants to recognize.

Body language and attitude right after the question is often a good indicator whether the asker expects a response or not.

That green tick mark is never going away - the asker has long since left the website.

The first question implies the asker has been given prior knowledge that they are looking to confirm.

For instance the one about neural networks looks fine now, but you should have seen how the asker behaved..

There seems to be more backlash against the CEO for revoking the offer than the asker.

Part of the problem is the vast echo chamber of Stack Overflow, where every JS question gets a jQuery/Express answer, even when the asker explicitly asks for vanilla JS help.

He sometimes responds to an HN question with overwhelming value that often surprises the asker.

In some cases, the asker might already know with certainty that they don't like cigars, but they're looking to bring up the subject of cigars and that's their icebreaker.

In the US, the sincerity of the asker can vary quite a bit; when I ask I usually want to actually know how someone is doing.

I could state this as my answer to the question, but the asker is either just making smalltalk and doesn't need a dissertation, or they actually think the question is meaningful and won't appreciate my disdain.

I don't think the question asked makes the asker anti-patent.

If "rank and file" just need to follow rules and do as asked, the asker is far better off asking a computer.

As other people have pointed out, this doesn't exactly arrive at a "root" cause, just a convenient one for the asker.

Acceptable responses to "How are you?": "Fine, thanks." - Tells the asker that you may not be up for conversation.

When a question is deleted on StackOverflow, it's hidden entirely - direct link or not - except to users with at least 10k in "reputation", and I think to the question asker.