Hi Noah -- I don't think there is a right answer or one that necessarily falls under "proper etiquette".

I can only answer how I handle what I believe is the intent of your question:

- when I ask a question, I like the answers given.  Like you, it is to acknowledge those who took the time to respond whether I agree with them or not.  

- after a while, I begin to notice or see members who actively participate in this section who I may not have read blogs or comments elsewhere in the forum.  I will try to reciprocate but with a finite amount of time and the difficulty of "finding" people on AR - I no longer make that promise to myself or others.   There are some members who simply answer and not ask - perfectly fine just as there are members who comment yet don't or rarely post.

- although you didn't specifically ask it - the same goes for posts - when I write a post, I like the comments and try to reciprocate comments on their posts when possible.  On my own posts, I answer each if there is a question or if it makes sense to answer individually.  In some cases - a market report -- a blanket or a couple of blanket statements makes more sense to me.  Unfortunately the time issue and remembering this is part of an overall business strategy(and that business for me is selling not writing) prohibits me from achieving it.   We can only do the best we can...

Hmm -- I think this comment may just become a blog post....another amazing thing(for me) that happens with a great amount of regularity in the 'Rain.

I always hit the like button for answers as well as comments. I noticed they do not get points when I like the comments but get point when I like the answers so I reciprocate the comments but may not find time to reciprocate answers.

Noah Seidenberg reciprocation is expected - though not mandatory, whether it's a blog or Q&A.

I am here because I can interact with people and learn a lot from the answers i receive from other members. I do go over answers on others questions, too.

Etiquette? It should be simple - the same as we have in our life - be nice to everyone, even when you have difference of opinion.

Q&A is new to me.  I like it and find the format more laid back and easy to relate to.  I do give likes and enjoy getting them too :)

Noah,

Etiquette implies graciousness and manners, so I think that is the guideline everyone should follow, regardless of what one is doing...

Not assaulting the "Questionner" is rule number one...some questions are asked to invoke "coversation" not necesarily due to a belief.

I'm not sure there is a right etiquette. This is a new area for me as well, but really like it a lot, how much do you want to bet, that gets changed "for the better", at some point. We'll all figure it out together.

Respect and Civility. And they apply to everything we do in our own personal and business life.

I answer questions that mean something to me. Those that don't, I skip. I would appreciate the same consideration from the rest of the community. If my question doesn't interest them, then skip it, no problem.

I never assaulted  Sally K. & David L. Hanson  At least I didn't mean to!

Your serve

Noah Seidenberg I think everyone is learning the new Q&A format. I would say, if you like the response to your question then 'Like' it.

 Good morning North. Great question. I think we are all learning.

If I read you question right this is my answer.  On my blogs if someone makes a comment I always hit the like button.  If I didn't read it right sorry

Gosh I never realized Question & Answer was so complicated.

If I ask a question and I would like to comment on an answer, I do.

If I read a question I might answer it or I might just upvote an existing answer.

That's all.

Noah, I think by clicking the upvote of each comment you are recognizing their contribution by answering your question.  If you want to you can now respond INDIVIDUALLY to each answer that is given to your question to give more personal attention just like someone commenting on a blog post.

I would say a majority of AR members don't make the time or effort to reciprocate on a blog post comment let alone now start reciprocating answers to questions on the member's blog.

UPVOTE the answer and or leave an individual comment on each answer to each person who answers your question.  I DECLARE THAT THE NEW AR ETIQUETTE for how to respond to answering AR Questions.     ^_~

Noah, Not sure of the rules but do click the Upvote button to acknowledge a member's answer. I really enjoy the Q & A and have had great results for questions that I have asked!

Noah- This is new to me as well.  I don't have any set format.  If I ask a question, I'm still not sure if you can respond to each answer or just write a blanket thank you.  For me, I'm still figuring this one out. 

I upvote answers that I think are witty, useful or postitive. I wouldn't go so far as to upvote an answer 'just because'; sometimes people can be nasty on the Q&A. Not usually the case, but I wouldn't reward that kind of response.

I do the same thing. I always hit the like as I appreciate anyone that takes the time to read or respond. We all like to be liked.  LOL

Good evening Noah Seidenberg - nice question that has sparked some good responses. I upvote the answers that I really like- seems silly to upvote all the answers - where does the value come in that? I also will comment on people's answers to my questions if I particularly like the answer.

Aloha Noah,

I think one has the ability to create a depth of involvement, through etiquette, that fosters respectful and constructive conversation in the face of greatly differing opinion. That's why proselytizing appears so intrusive and rude, because fundamentally it's aggression aimed at demeaning dissenting thought.

AR has a well established group think but it's foundation is sharing based not proprietary and the end result is a relatively polite group of professionals who share their experiences openly. It has been my experience here on AR, that the specter of anonymity has not been able to get it's acerbic venom into the community as it has in other social networks, and thus we have been spared much of the anti-social rhetoric and verbal malfeasance rampant in much of Social Media today. 

We blog daily and do not allow comments because we do not have the time to comment to all the nice people who would otherwise comment to us.  As far as Q & A comments, I have myself, given some extremely sarcastic replys to some extremely stupid questions.  Questions that could not possibly be real yet after having done this for 15 years I have now decided that yes, there are really stupid people out there who can pass a real estate test and maybe i should just move on. :)

I think that as we blog and comment we build friendships.  Some of us reciprocate and others don't.  If someone chooses to reciprocate, it's great but not expected.  

The proper thing to do is answer sincerely and upvote the answers you like or appreciate. As for the questions, ask something simple and that you want to know  about. And that kind sir is my real answer. 

Michael nailed this one!