I wonder how does the algorithm in someone's mind determine if the question is helpful to him.
Perhaps user comes to the site to find answers to questions he heard about in the news. When he sees some irrelevant question, it overloads him with information and feeling of being incompetent. So he punishes the question.
Am I missing something? How can I make my questions more helpful?
Please read - How do I ask a good question?.
Some other things to keep in mind:
Don't ask questions that can be easily answered yourself by searching online.
Remember that people are providing their labour and expertise for free here. Respect that and make their jobs easier by highlighting the research done by you and explain why it hasn't answered your question.
Stick to the facts and keep your opinions to a minimum unless it is the basis of your question.
Written communication is easy to misunderstand because of the lack of non-verbal cues. So a "down vote" or a comment requesting some clarification is not an attack on you but often just a misunderstanding. Consider them as feedback and use the edit button freely to update your posts to make it easier to understand.
Political questions, by their very nature, make some people uncomfortable (we all don't share the same political beliefs). So some people may become upset at you due to their own ignorance or political biases. It's not done with any ill-intention. Engage with everyone with the genuine intent to understand each other.
