I realized why I don't like questions like Parabolas everywhere and Why linear algebra is fun!(or ?). Part of the problem is the level of the question, but much more of it is that OP gives lots of their own answers, which usually are not the best, in the body of the answer.

I think the issue is that the mechanisms of MO support two very different types of question/answers. I strongly support that technical, research-level questions include lots of background --- what OP is thinking about, what they've tried. This helps the answers better match the question, and helps the rest of us listen in.

But in a big-list CW question, I think it's better for OP to write not very much, and leave their own contributions as separate answers, one-answer-per-answer style. Otherwise there's this funny thing where the let's-sort-answers-by-votes thing can't get OP's contributions off the top of the list.

I don't know if there's much those of us over here on meta can do, except try to influence the culture --- I don't think that all these non-technical questions should be closed. One possibility is that, as the question is CW, I'm perfectly allowed to edit the question and move the contributions to answers. I think I will do that for one of the questions I linked to. But I don't know how else to effect a larger change.

I think T did a good job separating the author's question and his/her good but unfortunately long and rambling example at the linear algebra question. Thank you, T! It's hard to affect the culture in one go, but one has to start somewhere.