Quora typically starts with a question and finds the best person to answer it. But the Q&A site is mixing things up with its new Writing Sessions.

The feature lets the Quora audience collaborate and assemble a set of queries posed to an expert seeking "interesting questions to answer." Once someone commits to a Writing Session, potentially interested users will be notified and asked to submit questions 24 to 48 hours in advance.

This not only allows the participating guru time to develop well-thought-out responses, but also lets Quora dismiss any unsuitable comments. It also means answers won't be on-the-spot, knee-jerk reactions, which could diminish the experience for some people.

Accepted queries will be posted on the website and mobile app ahead of the live session; upvotes and downvotes determine what order they appear on the page.

Sound familiar? Quora's Writing Sessions look a lot like Reddit's Ask Me Anything (AMA) platform, which has hosted the likes of Bill Gates, President Barack Obama, and numerous others.

But where Reddit often attracts trolls and other unsavory characters hiding behind Internet anonymity, Quora aims to be a more civilized experience for askers and answerers.

"Quora is a knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights," Writing Sessions project lead Abhinav Sharma wrote in a blog entry. "When Quora connects askers to experts, the experience can be amazing."

All Writing Session questions and answers remain in the system as "permanent knowledge."

Keep an eye on Quora's schedule for details on upcoming guests like Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Silicon Valley venture investor Vinod Khosla, and Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards.

This isn't the first time Quora has recycled another social network's ideas: In September 2012, the site introduced homepage trending topics, and later rolled out Stats to highlight user impact, both of which are found on Twitter. But Quora has also launched a number of original features, like a "Top Writers" group, a quick-chat service, and freeform blogs.