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{{Infobox Website | name = Yahoo! Answers | logo = [[Image:Yahoo!Answers.png]] | screenshot = | caption = Yahoo! Answers home page as of May 7, 2010. | url = [http://answers.yahoo.com answers.yahoo.com] | commercial = Yes | type = [[Collaboration]] | language = Chinese, English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese | registration = Yes | owner = [[Yahoo!]] | author = [[Yahoo!]] | launch date = July 5, 2005 | current status = Active }} '''Yahoo! Answers''' (Formerly known as '''Yahoo! Q & A''') is a community-driven question-and-answer (Q&A) site launched by [[Yahoo!]] on July 5, 2005 that allows users to both submit questions to be answered and answer questions asked by other users. The site gives members the chance to earn points as a way to encourage participation and is based on [[Naver|Naver's]] [[Knowledge Search|Knowledge iN]]. Yahoo! Answers is available in 12 languages, but several Asian sites operate a different platform which allows for non-Latin characters. The platform is known as {{nihongo|'''Yahoo! Chiebukuro'''|Yahoo!知恵袋}} in Japan<ref>[http://chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp Yahoo! Chiebukuro Website]</ref>, and '''Yahoo! Knowledge''' in Korea, Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong {{Citation needed|date=June 2010}}. An Arabic language Q&A platform called '''Seen Jeem''' is available through the Yahoo! subsidiary [[Maktoob]]. Yahoo! Answers was created to replace '''Ask Yahoo!''', their former Q&A platform which was discontinued in March 2006.<ref>[http://searchengineland.com/061213-085832.php Yahoo Answers Birthday: One Year Old<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Yahoo! Answers is the second most popular Q&A site in the US after [[Answers.com]], according to comScore.<ref name=TechCrunch>[http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/15/whos-scorched-up-comscore-in-september-you-ask/ Who’s Scorched Up comScore In September, You Ask? - October 15, 2009]</ref> ==Site operation== Any question is allowed on Yahoo! Answers, except ones that violate the Yahoo! Answers community guidelines.<ref>[http://answers.yahoo.com/info/community_guidelines.php Community guidelines]</ref> To encourage good answers, helpful participants are occasionally featured on the Yahoo! Answers Blog. Though the service itself is free, the content of answers are owned by the respective users — while Yahoo! maintains a non-exclusive royalty-free worldwide right to publish the information.<ref>[http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Akv2Dl_I86xJes8iU685E5Dsy6IX?qid=20061205194905AA4o4tE What is the copyright status of responses submitted to Yahoo! Answers? Can good info be moved to Wikipedia?] from Yahoo! Answers.</ref> Chat is explicitly forbidden in the Community Guidelines, although categories like politics and religion/spirituality are mostly opinion.<ref name=UMich>[http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=6495 Users of Yahoo Answers seek advice, opinion, expertise - April 21, 2008]</ref> Users may also choose to reveal their [[Yahoo! Messenger]] ID on their Answers profile page. In order to open an account a user needs a Yahoo! ID, but can use any name as identification on Yahoo! Answers. A user can be represented by a picture from Yahoo! Avatars or an uploaded picture. When answering a question, a user can perform a Yahoo! or Wikipedia search for research. Questions are initially open to answers for four days. However, the asker can choose to close the question after a minimum of four hours or extend it for a period of up to eight days.<ref>[http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/answers/ask/ask-55800.html Yahoo! Answers Help]</ref> To ask a question one has to have a Yahoo! account with a positive score balance of five points or more. The points system is weighted to encourage users to answer questions and to limit [[Forum spam|spam]] questions. There are also levels (with point thresholds) which give more site access.<ref name=PointSystem>[http://answers.yahoo.com/info/scoring_system Yahoo! Answers - Point System<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Aside from this, points and levels have no real world value, cannot be traded, and serve only to indicate how active a user has been on the site. A notable downside to the points/level side is that it encourages people to answer questions even when they do not have a suitable answer to give, in order to gain points. Users also receive ten points for contributing the "Best Answer" which is selected by the question's asker or voted on by the community. Contributors often vote for their own answer regardless of its quality or appropriateness. On the other hand, many people ask questions not to gain more knowledge. <u>Level / points table</u> # 1–249 # 250–999 # 1,000–2,499 # 2,500–4,999 # 5,000–9,999 # 10,000–24,999 # 25,000+ In addition to points awarded for activity,<ref name=PointSystem/> Yahoo! Answers staff may also award extra points if they are impressed with a user's contributions.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Yahoo! Answers Suggestion Board | url = http://suggestions.yahoo.com/detail/?prop=answers&fid=180738 | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5mnFYrHQy | archivedate = 2010-01-15}}</ref> The Yahoo! Answers community manager has stated that "power users" who defend the company should be thanked and rewarded.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Managing the Mob: What to do when things go wrong | url = http://www.socialtext.net/ocu2009/index.cgi?managing_the_mob_what_to_do_when_things_go_wrong | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5lU4w6zw0 | archivedate = 2009-11-22}}</ref> ==Badges== ===Top Contributor=== The point system encourages users to answer as many questions as they possibly can, up to their daily limit. Once a user shows that they are knowledgeable within a specific category they may receive an orange "badge" under the name of their avatar naming them a '''Top Contributor'''. The user can then lose this badge if they do not maintain their level and quality of participation.<ref>[http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/answers/network/contributor.html Yahoo! Answers help - What is a "Top Contributor"?]</ref> Once a user becomes a "Top Contributor" in any category, the badge appears in all answers, questions, and comments by the user regardless of category. One can be a Top Contributor of maximum 3 categories.<ref>[http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/answers/network/contributor.html]</ref> List of Top contributors is updated every Monday.<ref name="help.yahoo.com">http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/answers/network/contributor.html</ref> Yahoo answers staff has kept conditions of becoming a TC secret. However, many theories among users exist like: * User wanting to become a TC must have more than or equal to 12% Best answers. * User should be at least on level 2. Although, some first level users with TC Badge have claimed to be seen. Out of these, none have an official status.<ref name="help.yahoo.com"/> This feature began March 8, 2007. ===Staff=== This badge is seen under the name staff members of Yahoo Answers.<ref>http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/answers/badges/badges-02.html;_ylt=Al2lQWwdHYk5Km6p3WofdMa34CR4</ref> ===Official=== This type of badge is found on the name of celebrites (like mentioned above) and government departments like tourism department. <ref>http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/answers/badges/badges-02.html;_ylt=Al2lQWwdHYk5Km6p3WofdMa34CR4</ref> ==Criticism== ===Quality=== The site has been criticized as being more about [[social networking]] than providing accurate information.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2179393/pagenum/all/ |title=A Librarian's Worst Nightmare: Yahoo! Answers, where 120 million users can be wrong. |first=Jacob |last=Leibenluft |publisher=Slate |date=2007-12-07}}</ref> Researchers found that questions seeking factual information received few answers and that the knowledge on Yahoo! Answers is not very deep.<ref name=UMich/> Even though members can be academic experts and researchers, Yahoo! Answers' target group and majority is primarily the mainstream; hence, it has been criticized for both its high quantity of dubious questions such as "How is babby formed?" (which sparked an [[internet meme]]), "How to download some water?", "Why are there school?", and "Do midgets have night vision?" and the reliability, validity, and relevance of its answers. A 2008 study found Yahoo! Answers is suboptimal for questions requiring factual answers and that the quality decreases as the number of users increases.<ref>{{Cite web | last1 = Liu | first1 = Yandong | last2 = Agichtein | first2 = Eugene | title = On the Evolution of the Yahoo! Answers QA Community | year = 2008 | url = http://www.mathcs.emory.edu/~eugene/papers/sigir2008p-cqa-evolution.pdf | postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref> The number of low-intellect questions and answers has made the site a target of ridicule.<ref>{{Cite news | author = JR Raphael | title = The 20 Dumbest Questions on Yahoo Answers | periodical = PC World | date = December 17, 2009 | url = http://www.pcworld.com/article/184999/the_20_dumbest_questions_on_yahoo_answers.html | accessdate = May 24, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | last = Ahmed | first = Murad | title = Ask a silly question... | newspaper = The Times | location = London | date = January 3, 2009 | url = http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/microtrends/article5388095.ece | accessdate = May 24, 2010 | postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref> The site does not have a system that filters the correct answers from the incorrect answers. It only allows the user community to choose the best answer from a line-up of answers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122981801892624313.html |title=Looking for a Few Good Answers Online |first=Julia |last=Angwin |publisher=WSJ |date=2008-12-23}}</ref><ref>[http://www.yahoo7answersblog.com/b4/2006/05/07/product-updates-may-2006/ Product updates – May 2006 - May 7, 2006]</ref> Yahoo answers often deletes questions which do not violate any community guidelines.<ref>http://www.reference.com/browse/Yahoo!_Answers</ref> ===Privacy=== Some privacy concerns have been raised regarding embarrassing or private information. Users are unable to delete questions or answers once a best answer has been selected and users can't delete their account. A user can only "deactivate" an account but the profile, questions, and answers remain visible and searchable.<ref>[http://calitorial.webs.com/faq.htm Calimecita's unofficial YA tutorial]</ref> ==Promotions and events== ===Yamster=== <gallery>Image:GemmyKungFuHamster.jpg|A Gemmy Kung Fu Hamster toy inspired the Yamster. Image:YahooAnswersGreenSmiley.png|The Yahoo! Answers green smiley. Image:YahooYamster.gif|Current cartoon Yamster used by staff. </gallery> The official Yahoo! Answers mascot is a cartoon hamster called "Yamster". Yamster is a combination, or [[portmanteau]], of the words Yahoo!, Answers, and hamster. The mascot is also used as an avatar for Yahoo! Answers staff.<ref>[http://answers.yahoo.com/my/profile?show=AA10030221 Yahoo! Answers Team's Profile]</ref> During beta testing of Yahoo! Answers in 2005, the Director of Product Management would use a Gemmy Kung Fu Hamster to summon employees to meetings. The toy was a battery-operated, dancing, musical plush hamster clothed in a karate uniform. A Yahoo! Answers employee selected a photo of the toy as the staff avatar.<ref>{{Cite web | title = MyThings - View Item: KungFu Hamster | url = http://www.mythings.com/viewitem.aspx?itemid=2849 | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5lBgVhcHx | archivedate = 2009-11-10}}</ref> A user then questioned the potential trademark/copyright infringement of using such an avatar. At that time, the photo was replaced with the Yahoo! Answers green smiley face. At the beginning of 2006, the green smiley face was replaced by the cartoon Yamster clad in a karate uniform.<ref>[http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060717125933AAijXHX What is the history of the Yahoo! Answers Hamster?]</ref> As of November 2009, the history of Yamster, complete with photos of the toy, was available on the Yahoo! Answers Team Vietnam blog.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Y! Answers _ Yamster | url = http://vn.myblog.yahoo.com/y_hd_hn/article?mid=8 | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5lLBW3ER4 | archivedate = 2009-11-16}}</ref> ===Answers On The Street=== Beginning July 2, 2007, Yahoo! Answers began featuring weekly video segments called "Yahoo! Answers On The Street." Hosted by [[J. Keith van Straaten]], the 3-4 minute videos draw on questions from the Answers community and mix together expert interviews with comedic man-on-the-street pieces. A new episode is posted every Monday, with previous episodes archived. ===Special guests=== Several celebrities and notables have appeared on Yahoo! Answers to ask questions. These users have an "official" badge below their avatar and on their profile page. During the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 U.S. Presidential campaign]] [[Hillary Clinton]], [[John McCain]], [[Barack Obama]], and [[Mitt Romney]] posted questions on Yahoo! Answers in addition to YouTube.<ref>{{cite web | first = Elinor | last = Mills | title = Presidential candidates to appear on YouTube | url = http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-6175305-7.html | work = CNET News | date = April 11, 2007 | accessdate = 2009-04-10}}</ref> In an awareness campaign, "UNICEF Up Close 2007", nine [[UNICEF]] ambassadors asked questions.<ref>{{cite web | title = Yahoo Answers Unicef And Widgets Vista | url = http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/01/30/yahoo-answers-unicef-and-widgets-vista | publisher = WebProNews | date = January 30, 2007| accessdate = 2009-04-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = UNICEF Up Close 2007 | url = http://answers.yahoo.com/info/unicef/ | year = 2007 | accessdate = 2009-04-10}}</ref> The launch of Answers on Yahoo! India included a question from [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]], the President of India at that time.<ref>{{cite web | title = `Yahoo! Answers' launched | work = The Hindu Business Line | publisher = The Hindu Group | date = January 14, 2007 | url = http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/01/14/stories/2007011401840500.htm | accessdate = 2009-04-10}}</ref> Other guests have included international leaders ([[Queen Rania of Jordan]] [http://answers.yahoo.com/my/profile?show=gW7fcvJWaa], candidate for [[United Nations Secretary-General]], [[Shashi Tharoor]] [http://answers.yahoo.com/my/profile?show=yH7Kn6c9aa]), [[Nobel Peace Prize]] laureates ([[Al Gore]]<ref name=hawking>{{cite news | author = Ian Sample | title = Hawking turns to Yahoo for answers to his big question | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/jul/08/news.science | work = The Guardian | date = July 8, 2006 | accessdate = 2009-04-11 }}</ref><ref name = answeral>{{cite web | author = Michele Herman | title = Answer Al Gore's Question, Win a Prius | url = http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6345883.html | work = Extra Helping | publisher = School Library Journal | date = June 23, 2006 | accessdate = 2009-04-11 }}</ref>, [[Muhammad Yunus]] [http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061206123456AA1eYAL]) and other international activists ([[Bono]]<ref name=hawking />, [[Jean-Michel Cousteau]] [http://answers.yahoo.com/my/profile;_ylt=Algztat5wCyKkbSU7w4lg__py6IX?show=UV2sdWiiaa]), intellectuals ([[Stephen Hawking]]<ref name=hawking />, [[Marilyn vos Savant]]<ref name = answeral />), and numerous other celebrities. ==Site statistics== Yahoo! used comScore statistics in December 2006 to proclaim Yahoo! Answers "the leading Q&A site on the web".<ref>{{Cite press release | title = Yahoo! Answers Celebrates One Year of Knowledge and Success as Poll Reveals Use and Influence of Q&A Sites | publisher = Business Wire | date = 13 December 2006 | url = http://yhoo.client.shareholder.com/press/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=222275 | accessdate = 15 November 2009 | archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/5lJoqX2Gc | archivedate = 2009-11-15}}</ref> Currently Yahoo! Answers is ranked as the second most popular Q&A site on the web by comScore.<ref name=TechCrunch/><ref>{{Cite press release | title = Answers.com Announces September comScore Rank of #13, up from #18 in August | publisher = Business Wire | date = 15 October 2009 | url = http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS117901+15-Oct-2009+BW20091015 | accessdate = 15 November 2009 }}</ref> The slogan "The world's leading Q&A site" has since been adopted by Answers.com. Yahoo! Answers staff claim 200 million users worldwide<ref name=DecBlog>[http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/12/14/yahoo-answers-hits-200-million-visitors-worldwide/ Yahoo! Answers hits 200 million visitors - December 14, 2009]</ref> and 15 million users visiting daily.<ref name=OctBlog>[http://yanswersblog.com/index.php/archives/2009/10/05/did-you-know/ Did you know? - October 5, 2009]</ref> Google Trends reports around 4 million unique visitors (Global) daily.<ref>[http://trends.google.com/websites?q=answers.yahoo.com Google Trends for Yahoo! Answers]</ref> The web analytics website [[Quantcast]] reports around 2 million unique visitors (US) daily.<ref name=Quantcast>[http://www.quantcast.com/answers.yahoo.com Quantcast profile for Yahoo! Answers]</ref> Quantcast traffic statistics for Yahoo! Answers, January 2010: *24,201,619 People per Month (US) *62,171,200 Visits per Month (US) Google Ad Planner traffic statistics for Yahoo! Answers, December 2009:<ref>[https://www.google.com/adplanner/site_profile#siteDetails?identifier=answers.yahoo.com Site profile for Yahoo! Answers]</ref> *26,000,000 Unique visitors (users) (US) *110,000,000 Total visits (US) [[Compete.com|Compete Site Analytics]] traffic statistics for Yahoo! Answers, December 2009:<ref>[http://siteanalytics.compete.com/answers.yahoo.com/ Site Profile for answers.yahoo.com]</ref> *33,090,163 Unique Visitors (US) *64,928,634 Visits (US) Yahoo! Answers represents between 1.03%<ref>[http://weblogs.hitwise.com/us-heather-hopkins/2009/03/yahoo_mail_more_than_one_third.html Yahoo! Mail More than One Third of Yahoo! Traffic - March 05, 2009]</ref> to 1.7%<ref>[http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/yahoo.com yahoo.com Site Info]</ref> of Yahoo! traffic. ==Further reading== * {{Cite news | last1 = Gomes | first1 = Lee | title = Got a question? Yahoo has an answer – kind of | newspaper = The Wall Street Journal (reprint) | date = 2006-07-13 | url = http://recall.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060713/news_lz1n13yahoo.html | postscript = <!--None--> }} * {{Cite news | last1 = Gomes | first1 = Lee | title = Portals: Success, greed in the new economy of web point payouts | newspaper = The Wall Street Journal (reprint) | date = 2006-08-23 | url = http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06235/715694-96.stm | postscript = <!--None--> }} ==See also== * [[Askville]] * [[Answerbag]] * [[MetaFilter|Ask MetaFilter]] * [[FunAdvice.com|FunAdvice]] * [[GirlsAskGuys]] * [[Google Answers]] * [[Hunch (website)|Hunch]] * [[Knowledge Search]] * [[Wiki Answers]] ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{Official|http://answers.yahoo.com}} * [http://seenjeem.maktoob.com/ Seen Jeem] * [http://suggestions.yahoo.com/?prop=answers Yahoo! Answers Suggestion Board] * [http://developer.yahoo.com/answers/ Answers API] * [http://ask.yahoo.com/ Ask Yahoo!], Yahoo!'s former Q&A site, now merged with Answers * [http://code.google.com/p/pynswers/ Python wrapper over Answers API] {{Yahoo! Inc.}} [[Category:Collaboration]] [[Category:Community websites]] [[Category:Knowledge markets]] [[Category:Yahoo!]] [[Category:Social information processing]] [[Category:Internet properties established in 2005]]

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