Yahoo! Answers is a disaster
According to James Derk in his Scripps Howard syndicated column, Yahoo! Answers is now a disaster. He says it was once useful but now is overrun with spam, chat-happy posters and others who simply disregard the guidelines knowing there will be little to no retribution.I have to agree, sort of. It hasn't become the putrid cesspool the Yahoo! News Message Boards are, but can I see it coming.












Comments
6
Subscribe to commentsDMAug 7th 2006 9:13AM
I always preferred metafilter instead of yahoo. They seem to have a better control of things.
Jonathan HarfordAug 7th 2006 9:23AM
Ha! The only part where I disagree is the idea that Yahoo Answers has ever been useful. Yahoo Answers is great to find answers to a question that's similar to the one you asked. (Example: Q. "What's a good mp3 player besides the iPod?" A. "Apple sells a great mp3 player called the iPod!") I, too, prefer Ask Metafilter when I actually want a useful answer.
Claudiu SpulberAug 7th 2006 9:41AM
I agree, I answered a couple of times but I got bored after. They lack stimulation. If they would give some prizes (gadgets, trips ...) for top users, would be more appealing. Without stimulation is just another service created just-because-competition-offers-one-too.
ToddZAug 7th 2006 10:52AM
This is news? I knew Yahoo Answers was useless upon first glance. It's not Yahoo's fault, though. They have a huge user base, and simply opening the floodgates to a Q&A service resulted in an enormous signal-to-noise ratio. "Answers" was immediately drowned in people who clearly don't know how to use the web. Witness a sampling of current questions:
Does anyone know of a free software that allows me to enter school grades?
I'm buying & selling used computor, Electronic goods in big or small quatity.?
My car's fender have been hit lightly,how can I fix it?
How can religious people continue to believe so many things that have been proven wrong?
Whats the simplest way to maintain plush toys?
How do I make an online game more challenging?
how do i search for someone who might be a yahoo customer?
IF i am not Jewish but i had sex with a Jewish girl does the Jewish get mad than now they mix with my blood?
how to open a food stall at woodstock?
how do i get free sponsership for college or university?
What is a type of dog to keep inside that does not shead and is easy to house train?
David ProvostAug 7th 2006 11:01AM
Some time ago someone posted "What's the worst possible question to Ask MetaFilter?" to Ask MetaFilter. The responses were hilarious, and someone went and asked a few choice ones on Yahoo Answers. It was hilarious and awful. I'll try to find the actual thread from AskMe when I get home from work.
P.S. TailAug 8th 2006 8:45PM
David: that was actually on Metachat, a Mefi offshoot.