Yahoo! Answers

Yahoo! Answers at http://answers.yahoo.com/.

Plot: A question and answer forum provided by Yahoo!. Members are allowed to ask and answer questions. To encourage responses, rewards are offered through a point system.

Genre: Question and Answer, Websites

Reading Level: Users must provide a name, valid e-mail account, and other information. As such, younger users may need caution before using. Also, answers are not edited for terms or content, so be aware.

Personal Thoughts: The site was a major disappointment. Review the criteria:


1. Accuracy (+1) +1...sort of. While the answers were accurate, they were extremely vague.
2. Direction to further information (other sites, books, etc.) (+1 per resource) + 0
3. Speed of response (+1 if given within 24 hours) +1

Points will be taken away for:

1. Inaccuracy (-1) -1; see response to accuracy.
2. Joke, troll, or unrelated responses (-1 per response) -1
3. Direction to Wikipedia (-1) + 0

Yahoo!Answers is a free site with free responses. While the point system encourages accurate responses, "answerers" that continue to offer poor responses are in no way limited or punished, diminishing the quality of answers. Additionally, users are not required (or encouraged) to verify information or provide links to their sources. As such, the site is more of a "use at your own risk" rather than a reliable resource.