Private Q&A's?

Question

Should YA place a small Icon on the avatar of those members who have made their Q&A's Private?

It would influence how much sincerity you would apportion to someones answer and whether their answer to any particular question was a true reflection of their thoughts, or just a wind up!

Hi LouLou

Thanks for the answer, however, I have trouble understanding the meaning behind "Trolling", I am honestly not aware it and have never ( I bekieve) suffered from it.
Would a "Private Q&A Icon" next to a trolls avatar not prevent "Trolling"?

Tell me more

Hi gazzo28

Very informative thankyou, but why have the YA members not banded together and contact YA to make changes to the system?
Enough members contacting YA would surely force them to at least look at the process and hopefully make changes.
We are all apparently falling into the Uk trap of appathy, we sit back and let things continue rather than trying to alter them.

Would it do any good for someone on here to construct and email to YA and for all users in agreement to be sent a copy of it to send to YA,
Perhaps mentioning that violations, trolling etc should be looked into and even a proposal for their remedies.

So if many attempts have been made to resolve this issue with YA without success, why haven't the members trying for change threatened to leave YA.

If enough members are involved, YA would hate the thought of it's members moving to other sites and perhaps posting bad YA publicity on those sites.

Or has this already been tried?

How many members are affected by these "Trolls"?

How many members have had to hide their Q&Q's even though they did not want to?

Hi Eden

Sorry you have had such a sh!t time, I didn't mean to open a can of worms for you. It's just that over the past couple of weeks, with the two sides of the Maddie fiasco and all the suspicion and insults being hurled, I have noticed that YA is going down hill rapidly.

You now dont know if the person you are talking to is actually that person or some clone.
If a question is answered with one unfortunate word on any aprticular subject, you are immediately classed as belongong to some camp or other.

The atmosphere is really bad on here for everyone.

Some dont care, those who do will know what I am talking about and know that the site is going downhill fast.

1 dalek of yahoo

Thanks for the links and yes I note that it has been going on for 5 months+.
However, everyone is still using the site.
Why would YA make any changes if the members do not use their feet in protest?

Answer 1

I've been here almost 18 months and made the decision last week to hide my network and my questions and answers after being the target of a bullying campaign in which a few members decided I was responsible for every new troll that arrived, for every violation they received and for anything else they chose to pin on me, it resulted in my good honest reputation being ripped to shreads, people blocking me and at one stage a repulsive psoter dragged my child into it and talked about 'fiddling' with her. Even now I feel very uncomfortable in this category, although I refuse to take on a new ID and I still post anywhere else without a scrap of trouble.
Yahoo are fully aware of the situation on here, I phoned them several times last week and the week before, but all they tell you is, 'the situation is being looked at'. Eventually I read a post in which someone mentioned a friend they had whose uncle worked for a firm of lawyers that are taking on test cases to deal with internet bullying/stalking etc. We corresponded a few times and I am now in the process of compiling a file to send them with all the vicious and vile posts that I managed to copy before they were deleted.
I have been told by the lawyer concerned that yahoo will probably continue to do nothing because they consider their disclaimer covers them, however by allowing the harrassment that is going on here they are also in breach of their own terms and conditions and it is this that may set the precedent for more solicitors to take on cases.
It's useless telling yahoo anything, and the survey that's doing the rounds at the moment is just a little sweetener to make us think they are interested.
Blocking is useful, and unless you actually add a person as a contact they cannot view your questions and answers, they can add you but that does not give them access to your posts unless you reciprocate. It's sad we have to do this, just as a lot of us have now taken to adding codewords to any e-mails we send because otherwise, as happened to me again during the peak of the hate campaign, certain members cloned my ID and sent out e-mails which I had nothing to do with.
Sadly there are some on this board who love the disharmoney and were happy to join in, they only realise how distressing it is when they find themselves being a target. So now I protect myself any way I can by keeping things as private as possible, it does ruin the purpose of the board but I never ever want to read the disgusting posts I had to wade through to protect my daughter's identity, and if this prevents that, then so be it

Answer 2

I have been here for a year and made my Q&A private last week. I avoided doing so for a long time, because like many have said, the Answers site is for sharing knowledge.

Those who don't understand why many people hide their profiles need to either get more experience of the site or think harder about it from another perspective. Some of the people who keep their network private are trolling. Many are simply protecting themselves.

A couple of months ago, people who were only here to help people, share knowledge, and have fun were being targetted badly by trolls. The latter would follow them around, get many of their questions and answers deleted, and persist until accounts were suspended due to an enormous number of undeserved violation notices. (Anyone who would argue that there's no such thing as an undeserved violation notice DEFINITELY needs more experience of the site. The system is largely automated.)

This has continued. Hence the private Q&A. The real question should be: how sad is it that we should have to do this anyway, thanks to stupid and immature fools who like to go around trolling?

Yahoo are well aware of the problem, as it is frequently reported and discussed through the YA Suggestion Board (click the 'Forum' link on the top right of any Answers page to get to it), through both personal and group emails, through Yahoo Groups campaigns, through the Yahoo Answers blog responses, through surveys, ad infinitum.

I like to be able to see other people's answers too, and to share my own, but it can be difficult.

Answer 3

Well said Eden (with whom I am in contact already), My Brother is a barrister and last night I started the ball rolling with regard the defamation that has gone on here. This category is a bit like The island of Manhattan in Escape from New York, almost all the decent, intelligent people have left the mob to it. I have been spending time the last few days trying to get someone to take on the libellous slander such as: Gerry Mccann serving little Maddie up on a smorgasbord to paedophiles, hopefully with my brothers connections things will start moving. I have made hard copies as well as computer files of the disgusting things I have read on here, if anyone has any further evidence they are prepared to let me have, I promise there will be real repercussions and ramifications for the guilty. I feel a sense of hope, Eden I'll email you the full info, I promise it will lift your spirits. Tremendous strides have been made in the availabiity and access of programmes that trace physical addresses through IP addresses. Any victims of the anti McCann mob, have faith, we're on our way. May I also add that any vicious, libellous questions or answers may also be sent to : [e-mail], he deals with Internet stories and he would be grateful for copies sent to him.

Answer 4

I have made my network private as recently I have found that a least 2 people have been going through all my questions and answersand either thumbing them down (even when I have in fact put a correct answer and no on else has received any) or have been reporting them. I have had the most stupid violations for no reason at all for answering genuine questions in all categories. I do not want to lose this account as I have been told I will lose my e mail account as well. This would make it very difficult for me as I also use it through my business.
I am always willing for anyone to be a contact of mine so they can look through my past Q & A's.

Answer 5

Most people who make them private have nothing to hide!
Leaving your Q&A open leaves you open for stalkers and trolls who can go through your history and report all your past questions and submissions. The 'report abuse' is an automated system so even the most innocent or best answer can be reported and upheld if enough users report it.
If these trolls are organised and don't like you for whatever reason, they will encourage their friends to join in reporting you and effectively 'nuke' your account.

Answer 6

You wrote "We are all apparently falling into the Uk trap of appathy, we sit back and let things continue rather than trying to alter them."

Mate, have you read the answers so far, they answer that one for you. Yahoo doesn't give a damn! LOOK at how much they bother to listen to the suggestion board:

5 months old, still going: http://suggestions.yahoo.com/detail/?prop=answers&fid=11333
http://suggestions.yahoo.com/detail/?prop=answers&fid=12526

Answer 7

Sorry we get to know it all sweet cheeks. It's like dating but knowing their medical history, if they had the herp then oh hell now i aint playin hide the salami with them. maybe play puff the magic dragon

Answer 8

I've had to set my profile to private as I had an internet stalker/troll going through my Q's and A's and my contacts too. Luckily he/she seems to have given up for now, but he/she could return at anytime.

Answer 9

I recently made my Q&As private because someone was following me around and reporting me for every single question I posted, no matter the subject. None of them were at all worthy of violation.

That's why I choose to keep mine private, and I expect that's why most other people choose to do it.

Answer 10

A lot of people have chose to hide their q&a because people were getting violations for everything they posted and because you could see all their q&a everything they did was reported. This was at a peak a few weeks ago. If you want to see those Q&A try and add the person as a contact then you might be able to see them.

I can understand what you are saying though.