Do you think a person's Yahoo Answers account should be suspended?

Question

for any of the following reasons? Please put a "yes" or "no" next to each, and add any details you like. I'm not trying to stir trouble here, this is a serious question. Thank you.

1. The person is racist/bigoted.
2. The person is a chauvinist.
3. The person is a feminist.
4. The person is religious.
5. The person is non-religious.
6. The person has a political bias.
7. The person is gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered.
8. The person dislikes gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered people.
9. The person is old.
10. The person is young.
11. The person is American.
12. The person is non-American.
13. The person is patriotic.
14. The person is anarchistic.
15. The person is rude.
16. The person is polite.
17. The person is honest.
18. The person is dishonest.

What an incredible response! Thanks you! This is the most I've ever gotten to a question.

Yes, there was a point to all of this, and it's a point that I intend to make to Yahoo in very clear terms. I am also going to be copying all of this and saving it to my blog, in case they decide to take it down here after I show them a major flaw with the system.

I woke up this morning and discovered that an account that I've had here for more than a year was suspended. I don't really think I deserved it, and was quite surprised. I've heard that it's permanant, and I have filed an appeal, but I'm not expecting much from it. I have a feeling that over 13,000 points, over 400 Best Answers, 35 Contacts, and over 40 fans is gone forever, and nothing sucks worse here than being a Level 1, especially after you've put a year into getting to Level 6.

Here is how your voting worked out. Giving Yahoo the benefit of the doubt, I gave a "yes" vote to anything that you made unclear.

These numbers represent the percentages of you that said "No, an account should not be suspended for the reason"

1. The person is racist/bigoted.58%
2. The person is a chauvinist. 78%
3. The person is a feminist. 87%
4. The person is religious. 97%
5. The person is non-religious. 97%
6. The person has a political bias. 94%
7. The person is gay/lesbian/bisexual/
transgendered. 97%
8. The person dislikes gay/lesbian/
bisexual/transgendered people. 84%
9. The person is old. 97%
10. The person is young. 90%
11. The person is American. 97%
12. The person is non-American. 97%
13. The person is patriotic. 97%
14. The person is anarchistic. 91%
15. The person is rude. 68%
16. The person is polite. 97%
17. The person is honest. 97%
18. The person is dishonest. 81%

Now, I'm sure that many of you are wondering, and some might already know or think they know, what of these things am I actually guilty of. That's the funny part. I'll say "no" if I've not done it, and "yes" if I have. Fair enough?

1. The person is racist/bigoted. NO
2. The person is a chauvinist. YES
3. The person is a feminist. NO
4. The person is religious. YES
5. The person is non-religious. YES
6. The person has a political bias. YES, anti-liberal, NOT pro-anything
7. The person is gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered. NO
8. The person dislikes gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered people. YES, but never rude or slurred.
9. The person is old. NO
10. The person is young. NO
11. The person is American. YES
12. The person is non-American. YES
13. The person is patriotic. NO
14. The person is anarchistic. NO
15. The person is rude. YES, opinions vary, some think not
16. The person is polite. YES
17. The person is honest. YES
18. The person is dishonest. NO

2. Chauvinist - Never insulted anyone with it. 78% think it shouldn't matter.
4. Religious - I've stated I believe in a God. 97% think it shouldn't matter.
5. Non-Religious - I've never pushed religion on anyone else. 97% think it shouldn't matter.
6. Political bias - I'm a rationalist, and I oppose the liberals, but I support no "party." 94% think it shouldn't matter.
8. Dislikes G/L/B/T. I disagree, but never rudely or insulting. 84% think it shouldn't matter.
11. American. 97% think it shouldn't matter.
12. Non-American. 97% think it shouldn't matter.
15. Rude - subject to opinion, some think I'm just blunt. 68% think it shouldn't matter.
16. Polite. 97% think it shouldn't matter.
17. Honest. 97% think it shouldn't matter.

Staying hopelessly in the majority, my Level 6 account was suspended. Is this system flawed?
The numbers don't lie.

It's time for Yahoo to wake up.

Answer 1

No to all.

Answer 2

1. The person is racist/bigoted. - If it becomes a problem and they're being insulting, yes.
2. The person is a chauvinist. Same as the first.
3. The person is a feminist. Not necessarily BEING a feminist, but if you're being insulting because of it, yes - it violates the TOS.
4. The person is religious. No
5. The person is non-religious. No, but they shouldn't insult those who are.
6. The person has a political bias. Not necessarily
7. The person is gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered. Definitely not, there's a whole section for that.
8. The person dislikes gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered people. Only if they purposely hang out in that particular section to start trouble.
9. The person is old. No.
10. The person is young. No.
11. The person is American. No.
12. The person is non-American. No.
13. The person is patriotic. No.
14. The person is anarchistic. No, unless it becomes insulting or otherwise violates the TOS.
15. The person is rude. Yes, there's no call for that.
16. The person is polite. No.
17. The person is honest. Not necessarily, but there's a difference between honest and tactful.
18. The person is dishonest. Only if it becomes a endangerment to an asker or anything.

Answer 3

1. The person is racist/bigoted. YES
2. The person is a chauvinist. NO
3. The person is a feminist. NO
4. The person is religious.NO
5. The person is non-religious.NO
6. The person has a political bias.NO
7. The person is gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered.NO
8. The person dislikes gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered people. MAYBE IF THEY GET ABUSIVE ABOUT IT
9. The person is old. NO
10. The person is young.NO
11. The person is American.NO
12. The person is non-American.NO
13. The person is patriotic.NO
14. The person is anarchistic.NO
15. The person is rude.DEPENDS HOW RUDE
16. The person is polite.NO
17. The person is honest.NO
18. The person is dishonest.DEPENDS

so mostly no's really, yahoo is all about differing opinions so its only when someone spills over into being really unpleasant and bringing everyone down that they should be booted, it shouldn't be done lightly....

Answer 4

I think we should err on the side of allowing people to participate, but expect that they do so politely and with respect for the fact that other people may have differing points of view.

I like the system where after a certain number of people have independently blocked or reported someone, an administrator of the site reviews that person's postings and decides if the account should be suspended or deleted. Remember that anyone can create a new account and resume posting, just under a different screen name, so the damage is minimal. This process is less than censorship, but prevents the system from being overtaken and dominated by people with malicious intentions.

Answer 5

1. The person is racist/bigoted. yes
2. The person is a chauvinist. yes
3. The person is a feminist. no
4. The person is religious. no
5. The person is non-religious. no
6. The person has a political bias. no
7. The person is gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered. no
8. The person dislikes gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered people. yes
9. The person is old. no
10. The person is young. well...maybe depends how young,
like really young kids shouldn't be on here
11. The person is American. no
12. The person is non-American. no
13. The person is patriotic. no
14. The person is anarchistic. no
15. The person is rude. hard to say
16. The person is polite. no
17. The person is honest. no
18. The person is dishonest. no

Answer 6

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. No
5. No
6. No
7. No
8. No
9. No
10. No but idepends how young. Anyone under 13 should be suspended for being too young.
11. No
12. No
13. No
14. No
15. Yes
16. No
17. No
18. Yes

Answer 7

For all but #18 I would say no. While we may not like some people's opinions, in some of these categories, they are entitled to their beliefs. That is not to say we have to accept their answers or respond to any malicious or uninformed questions they may ask but, we should not decide that any one person or group is not entitled to express their opinions. That said, I do believe if there is proof that a person has lied then yes, their account should be suspended. Most people are seeking honest friendly advise and I think they are entitled to that just as everyone is entitled to their opinion. Although, here caution should be used to assure that the person deliberately lied instead of simply being misinformed themselves. Probably should have to look for a pattern rather than base it on one or two incidences. I wish you luck in getting fair and honest answers to this question. Take care.

Answer 8

This question dabbles in the basic freedoms that this country was founded with.. Freedom of Speech. I cannot condone any attempt at preventing anyone from expressing themselves in the form of speech (extensible by written words). As long as the person is not harassing anyone else by manipulating THEIR ability to freely express themselves, I see nothing wrong with the act of expression. On the other hand, a person shows their true inner self whenever belittling another person by making fun of, belittling, &/or degrading others. Psychologically, some people belittle others in order to feel better about themselves. This is usually an issue of lower self-esteem.

-Do take care in judging others, for they most certainly judge you.

Answer 9

HAS IT? Mannnnnn, it's happened to me about 50-leven times already. All it takes is for you to answer questions using obscene language or using nasty words or ask questions that are untasteful as well. I just get caught up in the habit over and over again of doing it, and lo and behold my account gets suspended and I have to start from scratch again and again.

Answer 10

No, no, no, no, no.....Honestly, suspending anyone's account on any of the grounds listed is, I feel, unconstitutional. Unfortunately, yahoo does have Community Guidelines in place which does allow them to suspend accounts, for the terms listed, which is their right because this forum does belong to yahoo and is public domain.

So, I think people should be able to write anything they want without the fear of being suspended because if someone else sees something THEY don't like...there is a back button on the browser to return you to the previous page so you don't have to view content that offends you.

Answer 11

As long as the person does not use profane/vulgar language and/or threaten/harm/mislead anyone a person should not be suspended. Their views can than be debated for public judgement.A person's true personality will show them to be what they really are. I do not like political correctness for this very reason- because people go around trying to hide who they really are instead of letting the public see them for what they really are.I respect those who let me know they do not like me and/or I, them instead of trying to pretend we like each other. I believe the reason so many people are seeking counseling/therapy sessions now a days is becuse they try to bury and hide their true feelings rather than expose them.Visit naturescorner.com, my website.