Do you think Yahoo answers will allow the banishment of particular questions?

Question

Such as:
Will the world end on 2012?
Are aliens real?

Can we take action against this redundancy and rhetorical annoyance?

Answer 1

We can only dream.................

Answer 2

Until there is real, live, moderation of Answers, the redundant questions will continue. Unfortunately, Yahoo seems to be focusing its resources mainly on checking some flagged questions and answers to make sure the automated reporting system works, and on securing deals with "featured partners."

I think this site would be very much improved if each section had a moderator, who assembled a list of FAQs, with answers from a variety of qualified sources. For instance the San Francisco travel section could have "What should I do in San Francisco" and "What are the best restaurants" etc. Philosophy could have "What is the meaning of life," Alternative science could have "Are aliens real," and many more for every section. The moderators could also redirect unrelated questions, and delete offensive content.

Answer 3

Nope.

This is Yahoo Answers, not Harvard. If ignorance bothers you, you're in the wrong place.

A positive thing would be to work up a good answer for the questions you despise, and store it. Good means thoughtful, not sarcastic.

You then copy and paste it in response.

IE, be part of the solution.

NICK S - Come over to global warming and post your scientific concerns about global warming.

You will get a bunch of right wing guys saying "great". And a number of real scientists giving answers about science.

I personally view global warming skepticism as about as well founded as creationism, but I'll give a serious answer to a serious question, without insult.

You might want to start here, where there are scientific answers to 26 misconceptions about global warming.

http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn11462

Answer 4

The scary thing is that kids have come on here genuinly scared of the future based on these ridiculous theories and conspiracies going around.

It is all the garbage on the internet that should be banned. But then who sorts out the good from the bad?

For instance, I have some serious doubts about human activity causing the majority of global warming, but there are agencies now who are so convinced that greenhouse gases are spiralling us into oblivion, that it is getting to be considered evil to have an alternate opinion, even if that opinion is backed up by some scientific papers.

Freedom of speech must prevail, even if it means 50% of it is absolute garbage.

Answer 5

Soon after I started, the Gemind Shower was approaching. And I was at first surprised, but then became aware of the increasing lazyiness on behalf of some people. What caused this...seeing three people in a matter of about 90 minutes ask if you could see the shower from Malaysia. If just one of them had looked in the astronomy section before asking, they would have had an answer. Of course, then, as many of you saw, we preceeded to get question after question after question after question of whether you could see it from location after location, many of them in close proximity to each other.

And then I began to see the 2012 questions, among many others. You can't get away from it, and if Yahoo isn't willing to look into the minor programming it would take to help the problem, then people we keep asking. All we can do is sit back and realize that common sense has left the building for many and just keep plugging away in the endless effort to answer questions. And take pride in knowing that while you recognize the increase in laziness and lack of research skills, you still have yours, putting yourself leaps and bounds ahead of all of the people posting redundant and silly questions.


EDIT:
Speak of the devil: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071227151053AAXAqfh&r=w#GZJ4Wk_KB0_mRFyd4gRl Help me with some thumbs up because I'm taking flack for being close minded about this 2012 prophecy and for pointing out the fallacies in this guy's question. LOLOLOL....some people.

Answer 6

I asked this question once before and didn't get much of an answer. But you should try posting it under the Yahoo products forum. They have one for Y!A.

Good luck. I suggested that maybe they could key on "2012" and "/12" and force people to go to the list of answers. If they really need to post here, they can always re-write the question.

Answer 7

Every single forum on here has its fair share of redundant questions: Could I be pregnant? Did the US government conspire to cause [nasty deed of your choice]? Does the cute guy/girl in my class like me? What's the best brownie recipe? Why can't [people who believe in X] see the light and realize that [people who believe in Y] are right? Etc. etc.

I prefer to view it as a comforting confirmation of the universality of the human condition, in that so many people, of such diverse backgrounds, produce the same burning questions time and time again. Truly Judy O'Grady and the Colonel's lady are sisters under the skin. :)

If the redundancy gets to you, think of it as an opportunity to cultivate patience in the face of adversity.

Answer 8

That is a wonderful idea Jansen, but yahoo answers would never do it. I got my top contributor badge removed for trying to keep the astronomy section ASTRONOMICAL. I agree with the idea of copying and pasting an answer, as it is clear that people will continue to ask if the world will end, and what kind of green men are out there.

Answer 9

i think the intent is to create some artificially highbrow Q&A.
redundancy is a small crime.
inflammatory is a bigger crime.
there seems to be lack of rhyme or reason, infact when pressed YA customer service would not specify a cause.
so back to popularity contest, so if someones don't like your answer or your question, theys report it and voila the software goes pfft.
Why fight it.
Replicate it.
Reask it reanswer it
play with them and let them think they are in control and
WHAMMMMM
will the world end on 2012?

Answer 10

One would think that it would be a simple matter to write some code that would automatically direct people asking repetitive questions to the answers to the previous 13,634 times those questions were asked. Ahhh, but this is Yahoo! Nothing is simple here, except many of the questioners.

Answer 11

That would be nice for us... it does get tiring seeing those same questions over and over again.

However, people are entitled to ask their questions; the questions are new to them.

We'll just have to let new answerers handle those questions until they get tired of it.

And so on ad infinitum.