Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

Since the launch of the Answers Network we have received a considerable amount of feedback from the community. We’ve read through a lot of positive feedback and are happy to hear that many of you find the new Answers Network useful and are enjoying the new feature. We value your thoughts and ideas and we hope that we will continue to hear from you.

We have also read through some helpful and constructive criticism of the new feature. Given your feedback, we’re aware of some confusion surrounding the Top Contributors badges, and the concerns surrounding privacy. So we decided to put together a list of frequently asked questions to help clear things up and hopefully put minds at ease.

Top Contributors

Q: What is a Top Contributor?

A Top Contributor is someone in the Answers community who, through their participation on Answers, has shown that they are knowledgeable in a particular category. Each Answers user can be a Top Contributor in up to three categories.

Q: How are Top Contributors determined?

The Top Contributor badge is dynamic, and you earn it by being an active participant who contributes quality answers in a particular category on Answers. Anyone can earn a Top Contributor badge – it does not depend on points or level.

Top Contributors are not permanent, which is to say you must continue to be an active answerer in order to retain a Top Contributor badge. Similarly, even if you are not a Top Contributor at the moment, you can earn the badge by contributing high quality answers in any category or multiple categories of your choosing.

The more actively you contribute quality answers and best answers to a particular category, the more likely you will earn a badge for your contributions in that category. Just like featured users or category leaders, the badge is another way to honour and feature community members who are actively participating and knowledgeable in particular categories on Answers.

This is our first version of the Top Contributor badge, and we acknowledge that it is not perfected, yet. We will be continually improving the logic and heuristics used to choose Top Contributors in an effort to ensure that people who receive them are the most deserving. We’ve heard your feedback and we understand that there are concerns about abuse of this badge, and we will change the rules for Top Contributor as needed to combat gaming or abuse.

Q: I’m a Level 1-4, why am I considered a Top Contributor?

As mentioned before, an Answerer’s level or total points accrued in Answers don’t actually factor into consideration for Top Contributor status. If you are a Level 1-4 and have been selected as a Top Contributor it is because you are actively providing quality content to a particular category.

Q: I’m a Level 4+, why am I not a Top Contributor?

Again, a user’s level is not the deciding factor for Top Contributor consideration. As mentioned before, Top Contributors fluctuate depending on your weekly participation habits in each category, so you may find yourself sporting an orange badge in the near future.

Q: What if I don’t want the Top Contributor badge?

We see this as a badge of honour and want to acknowledge the time and effort that Top Contributors have put into answering questions in a particular category. We hope that Top Contributors will be proud of their badge. However, we’ve heard concerns from you that the badge may unfavourably bias rating and best answer selection against Top Contributors. We’re investigating this further and if such bias develops we will provide you an option to hide the badge.

Q: Some Top Contributors have contributed some less-than-quality Q&A to Answers, why are they still considered Top Contributors?

There is a slight delay in the process of calculating and updating the Top Contributors on Answers, so there is a chance that you may see this occur from time to time. However, if Top Contributor’s Q&A becomes less than favourable, they will not remain a Top Contributor for long, as the next update will likely bump them out of the running.

Privacy on the Answers Network (Beta)

Privacy and stalking behavior are two things that the Yahoo! Answers Team takes very seriously. As mentioned in the post introducing the Answers Network (Beta):

“We’ve managed to pack in the majority of functions envisioned for the Answers Network, but we didn’t get to everything in time for the release window. So there will be some updates to this feature in the near future. We are working on increasing the capability of choosing who you are sharing Q&A with in your personal network – including being able to block and ignore users, and greater control over the visibility of contacts and fans.”

However, what about privacy concerns with the current Beta version of the Answers Network? Here are a few answers to help clarify these concerns.

Q: If someone adds me as a Contact, what happens?

When someone adds you as a Contact they will appear as a Fan in your profile. You will not see Q&A updates from them. People who are your fans have access to your Q&A on the site through their profile page. Everyone else still has access to your Q&A through your profile page.

Q: So what happens if I choose to add one of my Fans to my Contacts?

If you add a Fan as a Contact they will get moved into your contacts tab on your profile. Anytime you ask a question they will see your question appear in their “Network Q&A.” Likewise, their content will appear in your “Network Q&A” when they ask questions.

We recommend that you only add people you are familiar with as Contacts. If you happen to add someone to your Contacts, and decide later on that you do not wish to receive their updates in your “Network Q&A,” simply remove them as a contact.

Q: What if I do not want people adding me into their Contacts?

The Answers Network is totally optional. If you do not want people to be able to add you to their “Contacts,” follow these steps to opt out:

- Go to your profile and click on “Edit my Info.”

- Uncheck the box that says “Allow other people to be my Fan” under the “Sharing” preferences.

- Save this new preference

Thanks for continuing to make Yahoo! Answers such a great place for people to share knowledge. We hope you are enjoying the Answers Network (Beta).

Yahoo!7 Answers Team

Shigeru Miyamoto and one of his early creations – Zelda

There’s not many of us would be familiar with the name Shigeru Miyamoto, but since the late 1970s he has been responsible for bringing us hours of fun. Mr Miyamoto is the creator of the video games Super Mario Bros. Donkey Kong and Zelda that have brought us all so much joy… frustration… and distraction from homework and household chores over the years! As a child I always thought there would be a point where our generation outgrew video games, but the clever minds at the games companies have grown with us, constantly offering something new and exciting so that their consoles are as popular with adults as with children.

This week Shigeru Miyamoto joins Yahoo!7 Answers to ask – “How old were you when you first heard the term ‘Nintendo’, and what does the name mean to you now?” in the Video and Online Games Category.

It’s a great question and one to think about before posting your answer. And while you’re in the category – there are plenty of others to check out, whether they be about the new release Nintendo Wii or other popular forms of gaming such as the Xbox and Playstation. After having a look through it seems as though people who are into video games and the like get easily frustrated by The Sims! There are certainly a lot of questions on how to manoeuvre through that particular virtual reality game!

If you need help getting past a certain stage that you’ve been battling with all weekend, finding the key to the dragon forest or even getting the game to start in the first place there are always hundreds of keen gamers on Yahoo!7 Answers who are more than happy to help out!

Maybe someone can tell me how to get past that frog in the first level of Alex Kid in Miracle World. I was never able to get any further than that!!

Clea

Stella McCartney’s fashions – worth fighting for?

The lengths women will go to for fashion! Thousand of shoppers queued up this week to be the first to buy celebrity British designer Stella McCartney’s new clothing range and they practically stampeded in an effort to beat other shoppers to the racks of trendy gear. Some girls added up to four thousand dollars to their credit card bills without even trying the clothes on! Crazy!

While Stella successfully brought her clothing range to Australia, it appears Sylvester Stallone wasn’t so lucky in attempting to bring several dozen vials of the banned substance human growth hormone into the country last month. Stallone didn’t appear in court today to answer the charges of importing a prohibited drug but he faces a fine of several thousand dollars if convicted.

Over in Western Australia fashion and movies stars haven’t been of much interest this week as massive storms battered the northern coastline. Cyclones Jacob and George caused huge amounts of destruction and sadly caused the deaths of three people. The cleanup is now underway as investigations begin into how the tragic accidents could have been prevented.

Finally, it is rumoured that an actress has already been chosen to play Anna Nicole Smith in a movie about her life. Who could it be?

Clea

In the spotlight today is potential tennis star of the future wazzab_12. Since joining Yahoo!7 Answers less than two months ago he has reached an impressive level 3 status and has a best answer rate of 20 percent.

It is undeniable that this user is a MASSIVE tennis fan. I think he has answered every tennis question that he has come across on Yahoo!7 Answers since he signed up! His contributions cover everything from really technical questions to pre match nutrition advice, from explaining the rules of the game to tennis history and statistics. Wazzab_12 would even give some tips to the pros if he were to be given half a chance!

When he’s not busy answering tennis questions wazzab_12 hands out advice about his home town of Perth, where he is currently a Year 11 student wrapping his head around a range of tough subjects. A busy guy, wazza_b plays both club and school tennis, as well as finishing his homework, playing cricket with his mates and working part time at sporting venues.

Wazzab_12 is a big fan of Yahoo!7 Answers because it enables him to have intellectual discussions about whatever he wants (i.e tennis!) with people from all over the world.

The ball is well and truly in your court wazzab_12… keep serving up those aces!

Clea

One year ago, today, Answers was launched in Australia. Since that time we have listened to you and made many product changes along the way. In celebration of our first birthday we want to give something back to you – the ability to personalise Answers.

We have received a lot of feedback regarding the quality of content on Yahoo!7 Answers. While we are continuing to find ways to attack trolls, fight spam, and filter and delete abuse on the site, we’ve also learned that a large portion of the complaints surrounding content quality really centre around the need to customise and personalise what you see when you visit Answers on a daily basis. So, today we bring you the Answers Network (BETA) – a brand new feature for Answers.

Have you ever come across knowledgeable people on Answers who always ask, answer, and star interesting and helpful questions that you wish you could find again and again? Now you can with the addition of the Answers Network.

How does it work?
The Answers Network lets you build a personal network of Contacts on Answers. You can add anyone who shares your passions, or piques your interest, through their Q&A on the site. You can also invite people that you know from outside of Answers to join your network. The benefit of adding people to your network is that you will have direct access to the questions they ask, answer, and star on Answers – making your Answers experience more personal and helpful.

How do I build my Answers Network?
There are several ways to connect to people through the Answers Network. The first way, is to roll over a person’s avatar and to click on the “Add to My Contacts” link in their ID card. Another way is to go to someone’s profile page and click on the “Add to My Contacts” link at the top of their profile. You can also build your network by inviting friends from outside of Answers to join your Answers Network.

OK, I’ve added people to my Contacts. Now, how do I access their Q&A?
The most recent Q&A from your Contacts appears on the Answers homepage and on your profile page. If you want to look at more Q&A, click on “My Network’s Q&A”, which is located at the top of your profile page.

How do I see who has added me as a Contact?
People who’ve added you as a Contact are called Fans. You can view your fans by clicking on the Fans tab on your profile page. When you add someone as a Contact, you will appear in their Fans tab as well.

You mentioned adding people from outside of Answers to my Contacts. How do I do that?
You can easily get your friends into Answers by inviting them to become one of the Contacts in your Knowledge Network. Visit our “Invite a Friend” page to start sending out invitations to your friends.

What if I don’t want to participate?
The Answers Network is totally optional. If you do not want people to be able to add you to their Contacts, follow these steps to opt out:

• Go to your profile and click on “Edit my Info”,
• Uncheck the box that says “Allow other people to be my Fan” under the “Sharing” preferences,
• Save this new preference.

How can I learn more?
There are many ways to learn more about the Answers Network.

• The Yahoo!7 Answers staff Yamster will be answering questions about Contacts and the Answers Network around the site, so be sure to add the Yamster to your Contacts for the latest updates. Click here to visit the Yamster’s profile.

What’s next?
We managed to pack in a good majority of the functions we’d envisioned for the Answers Network, but we didn’t get everything into the release window in time. So, there will be some updates to this feature in the near future. For instance, we are working on increasing the capability of choosing who you are sharing Q&A with in your personal network, which includes being able to block and ignore certain users, and possibly even features that allow you greater control over the visibility of your contacts and fans. In addition, we are also looking into adding the ability to import contacts from places like Yahoo!7 Messenger.

Remember, the Answers Network is a still a BETA feature, so we are very interested in hearing what you have to say about it. We built this new feature based on feedback we’ve received from the community, so we hope to continue to get more input from you to help improve the overall Answers experience. Please continue to give us your feedback.

Enjoy this new feature,

Alana

What was the best movie to come out of the 1980s?

I really enjoyed reading not only the Best Answer to this question but also scrolling through all the other great answers. The questions I found asking for the best movie ever, the worst movie anyone has seen and biggest tearjerker also had some fantastic responses.

The Movie Category on Yahoo!7 answers is full of interesting content – with questions about comedy classics, true classics and classic fight scenes. If you missed the end of a film you can always ask Answers what happened – someone will have seen it… and even if you can’t remember the name of a movie there will be at least one person who can help you out!

My favourite movie question is ‘If you could live inside the world of one movie what would it be?’ I thought long and hard and decided I’d have to choose Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! Or perhaps Aladdin – so I could have the genie at my disposal! But not Lord of the Rings – those Orcs really freak me out!

So what movie should you watch tonight? Ask Answers!

Clea

They call politics the show that never ends, and an interesting episode is coming up this month in the soap opera that is the NSW political system. As the election date draws nearer there is more and more discussion about who will win and which party offers the most to voters.
Another soap we have been following since the first ‘episode’ is the trials and tribulations of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby. She was sentenced in 2005 to spend twenty years in an Indonesian prison, but this week it seems that may change. Keep an eye on Yahoo!7 News for all the updates!

An issue that is always of importance – for me and hopefully a great deal of other people is equal rights. This week in honour of International Women’s Day, which falls on the 8^th of March and encourages women all over the world to connect with each other and fulfill their full potential, prominent social justice campaigner Queen Rania of Jordan has posted a question for you to answer.

Moving on to ‘screen queens’ and the rumour has surfaced this week that actress Angelina Jolie is preparing to adopt again. A fourth child! Luckily she has Brad to offer that extra pair of hands!

Clea

Camera and photography enthusiast teef_au gets his fifteen minutes of Yahoo!7 Answers fame today!

The Brisbane dwelling shutterbug has become a level five users in the six months since he signed up, with more than 6000 points to his name and more than 1500 questions answered.

teef_au is qualified in information technology and when he’s not answering questions on Yahoo!7 Answers he’s at work or out driving rescue boats for the Queensland Volunteer Marine Rescue Association. Obviously a very driven and outdoor loving person, teef_au is a qualified scuba diver, has competed in marathons and has flown a helicopter despite suffering from asthma that nearly killed him as a child.

But it’s cameras that are his current obsession, and when teef_au isn’t out snapping amazing landscape pics he’s on Answers helping out other users, critiquing their photos, talking megapixels and the like and giving out advice – be it on what camera to buy, how to make the batteries last, or what kind of lens to use.

teef_au really enjoys using Yahoo!7 Answers because it transcends all social boundaries to connect people with similar knowledge and interests regardless of age, location, race or social status.

What a great comment! And so true!

Thanks for sharing teef_au, we’ll keep an eye out for your great answers!

Yahoo!7 Answers Team

P.S Don’t forget – if you’d like to be a featured user or know somebody who deserves some time in the spotlight send us an email – y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au

This week we are featuring a question from well known Spanish pop star Alejandro Sanz. As a singer and musician Alejandro has had many international hits and won more than a dozen Latin Grammy awards and a Grammy award. He has collaborated with singer Shakira and Irish band The Corrs and has released ten albums since 1991.

Whether you are familiar with him or not, the issue Alejandro is asking a question about is one that should be of interest to every person who listens to music all over the world.

“If you were managing a record label how would you address the issue of piracy?”

Copying professionally produced music for commercial gain or transmitting it via the web without permission is against the law because it deprives the music industry as a whole of revenue. Not everyone who sings for a living is a millionaire – and there are plenty of behind the scenes producers who are putting in long hours and getting very little in return. These are the people who lose income as a result of music piracy as their jobs are first to go when profits drop.

If the whole world turned to piracy the music and movie industries would cease to exist! So if you have any thoughts on how to stop the problem post an answer to Alejandro Sanz’s question. And if you’re confused about piracy laws why not ask a question on Answers!

Have a great weekend!

Clea