Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

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I love this time of year. The sun is rising earlier in the morning, making it just that little bit easier to get out of bed. The days are getting longer and the all those beautiful spring flowers are in bloom, symbolising the end of the winter months. And as a Libran on the zodiac chart I always feel that Spring was designed for me in particular!

There are, of course, some drawbacks. The earlier sunrise means that every bird outside my window is screeching from 5:30am. The fleet of cockroaches that I assumed had died during the “harsh” winter months has returned on mass to scurry about my kitchen floor. The mosquitoes have also revived themselves and I am scratching like there’s no tomorrow. And then there’s hayfever – a drug manufacturer’s dream because enduring the pain of stuffed up noses and swollen eyes is more than most people can bear.

Along with the pollen in the air though, is the scent of finals fever. Adelaide or Geelong? Melbourne or Manly? Who will still be celebrating come Monday and who will be starting the countdown to the 2008 season? Time will tell…

Have a great weekend!

Clea

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Do you find yourself wondering what other music fans thought of MTV’s VMA show and whether Britney was hot or not? Are you hungering to find out what jelly bean flavours are the fan favourites? Then you probably spend a little time in the Polls & Surveys category. And why not? It’s a great way to take a quick pulse on the community’s opinions of hits and misses. Just be sure not to use the category as a chat room, because chatting violates the Yahoo!7 Answers Community Guidelines.

So where can you ask polling questions without breaking any rules? If polls, surveys, or even avatar gamesare your passion, another destination you might want to visit is Bix.com, a place to “create, enter, and judge.” You’ll find contests for anything from best-looking dogs to who’s the better lip-syncer (sorry, Britney, not even close).

The next time you want to find out who has the prettiest avatar or the best TV show, check out Bix.com for yourself and put your creative skills to the test in a friendly face-off. Or enter a sponsored contest and maybe even win some cash.

Are you ready to weigh in on the coolest weather photo or your favourite movie duo?

Clea

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This week’s featured user is a very dedicated Answers contributor. Susan Yarrawonga has earned herself nearly 20 thousand points since joining up in May this year and 28 percent of the 3519 answers she has posted to help other users have been chosen as best!

Based in Canberra, Susan is a retiree who has stumbled upon Yahoo!7 Answers as something productive to do with her free time. A former Public Service worker with a background in organic chemistry, Susan does a lot of research into health on the internet, and is therefore able to respond to numerous questions from people relating to their own health concerns. She has practical advice for people on issues ranging from smelly feet to blocked noses and also offers information on health products and personal health issues. Susan’s chemistry background also enables her to be able to help when people have questions about vitamins and what foods to eat to improve elements of your physcial wellbeing.

Susan has also reached the enviable status of Top Contributor in three categories – Alternative Medicine, Health and General Health Care. This is the result of a lot of dedication and time spent answering other people’s questions!

Thanks for your contributions Susan – keep them up!

Clea

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Reading a book about the culinary delights of Paris has spurred me into daydreaming about a potential trip to Europe. If I were made of money it would be easy to spend the next few months wandering through museums, passing the time in tucked away cafes savouring local delicacies and shopping my heart out in galleries and exotic boutiques.

It is pretty much an Australian right of passage to experience Europe in some way, shape or form at some stage in our lives. Many leave home with just a backpack and a Eurail pass, others like to plan ahead and make sure they won’t leave home without any necessary items – just in case they can’t be bought overseas!

While many travellers only make it to the major destinations such as Paris or Rome, there are plenty who wish to venture off the beaten track and experience some of the lesser visited countries. It is always handy to prepare yourself by getting an idea of the local language of Turkey, familiarising yourself with the customs of The Netherlands and getting some idea of what you want to do and see in the Czech Republic. The possibilities for good times and adventure are endless – and all so near to each other!

The sights of Cyprus, breakfast in Russia and the fresh Portuguese autumn await… just one winning Lotto ticket and we’ll be on our way!

Clea

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It’s a sport lover’s high season at the moment, with so many massive sporting competitions going on at home and around the globe.

Locally the AFL season is drawing to a close… just a couple of weeks to go. It has been an interesting season, with plenty of highlights and lowlights for fans and lots of off field controversy. The Yahoo!7 Answers Australian football category is always abuzz with people discussing their favourite players and speculating on who this year’s Grand Final winners will be.

Rugby Union fans have plenty to talk about too, having struggled through late nights and early mornings for the past two weeks trying to catch the World Cup action live from France. For those of us who don’t even understand the rules or know what a scrum is it all gets a little overwhelming but even confident fans may be wondering if they know anything at all about the game given all the surprise results in the first round of matches. Has the team you had pegged to win lived up to your expectations so far?

One more fierce competition is about to get underway… with the Federal Election due to be called any day. Analysts are predicting the result of the 2007 election will be very close, and we’re all being encouraged to make sure our names are on the electoral roll in order to make sure our votes count. The Politics and Government section of Yahoo!7 Answers is a great place to get information about Australian leadership or to gather opinions from other voters. Just play nice – even if the politicians sometimes don’t!

Clea
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What’s the smallest bone in the human body?

Answers is a great way to satisfy your curiosity on all topics, no matter what they are. I came across a couple of questions on the topic of BONES and thought I’d share them with you.

I suppose our bones aren’t something we really think about a lot, unless we happen to break one of them – ouch! It is interesting to know what we are born with 300 bones and once we’re fully grown we only have around 200. Many users want to know where those other bones get to! Others wonder how it is that our bones don’t stretch or bend, yet they still manage to gradually get bigger over time.

Keeping your bones healthy and strong is integral as you get older – and the best way to do so is by watching what you eat and exercising. There are some easy ways to make sure you don’t end up with osteoporosis or similar bone disorders later in life.

From huge dinosaur bones to tiny bird skeletons, there are plenty of bone related questions if you search for them on Answers. One user had an unusual dream that she was in the bath washing her own bones – the community had several different perspectives on what the interpretation of that was!

Clea

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Thanks everyone for all of your comments, suggestions, and messages of support for community moderation. We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions from the past few days and provided answers to them. Please let us know when you have questions and suggestions; we’re committed to working with you to make this system a success.

How do I know if I’m considered a trusted reporter?
Trust levels are always in flux, and there isn’t a “Trusted Reporter” title you can earn. This is why there are no “indicators” or “badges” for your Answers account telling you that you’re trusted. Whether a question or answer is removed by the community depends on many factors, including the trust and quality levels of the reporters and the person being reported.

I reported something and it wasn’t removed right away. Does this mean I’m not trusted?
No. The system is new and in Beta so not all questions and answers are being moderated by the community. Some reports are still being sent to our Customer Care team for review. The two systems are working in parallel until we feel comfortable enough to make it 100% community-moderated. Just because the question or answer you reported wasn’t removed right away does not mean you’re not trusted. Trust scores are always in flux, so there isn’t a “trusted” or “not trusted” account status. Whether or not a question or answer is removed right away when you report it depends on metrics that include your trust score, the trust score of others who have reported it, and the trust score of the poster. It also depends on whether the report is being sent to the Customer Care team or the community moderation system.

Does an abusive question or answer stay on Answers because it takes more than one trusted reporter to remove it?
The number of people it takes to remove a question or answer varies depending on many factors. In general, abusive content will be removed much faster than the couple of hours it typically took in the old model.

What safeguards do you have to prevent people from “ganging up” on others?
We’re looking at many types of data to determine whether or not to remove a question or answer automatically. If several people erroneously report abuse, all of their reputations will decrease, and they will have less influence in the future.

What safeguards do you have to prevent people from earning a high trust, then abusing that power?
Trust levels are ever-changing, based on a community member’s activities in Yahoo! Answers. Users may become highly trusted through accurate reporting and other quality contributions, but if they begin to abuse their power, their reputations will decrease in trust level.

How do I report point-gaming and other behind-the-scenes abuse now that I can no longer enter details (free-form field) in an abuse report?
If you suspect abusive behaviour and it’s not apparent in their question or answer, email the Answers team at y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au for further investigation.

How do I report abusive avatars and nicknames?
Simply report the question or answer that the abusive avatar or nickname appears on. We realize that this is confusing for many people, so we’ll work to improve this process. Alternatively, you can report abusive avatars to the Yahoo!7 360 Team. Because Answers avatars are taken from Yahoo!7 360, you may find that if you report it to Yahoo!7 360°, the abusive avatar is removed faster.

Does being a Top Contributor factor into being a trusted reporter?
No, being a Top Contributor does not make a community member a more trusted reporter. More important considerations are high-quality overall contributions, reporting history, and other factors.

Yahoo!7 Answers Team

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Hooray for Hollywood!The TV industry’s night of nights the Emmy Awards is underway as I write, and Tinseltown’s finest have been going back and forth receiving little statues for a couple of hours now. There have been a couple of repeat winners from last year and there are always the perennial bridesmaids, nominated continuously but resigned to the fact that they’ll be smiling graciously and clapping yet again when someone else is called on to collect their award. Some people take it very seriously when their favourite show or star doesn’t get the nod of approval… there are some serious fans out there!

But I actually believe the excitement isn’t actually in seeing who wins which award… it’s more about what people are wearing and how fabulous or terrible it is, how good or bad the host is compared to last year and the controversial comments that some stars choose to make when they finally have the stage all to themselves. There’s always at least one who has the music volume turned up while they are still speaking!

If you can’t wait until it’s on television tonight to see all the winners visit the Yahoo!7 Emmys blog – all the results are being posted and there are lots of pics of those expensive dresses that we all love to criticise from the couch as well!

Clea

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With a Federal election on the horizon it’s important for politicians to get in touch with the people they represent i.e. all Australians! One issue that many of us are concerned about is the environment, and what is being done about it on both small and big scales. Those of us who do see the issue of climate change as important really hope that the Government takes it as seriously as we do, so it was good to see that it was a major talking point between world leaders at the recent APEC conference held in Sydney.

Now that all the foreign dignitaries have left, Australia’s Federal Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull is this week looking at the smaller scale, and asking us what we do as individuals to reduce our carbon footprint.

It’s great to scroll through the answers that are there and read about what people do to show they care for the planet. There are some really neat ideas!

No doubt you have some thoughts of your own to add… so get clicking!

Clea

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Namaste everyone.

I just got out of my weekly yoga class and I’m feeling very balanced and in tune with myself. I realised the other day I have been practising yoga on and off for ten years, always coming back to it because of how good I feel after a class. As well as giving my muscles some much needed stretching I find it hugely beneficial to spend some time purely focusing on my own body rather than all the thoughts that are constantly running around in my head!

It is amazing how many people around the world are devotees to this ancient practice, which originated in India many centuries ago. I would say that the reason yoga classes are held in local halls, gyms and churches from Nimbin to Nova Scotia is that almost everyone who tries is says it gives them relief, be it from stress or from tight and practiced during pregnancy – carefully of course, and if you’re not happy at one class there are many different styles to choose from.

Of course it is not without controversy. Opinions on the benefits of Bikram, or Hot Yoga, are universally divided… and one of the popular yoga routines is given the name Salute to the Sun, which many feel is just one aspect of the discipline that conflicts with the beliefs of their religion.

There is plenty of discussion around this topic within Yahoo!7 Answers, with many users suggesting pilates – a similar but less spiritual practice – as an alternative.

There are several qualified yoga instructors about the place on Answers – so if you have any questions about your downward dog, cobra or turtle pose you’re bound to get a response!

Clea

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