Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

Ever since the launch of Yahoo!7 Answers, we’ve been blown away by the incredible energy, goodwill, and passion that our community members pour into the site every day.

But all is not always well. We haven’t always provided you with satisfactory customer care, guidance on your violations, or tools that allow you to quickly weed out low-quality questions and answers. In particular, we regret that false violations have troubled the community in the past. We may not have vocalised it enough, but we feel your pain and have been working steadily to make improvements.

We believe the solution to these problems lies within the community itself. Our community needs to be empowered to help clean up Answers. Let’s face it, if anyone knows what is needed to keep Answers healthy and abuse-free, it’s the people who live and breathe it every day.

That’s why today is such a big day. We are launching the Beta version of a new system that allows the community to moderate Answers. Here is how it works:

1. Click on the Report It button when you see a question or answer that violates the new Community Guidelines.
2. Once you submit your report, a new behind-the-scenes process begins. This system automatically measures the contributions and reporting history of both the reporter and the person being reported.
3. The new system then determines whether it can remove the reported question or answer directly from the site based on community input or whether further review is needed.
4. Since this is a Beta, Yahoo!7 Customer Care will continue to assist in reviewing reported questions and answers. They will also continue to address appeals to violations.

We realise the concept of community moderation is potentially scary, so we built the system to rely on the reputations of community members. Reputations will be built up over time and fluctuate based on the accuracy of an individual’s contributions.

Community members who build a record of correctly reporting questions and answers that violate our guidelines will become a trusted reporter and gain influence when they report. On the other hand, misuse of the new system will result in a lowered reputation. A low reputation means that the power to report and remove potential abuse is diminished, and may even risk suspension.

So there you have it. With this new system, the community now has a vital role in building the value and health of Answers. We’ve updated the Community Guidelines with your input, and will continue to refine them. Even the violation appeals process has been cleaned up.

Although there will undoubtedly be bumps in the road, we believe this is an important step in the right direction. We’ll work with you to make improvements and modifications, so post your feedback in the suggestion boards. We remain dedicated, like so many millions of you, to fostering the health and continued growth of Answers.

Thanks,

The Yahoo!7 Answers Team

———-

Here are some answers to questions you may have about the new community moderation system:

What does it mean to be a trusted reporter?
You become a trusted reporter on Answers by contributing questions and answers and reporting abuse that actually violates the Community Guidelines.

How do I know whether to report a question or answer?
Determining what to report can be tricky, so we’ve revised the Community Guidelines to help clarify what we consider abuse. If you’re having trouble recognising whether something should be reported, it’s probably best not to report it. Reread our guidelines, and keep in mind that wrongfully reporting questions and answers could decrease your influence when reporting in the future.

What if I am incorrectly reported for abuse by the community?
Unfortunately, incorrect reports are going to happen. If your question or answer is reported, we’ll send you an email stating that it has been removed. If you feel that the community’s report was incorrect, click on the “Appeal” link in the email to submit an appeal. If we agree, your question or answer will reappear on Answers, and the member(s) who reported you will have less influence when they report potential abuse in the future.

How can I learn more about this?
Visit our Help Page to learn more.

Return to Yahoo!7 Answers

This week has been an interesting one for Sydneysiders in and around the city, with the sweetness of a public holiday this Friday being made somewhat bitter by the massive inconvenience that people have had to endure simply trying to make their way into the office while 21 world leaders are in town for the APEC conference.

President Bush arrived on Tuesday night, bringing more people than were in the entire cast of Braveheart along with him, and his presence has meant water police all over the Harbour, helicopters constantly circling the city sky and even sniper rifles being positioned “just in case.” Scary stuff for those who dare to venture outside during their lunchbreaks! A flickr group has been set up with some amazing pics of city streetscapes – it’s worth checking out!

The streets are crawling with police and many frustrated drivers have found their travel time to have tripled over the past week because of road closures. Many are grizzling and grumbling about what a waste of time and money the whole event is, but when you do stop and think about it it’s a great advertisement to the rest of the world about how we can pull together for a major event and also there are some really mportant issues concerning Australia that our leaders will be raising – and hopefully working out some positive responses.

By the time everyone heads back to work on Monday the conference will be over so there’s really only one more thing to look forward to – seeing all the world leaders in Australian cultural dress… one can only wonder what exactly that will be!

Have a good weekend whether you’re doin’ it APEC style or not!

Clea

It is so exciting to have celebrities visiting Yahoo!7 Answers to ask questions, particularly when they are home grown! Cate Blanchett is one of the international film and theatre industries’ most respected actors so it is great to have her on board.

Cate is visiting Answers because she has been inspired to share her other passion – saving the environment – with as many people as possible. In order to do so, she has joined forces with the Australian Conservation Foundation’sbrand new Who on Earth Cares campaign, which is bringing together Australians from all walks of life who want to reduce our greenhouse pollution and avoid dangerous climate change. The Who On Earth Cares website shows what we are all doing in our lives to save energy and helps each of us let our politicians know we want leadership and real solutions to this important issue.

It’s a pretty cool site… and what’s also pretty cool is that Cate is so keen for you to answer her question – Why do you care about Climate Change and what are you doing to reduce your impact on the environment? that she has recorded it on video for the Answers community to check out!

If you couldn’t see the video click here.

So what are you waiting for? Let Cate know why you care about our environment!
Yahoo!7 Answers Team

Return to Yahoo!7 Answers

I noticed after my featured user blog yesterday that a user commented how nice it was to see one of their contacts being highlighted on the blog… so it seems it isn’t just me who is always keeping an eye out for other great users on Answers!Don’t forget that if you notice a great user or see that one of your contacts has been giving some great answers you can always email us a link to their profile and we’ll check it out as a potential featured user!
It is really great to see that people enjoy keeping an eye on their contacts and that they even stay in touch with them via instant message or email. It’s up to you whether or not you are contactable by other users – just set the options in your profile the way you prefer.

Another way to stay in touch with other Yahoo!7 Answers users is the newly created Answers flickr group. If you haven’t already become addicted to the wonders of flickr it’s an amazing way to share your photos with the rest of the world.

We’d love to see -

• pictures of yourself (so other users can get to know you a little more)
• screengrabs of a question you ask or answer
• pictures of some art or craft inspired by Answers
• some food you cooked using a recipe from Answers
• a photo you took based on some information you obtained through Answers

Feel free to post all and anything related to Yahoo!7 Answers or your use of it and tag any pictures you post with the tag ‘y7answers’ (don’t forget the ’7′) so that other users can find our group!

We’re looking forward to seeing your pics!

Clea

Return to Yahoo!7 Answers

This week’s featured user has a very diverse range of interests, despite his top contributor badge being awarded for his responses in the movie category.

The Mouse originally hails from Thailand, but has called Australia home for the past thirty years so he sees himself as a bit of an Aussie larrikin who loves the outdoors. His other passions include travel, photography and Thai food – which he is happy to share his knowledge of with the Answers community.

With a career that has included Community Services and Disability Support, The Mouse is all about helping people even when he’s not at work. He even recently fulfilled a life long dream by taking a good friend of his who has muscular dystrophy to Thailand for a visit last year – a massive feat when you consider how difficult it is to travel with a wheelchair.

He’s likely to be seen in the Society and Culture People with Disabilities Category and is particularly fond of imparting his knowledge about Australia and Thailand, giving advice to people who are about to visit either his original or his adopted homelands. The Mouse’s other preferred categories are Movies, Polls & Surveys and Photography, and since joining last year he has answered close to 7000 questions – bring his points total to more than 30 thousand!

According to The Mouse Yahoo!7 Answers is a place where he can have fun, where he can share his knowledge and know that he has helped people. It’s also a place to meet people and gather different points of view from all over the world. He’s a big fan of Answers – and with 17% Best Answer many other users are a fan of his!

Thanks for your all your answers The Mouse – keep them coming!

Yahoo!7 Answers Team

Return to Yahoo!7 Answers