Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

For many around the world, the weeks leading up to 31st October are a flurry of pumpkin carving, putting up decorations, designing costumes and buying additional ‘candy’ for hyped up kids.

Despite it being one of America’s favourite holidays, the origins of Halloween are believed to have started with the Celts, in what is now known as Ireland. One avid history buff, p-dogg, says that 1st November was ‘New Year’, marking the end of summer and harvest and the beginning of winter.

Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. More

As time progressed, the celebration became merged with the Catholic All Saints’ Day on 1st November.

The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. More

Versions of the tradition moved from Europe to the USA during the waves of migration in the 19th century. But what does the original celebration have to do with the American version featuring trick-or-treating and pumpkins?

Lizzy says dressing up as ghosts and ghouls was actually an ancient tradition, believed to be so the real people would blend in with the otherworldly creatures that were haunting the earth that night.

This gradually evolved into trick-or-treating because children would knock on their neighbours’ doors, in order to gather fruit, nuts, and sweets for the Halloween festival. More

According to Bridghid, pumpkins weren’t involved in the original Samhain tradition, however carved out vegetables were.

Celts would walk around with various root vegetable lanterns to guide the roaming dead to the next world. They also carved spooky faces into them (the lanterns, not the dead) to keep malignant spirits away. More

Well there you go! It’s nice to know behind every money making holiday, there’s a semblance of tradition If you’re celebrating Halloween here in Australia, have a great day!

Caitlin
Community Manager

You may have noticed on the right hand side of the blog, the little box that says ‘Recent Readers’ with avatars and names. This is a MyBlogLog notification and you too can show people what blogs you’ve been checking out recently by joining MyBlogLog. MyBlogLog is a tool that allows you to interact with a whole community of bloggers.

By joining MyBlogLog you can add a MyBlogLog module to your blog, track your stats and create your own community.

Also, MyBlogLog help you stay in touch with your friends and manage a community around your own blog: you can see who the recent readers were, join their communities or look for other communities of readers that you may find of interest.

MyBlogLog also allows you to send messages to other members.

How can I join MyBlogLog?
Easy! You only need to click on “Join this Community”

• Sign up with your Yahoo! ID

• Create a new account

• Add your blog or website (if you want!)

Don’t worry – if you don’t like MyBlogLog, you can leave at any time, but why not give it a try and expand your reach beyond the Answers community?

How do I join the Answers Blog Community?
Once you have created your MyBlogLog account you only need to click on “Join this Community” on the Answers blog MyBlogLog module and confirm that you want to join our community. Simple huh?

Enjoy!

Yum, one of the things I love most about travelling is all the different food that you try. I always wonder what goes into these exotic dishes and want to try to recreate the experience by making my own versions at home. Granted, eating Clam Chowder in your own kitchen isn’t quite like slurping it out of its bread bowl on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. And I agree that the Cornish Pasty isn’t quite as warm and inviting when there isn’t wind biting your fingers and cheeks like it does in South West England. These recipes provided by the Answers community do look delicious though, and I can’t wait to cook them up!

Cornish Pasty
Chuck steak or skirt
Two Large potatoes
Half a large swede (turnip as second best)
One large onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Water

The Pastry: Place flour and salt in a bowl, rub in the fat, until the mixture is so fine that it falls through the fingers. Tip mixture onto a lightly floured table top. With your index finger make a well in the centre of the mixture. Add water a little at a time until it forms a pliable but stiff dough… More

Dim Sims
1/4 c. gluten rice flour
2/3 c. wheat flour
3/4 c. hot water
1/4 c. lard
1 c. cold water
Filling:
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/4 lb. dried shrimp, chopped
1/2 c. water chestnuts, chopped
2-3 green onions, sliced thin
1 tbsp. white pepper
1 tbsp. soy sauce … More

San Francisco Clam Chowder
1/2 pound (225 grams) diced bacon
2 small onion, chopped
12 cups water
3 carrots, chopped
28 oz (3 1/2 cups) fresh clams
2 1/4 cups clam juice
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 (400g) cans stewed tomatoes … More

Spanish Paella
170g/6oz chorizo, cut into thin slices
110g/4oz pancetta, cut into small dice
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 large Spanish onion, finely diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tsp soft thyme leaves
¼ tsp dried red chilli flakes
570ml/1pint calasparra (Spanish short-grain) rice … More

Caitlin
Community Manager

Linking, no linking, spam, sources… We have been getting a lot of questions about the inclusion of links on questions and answers.  In this blog post we will cover each one explaining the differences, what is considered acceptable, and what is an infraction of the community guidelines.

What is considered Spam?
As a reminder, Spam is the word used to refer to unsolicited mail. This also apply to Answers. If you notice someone answering questions compulsively with a link to an unrelated site (usually a site offering money or selling products), Report It!! You’ve found a spammer.

Can I link to a question I posted?
We have all seen people closing their answer with a “Please answer my question http://au.answers.yahoo.com/….” But the question they link to has nothing to do with the topic you were asking about.

As an Answers user, I have received that kind of Answer myself… and it’s not nice! If you think about it, it’s the same as spam: unsolicited links… and that breaks the Community Guidelines.

But remember: if you want to include links to your personal website, blog or Flickr page, you are welcome to do so on your Profile Page. It’s great to let the community know a bit more about you, just do so on your profile. (To edit your profile page, click on My Profile, and then Edit My Info).

But what about links linking to relevant content?
Of course you can add these: that’s why we included the “sources” box on the answer page.

Have you posted or seen a similar question in the past? Do you know a web or book that might help the asker? Just paste the URL into the source box and you’ll be making your answer much more complete. And this is totally pro-Community Guidelines.

And remember: people can get to your question on the category pages, from your profile or doing a search… you’ll get the answer you’re looking for!

I really don’t envy them. Thousands of year 12 students across the country are currently gearing up for their final exams. All 13 years of study seem to resolve around these final exams, and the stress isn’t pleasant.

Remember the feeling of leaving school? Suddenly at the age of 15, you’re forced to make seemingly huge decisions about your future by deciding on the subjects you want to study in senior school. Teachers tell you those subjects determine the marks you get and the career you eventually pursue. All your future seems wrapped up in one small decision.

When you get to year 12, the pressure is definitely on. School becomes serious, teachers start talking about study plans and your friends are discussing the best way to cram to get maximum results. Parents suddenly restrict your social hours and give you funny looks every time you sit down in front of the TV: “Don’t you have an essay due tomorrow?”

Finally it’s exam time. You know that the marks you get in the forthcoming examinations are the product of 13 years of education. Your class mates look like pale shells of themselves as they clutch notes and glance nervously at each other before entering the exam room. It seems that your entire future is riding on three hours of pencil scribbling, head scratching and nervous sweats.

Except that it’s not. Anyone who has been through final exams knows that it pales into insignificance as soon as you’ve started your next phase in life. At uni, TAFE or in the workplace, no one cares what score you got. Even if you don’t get into your chosen course, there are so many alternative ways of doing what you want to do that you should never feel like the path is closed.

The most important thing about the final exams is the rite of passage it symbolises and the skills it teaches. You learn about working towards a goal, about how to prepare for a huge life challenge and you join in the camaraderie of finality with your fellow students. As many say – it’s the journey, not the destination that counts.

Good luck, and enjoy those exultant post exam celebrations!

Caitlin
Community Manager

The Internet is a busy place and sometimes it’s hard to keep up to date with the latest update from your favourite sites. To make your life easier, our blog has a button with a link to our RSS feed (see what RSS is here) on the sidebar, and another at the end of each post.

Many of you are already using My Yahoo!7 to follow the blog activity that you enjoy. As a Yahoo!7 Answers user, you might be interested in doing the same with the Answers blog. Please find below some very easy steps to follow:

For My Yahoo!7 users:

1) Click on the “Subscribe” button
2) Copy the URL
3) Go to My Yahoo!7
4) In the top middle of the page, click on the Tab called “Add Content” and then on “Add RSS feed”
5) Then paste the URL
6) Done A box will appear, you’ll now be automatically informed as soon as any new article is published!

Caitlin
Community Manager

We all know that over the years, Yahoo!7 Answers has helped many people out there. From relationship advice to gardening tips to questioning scientific truths, millions of users have found the knowledge they were looking for.

In this award winning short story, The Life of Brian (or Lack Thereof), the central character’s fascination with Answers is only partly about helping other people with his intelligent and unique answers. He also uses the site as an outlet for his competitive nature, pitting himself against overseas devotees with (in his opinion) less superior brain matter.

The 18-year-old short story writer, Brisbanite Maree Spratt, used her brother as the inspiration behind her entry into the State Library of Queensland Young Writers competition. It was her sensitive portrayal of Brian and her pithy writing style that earnt her first prize.

According to Maree, Answers was an ideal choice as an internet preoccupation for many reasons:

I wanted my character to spend a lot of time on the internet … however I didn’t want him to trawl through social networking sites or chat rooms, because they can be quite anarchic and are too people-focused. Someone as hard working and productive as Brian would see them as pointless. Yahoo! Answers seemed like the perfect virtual hang out for my character because it’s all about giving and receiving knowledge, which is one of his preoccupations. I also knew that the points system would appeal to his productive, ambitious side.

When researching Answers, Maree took a look around the site and was impressed with the dedication of the Answerers. She said one particular question stood out:

‘I’m going out in three hours and want to do something different with my hair. Any suggestions?’

Maree noted:

She even listed the different brands of curling irons and hair products that she owned. People actually answered back. Since I can’t muster enough energy to care about my own hair, I thought it was amazingly altruistic of them to get involved in the hair dilemma of an online stranger.

If you’d like to read Maree’s award winning short story, click here for the pdf version. Congratulations Maree!

Caitlin
Community Manager

Once again, we would like to thank you for your contribution and congratulate you for the great value that comes with the knowledge you have shared on the site.

This time your contributions have been noticed by PC World who have included Yahoo! Answers in their list of the most useful and interesting sites on the net as one of their great how-to sites!

PC World acclaim Yahoo! Answers as “one of the best examples of community participation on the Net” and rate you all as “informed members of the community.” Of course, this is something we have known for a long time and are pleased the rest of the world is coming to realise it too!

The full article is available to read from here.

We hope you feel as proud as we do!

Caitlin
Community Manager

Those of us in New South Wales, ACT and South Australia are the lucky ones this weekend. We’re gearing up for the Labour Day public holiday on Monday. In my opinion, this is one of the best public holidays in the calendar as it’s almost summer, it doesn’t really celebrate anything and it feels like it has been a long cold winter since we last had a day off.

Actually there is apparently a point to Labour Day and we do have people to thank for our day off:

The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the eight hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. On 21 April 1856 Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne, Australia, stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight hour day. More

Nice one guys!

So what are your plans of this less than illustrious holiday? Going on a short break? If you’re in NSW or ACT, you could head to the Central Coast. With its gorgeous beaches and short drive distance from Sydney, it’s a perfect long weekend destination. Not too keen for sun and sand? Jenolan Caves is a unique suggestion (particularly fun with kids) and you could go via the Blue Mountains. How long has it been since you saw the Three Sisters in all their glory?

From South Australia, there are also some great spots. The Barossa is a favourite, as is Strathablyn and Gladstone. Simple Guy recommends the Fleurieau Peninsula, just south of Adelaide:

The white sand beach with the almost literally ‘blue’ water, the nice cliff walks just along the beach, the serenity of it, the bicycle track. More

For me, though, this long weekend is all about catching up with friends & family and getting some well earned R&R. Have a great weekend!

Caitlin
Community Manager

Our featured user this week is a true patriotic Australian! Ozmaniac is a top contributor in both the General – Australia and the NSW (Sydney) travel subcategories. It is her knowledge of Australian immigration and visas that has provided assistance to, no doubt, hundreds of potential Aussies.

Ozmaniac lives in Brisbane and has very diverse areas of interest. Her first job at 15 was as a calculator operator and she hasn’t looked back since. This role led to the computer industry, and she says, “I’ve worked in the computer industry since long before it was an industry.” She has also bred cats and loves sports, especially Australian Rules.

Despite all her experiences, Ozmaniac feels most at home in the Travel – Australia category on Answers. Her background knowledge of immigration and visas stem from family contacts who work in the immigration department. She believes that Australia is crying out for skilled immigrants and she does her best to help them understand the minefield of rules and requirements that need to be satisfied in order to gain a visa.

She also likes to answer questions about books and authors, local businesses, computers and babies (she was a volunteer breastfeeding advisor for years) and anything else that takes her fancy as it appears on the Home page.

In her own words:

I discovered Answers by accident in April this year when I was searching for some info (on dishwasher salt of all things), but was immediately hooked. I think it’s a fantastic resource for people to get information and advice on just about any subject and I’m pleased to be able to contribute. I’ve only ever asked a handful of questions, but each time, I received some great and very useful answers.

Thanks Ozmaniac!

Caitlin
Community Manager

PS If you’ve seen an answer that has impressed you this much and you think the Answerer deserves credit where credit is due, please email us on y_answrs_team_au@yahoo.com.au.