Yahoo Answers Sucks Butt
January 23rd, 2008I figured out that something was seriously wrong with Yahoo Answers recently when I was looking for serious academic research into possible selective breeding practices of American Slave Owners, and found this ignorant racist crap posing as a serious question:
Dumbass |
Worse than this, however, is that the questioner then got to pick the answer that best synched with his dumbass uneducated opinion:
I’m With Dumbass |
What the heck kind of system is that for determining truth???
Dumbass: Are blacks stupid because they were bred that way?
Best Answer (Chosen by Dumbass): Sure, why not?
I’m sorry, but Yahoo Answers is completely blown away the argument that “There are no stupid questions.” A question is stupid when it is a logical fallacy.
Take for instance this question, where the poster asks a loaded question “If there’s no such thing as race…[then how come this]?” Then the Asker chooses the answer that best conforms to the argument they have all ready made with their loaded question.
So Yahoo Answers has established a forum where people may Beg the question and then award the top answer spot to the person who repeats the answer. Unlike other Web-based truth-seeking applications that allow everyone to decide on the best answer, like Wikipedia.
Oftentimes people ask questions that reveal a deeper misunderstanding, and the answer must correct it on a deeper level. Why would you build a Q&A application that doesn’t account for the questioner’s ignorance?
I am sooooo tempted to start exploiting this myself:
Ryan: If I’m not the smartest and wisest of all obsessively opinionated people online, then why is it that everyone I know who’s right always agrees with me?
Best Answer: Because you are absurdly more intelligent than everyone else! And handsome to boot!!!
I didn’t think it was ever meant to be a tool designed to get consensus answers as a result. We have google for that. I thought the purpose was to find personalized answers , to personalized questions … Answers that were the answers YOU thought were best, not what google or wikipedia or your peers or the consensus majority thought were best. So I would say it’s doing exactly what it’s designed for here. These people have the freedom to type in whatever they want. And freedom isn’t free. One of the prices of freedom seems to inevitably be: douchebaggery.
Your example question and answer are hilarious though. You should make one and link to it. I’ll submit your answer and you can choose me as the best answerer-er-er-er.
Very true, however, the fact that Yahoo Answers was designed this way makes it less-useful to myself and others who are also looking for answers.
Luckily, Yahoo posts all the other answers, and I was glad to see many people call BS on the examples I’ve cited. : )
I think Clint is right in that it works exactly as planned. Yeah…to generate tons of hits. If I’m looking for a serious answer to a problem I have, there is almost always search engine hits to Yahoo Answers threads. Which I don’t bother clicking anymore, because … well, Yahoo Answers Sucks Butt. :D
I agree, it seems that when the yahoo answers members leaves valid answer they are easily reported and given a violation notice. Its always for the least offensive answers or questions.
In this case, i bet the skin head is still a user, while more reputable members have had their accounts canceled.
The system has many holes and no recognizable validation. I stopped using it and will not use again.
Yahoo answers is scary and horrible. Most answers I’ve read are wrong. Nobody seems to be able to do proper research, cross refernce, ect.
When the answer happens to be correct the asker may not agree with it. So what the point of asking? Mabey to reinforce their false beliefs?
Yahoo Answers is horrible, horrible, horrible…