How are "Top Answerers" in a Category chosen?

I answer most of my questions in the Higher Education area. I currently have 1459 Best Answers overall, so even if only 2/3 of my questions were in that category (and I would estimate it at more like 90%), I would come in before the #4 Answerer, who only has 631. Yet I don't appear on the list at all! Why is that?

2007-10-18T06:30:16Z

I understand that people vote - that's why they are best answers. But the "Top 10 Answerers category" you can't vote on separately - that is given by the site itself. The perennial top answerer in the categoy, who supposedly has had 83% best answers, I've never seen show up on any list to vote for. I suppose he may have been on the forum early, before the rest of us got on, and stopped answering a year or so ago, but I have to wonder...

Yahzmin ♥♥ 4ever2007-10-18T06:51:50Z

Favorite Answer

The Top Answerers list is, in fact, a listing of those with the highest number of Best Answers in that category. The problem is that the list is currently about 6 month out of date, since the last update on here! My 2797 posted here is from APRIL -- this seems to be some sort of 'saved' data set that they post when there is a problem with the list. The last time this happened, it took nearly 2 months for them to fix it. They know it is wrong, again, and are working on it, but . . .

Anonymous2007-10-18T13:23:23Z

The members vote on who they think gave the best answer.