Dad: Should Yahoo! Answers redo their recent change to the EDIT feature?
As most of you have already noticed, Yahoo! Answers Team ( Amanda) has finally decided to do something about the EDIT feature. There had to be something done because the EDIT feature was greatly used for place-holding and copying others of their answers. So when Amanda introduced a time-stamp for editing an answer, she was thinking creative and hoping to solve a potential matter...
Unfortunately, editing our answer will now reorder ( replace) our answer at the bottom of the page, which is not so a very good idea. What if the Community needs to edit their answers to address what is being added to the question asked? What would happen? Of course, their answer would be dropped at the very last bottom of the page, and also may get lost if more than 30 answers were received.
It will be important to edit our answer, since members can add details to their question. Additional details to a question may require our answer(s) to be edited also.
Should Yahoo! Answers fix this or leave it as it is? Tell me why.
Many thanks. Dad
Beasticus Tofudii2010-10-28T16:26:07Z
Favorite Answer
I like it better the old way.
I spend a lot of time on some of my answers, and I don't like to be penalized if I go back to correct a grammar error. Let's face it, some people are going to abuse the system no matter what. Adding this new feature doesn't really solve anything, it only punishes those who want to take the time and effort to do a really good answer.
Also, some times I get in a bit of a dialogue on some of my more complicated questions, and have to add additional details because it was requested by one of the answerers who needed more info to answer properly. If the order stays the same, it's easy to find that person you were talking to. But now with the order changing after every edit, it jumbles everything and makes it harder to keep track of all the answers. Frustrating.
Hi! I have just posted my answer to similar question that was starred by my contact Amanda and let me share the same here too:
I would like my Answer to remain in the hierarchy of original posting place.
And I also agree with the idea that let there be time-stamp(s) for each and every editing done by Asker or any respondent so that we can see the 'trend' of users, who would then be more careful in their first response/post. This idea of keeping the foot-print of movements may give enough information to any researcher about emerging pattern of how the users navigate or behave. And I am sure Y!AT already monitors a few of the criteria of the users for their research and fine-tuning purpose, anyway.
To Amanda: Please do not let the edited answers drop down to the bottom. This is a negative incentive for anyone to perfect or correct an Answer.
a) I can't see why there is a problem with the change of order, place gaming has always been a violation. b) The ability of editing/changing an answer entirely to another answer needs to be addressed. Not many users go back to check for Q edits anyway. That leads to chatting. c) If I edit an answer to your question you are still going to see my original answer anyway and see my change of position. d) As far as I am aware you will not get an email with my edit anyway e) It would be far better to to stop the edit at the posting time so that edits add to the answer are not changeable just added to. (like questions)
I think this new change is great, for obvious reasons (helps eliminate silly endless derogatory rants/arguments, cheating etc)...see Beatle Fanatic's answer. The only downside I can see, is for those who put forth very long answers. Sometimes it's necessary to prepare your answer as a draft, then paste/edit them in two parts. Contrary to some perceptions, there is a character limit on the initial answer length....the "two part" paste/edit is necessary for those types of answers. Not sure how these new changes will effect that, if at all.