Some helpful comments on an answer being reported, please.?

oklatom2014-09-11T18:19:05Z

"Why don't theists understand that their gods are an illusion?"

Venting, ranting or using hate speech

Yahoo Answers isn't a soapbox to vent personal frustrations or rant about issues. We are a community of people with diverse beliefs, opinions, and backgrounds, so please be respectful and keep hateful and incendiary comments off Yahoo Answers.

/info/community_guidelines

Also, you have taken a personal opinion and tried to make it a question, which it really isn't.

What does it mean when you say we have to follow the question-and-answer format?
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We ask that community members follow the question-and-answer format because Yahoo Answers is a question-and-answer community. This means when you post a question, it must be written in the form of a question. When you post an answer, it must attempt to answer the question being asked.

It is possible that a question could be considered a “rant”, even if it is formatted correctly. Avoid posting questions that are more about declaring your opinions than seeking knowledge.
When posting jokes or riddles, be sure to format it correctly. A story joke that ends in a punchline is not a question, and therefore in violation. Jokes or riddles that include the punchline are ok if there is a knowledge-seeking purpose to them, i.e. "Would this be a good joke to tell coworkers?" Just make sure the joke itself doesn't violate other parts of the guidelines.
“Fill in the blank” and "pop quiz" questions are not considered questions and are considered violations of the Q&A format.
“Yes” or “no” answers are OK, but only if the question calls for a “yes” or “no” answer.

http://help.yahoo.com/l/mye/yahoo/answers/abuse/guidelines-04.html

Kal Alvar2014-09-11T18:20:07Z

Well you see, I frequent that section often enough to know that there are several theists who find that what you are saying is "hateful."

For example, I could write that I think god is a despicable person. And I do. And I might be reported, becuase that theist who did that thinks I am being "hateful."

When the question was, "What do atheists think of God's personality?" I'm pretty sure I did a good job answering that question. It is my opinion, and I get reported all the time.

Just appeal. They most often let your answer go back up.

That is the nature of the religion and spirituality section, I'm afraid.

Wendigo2014-09-17T09:32:16Z

I'm not going to comment, but rather give a lengthy answer/response. Using questions to answer questions is a violation. A question given as an answer, is not considered as per the Community Guidelines, an answer. If you were reported for giving what you gave as an example for a stand alone answer, then then you did not answer the question, thereby opening yourself for being reported.

As far as what you posted, if it was in the Religion and Spirituality category, then that is an easy area to pick a violation. There are a plethora of insults issued by all sides, that could easily be reported in that section. Calling someone stupid, ignorant, an imbecile, and so forth, are considered generally blatant violations. Also calling out a user, is a violation, that can be reported.

One could spend hours in the Religion and Spirituality category along with anything in Politics, Government, Current Events, and others in the same over all general category, reporting violations. Over eighty percent of the many so called "questions" posted in those sections alone are nothing more than poorly worded rants, flamebaiting/trolling, questions that are not knowledge seeking, or questions that aren't truly questions. But those are just a few of the sections where one can find constant violations. Polls and Surveys, Dating, and others in the same category as Dating are loaded with chat.

There are other sections as well those, that are truly best avoided for the same reasons. I would suggest avoiding, as well as taking the time to learn how to spot those questions which are violations, then avoiding them altogether.

Oklatom, and June both gave very good answers, with oklatom's answer specifically addressing a couple of the types of violations, that specific "answer" would fall under. Both oklatom and June, gave some excellent advice, along with links to follow and read. Along with the links suggested, I would strongly recommend taking time to dig back, and read through some of the questions asked here in this section. There is a lot of of good and valuable information, that's available in past questions, about the various types of violations, and what constitutes a violation.

When it comes to violations, it doesn't matter where one stands whether it's, liberal, conservative, moderate, atheist, agnostic, theist, gender, gender preference, ethnic heritage, social rank/status, level of academia, or any other possible factor. The rules are to be applied equally across the board, as they were set to be applied equally, to all users on Yahoo! Answers. We are all responsible for abiding by them, and all are equally responsible to see to it, and as a community, that they are adhered to by all. Whether we agree or not. We also to a person agreed to not only abide by the general terms for the site, but also to those specific guidelines for Yahoo! Answers specifically. Yahoo set the rules, as users, we are responsible for only following them but ensuring all are in abidance to them as well. We agreed to them via an electronic signed contract, upon signing up, thereby legally binding us to that agreement.

Anonymous2014-09-11T18:33:33Z

was it an answer you gave that was reported or a question? you say two different things:

"My answer which was objected to was in the form of a question.


"Why don't theists understand that their gods are an illusion?"

Addendum: My problem is that I do not understand *****HOW***** my question violated the guidelines."

first you say, "my answer" then "my question"

if this was an answer, it was reported for misuse of the question/answer format - you can't answer a question with a question - a question is NOT an answer - you did not answer the question so this was reported on a technicality
http://help.yahoo.com/l/mye/yahoo/answers/abuse/guidelines-04.html

if this was your question, then it was probably reported for rant - even as an answer, it was rant
https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN4207.html?impressions=true
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tip: click on Details BEFORE you submit your question or use the pencil icon to add updates
clicking on Expand open the Ask box in a separate window that is easier to use
/question/ask?act=ev
(bookmark this for future use if you wish)
- using the answer box for any other reason other than answering the quesiton, even your own, is a violation
http://yahooanswers.tumblr.com/post/79509311376/answer-your-own-questions

D2014-09-11T16:30:57Z

Report it if it doesn't follow the guidelines. If yours was reported then follow the guidelines. If you were following them, then appeal the report. (This is not a very specific question so difficult to answer.)

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