Yahoo Answers Community Guidelines

Share what you know.

Be courteous.

Yahoo Answers is a diverse community of people with diverse opinions. It is up to each of us to be polite and treat each other with respect.

Be a good citizen.

If you see great content, give it a star or thumbs-up. If you see abuse, report it. Before you write anything, ask yourself if your contribution increases the strength and virtue of the community. You make a difference in shaping Yahoo Answers. Read more

Cite your sources.

We encourage members to use online resources in answering questions. Just be sure to cite your sources and give credit where it is due. Read more

Ask clearly.

Keep your questions succinct and descriptive, and check your spelling and grammar. It helps people find your questions, and you'll also get better answers. Read more

Categorize correctly.

Categorize your question in the appropriate category. You will receive better and more relevant answers. Read more

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. Read more

Chatting or otherwise violating the question-and-answer format.

Yahoo Answers is a community of questions and answers, not a chat room. If a post is neither a question nor an answer, it doesn't belong here. If you prefer to have discussions or chat with others, please use one of Yahoo's other community services, such as Yahoo Groups. Read more

Being mean or obscene

Because kids as young as 13 may participate in Yahoo Answers, sexually explicit and vulgar language and images are not welcome on the site. Also not welcome are belligerence, insults, slurs and generally objectionable speech. If you wouldn't say it in public, don't post it on Answers. Read more

Exploiting the community

Yahoo Answers is a place to gain knowledge, not customers, page views, or dates. If you have years of experience in something, have a special hobby, own your own business, or if you are a knowledge partner, it's OK to accompany a good, on-topic answer with a link to your website, blog, or email to offer more information. However, it is not OK to post links that are unrelated to the topic or are clearly meant only to solicit others for personal and financial gain. Also prohibited are solicitations like "Will you add me as a contact?" or propositioning people.

Cheating

Our points system is meant to reward the community members for sharing questions and answers, so creating multiple accounts or posting content for the sole purpose of gaining points or soliciting others for points is not permitted. Posting filler answers to a question in an effort to be first to answer, or copying and pasting other members' answers, are also forms of cheating. Read more

Violating the law

Members of Yahoo Answers are not above the law, so don't post anything that violates the laws of your country, state, province, or city. Don't try to trick people into sharing their personal information, steal anything (like copyright or trademark material), or break into places you shouldn't be. Don't threaten, harass, impersonate, or hurt others, and don't invade other people's privacy.Read more

Behaving maliciously

Don't post links to sites that contain viruses or malicious programs or that interfere with the operation of Yahoo Answers. Read more

Misusing Answers

Don't create multiple accounts to troll or otherwise violate these guidelines or the Yahoo Terms of Service. Don't post things that are incomprehensible or in the wrong language, and don't post the same question over and over again. The community depends on you to report abuse and rate questions and answers, so using product features such as report abuse and ratings to target others is not allowed. Read more

Doing harm

Be responsible and don’t misrepresent yourself, claim false credentials or expertise or give advice in a way that might cause someone harm. Don’t incite or advocate violence or harmful practices. Read more

Age restriction

Children under the age of 13 are not permitted to ask or answer questions on Yahoo Answers nor establish communication with other Yahoo Answers users. To learn more about using Yahoo Answers safely. Read more