Yahoo Answers do people really give them?

a lot of people see this as a game and sorry to say many people are even targeting good users by giving them thumbs down on their answers just to put others off selecting it as best answer.

i would like to think that most people on here truely want to help others with their answers and ive found many who do that and i appreciate it, particulary when ive asked questions and received really good answers.

ive watched a few users on the top of the leaderboard who are battling it out to be number one and the answers given to get there are one liners with no substance at all. its a shame that its so important for these people to want number one so badly that they will answer everything and anything just to get there.

i know the yahoo answers team are working on ways to control trolls and other abusers of the site as well as cleaning up the site of non productive questions and answers. its going to take time but it will eventually happen.

I think it really does help people. While some of the questions are just people fooling around (and it's pretty easy to tell which questions those are, just look in the "polls and surveys" section), a lot of the questions are genuine. I know I've asked a few questions and the questions I asked were ones I wanted to know the answer to, but didn't want to ask anyone who knew me (either that or I had a time limit). Long questions will help get good answers, especially if it is a question about how to handle a situation. The thing that bothers me the most is when someone's question or answer is littered with misspellings, typos, etc.

As for the "points game": Some people play the points game more than others and some are just idiots. But in the end, what's the point of being on Answers if you don't want to answer/ask questions? It's not like you're going to win some fabulous award or become famous. Just like the rest of the internet, on Y!Answers you have to know how to weed through the junk to find what you're looking for, but it's there.

It depends on the person. I've seen many answers like you're saying, answers like, "i don't know"... If you don't know, why did you reply?

I'll agree most of the time that the questions asked here could easily be answered by a quick Google search, but obviously the person didn't want to do a Google search so it's the rest of the community's goal to help resolve the question with informational answers, like you're saying.

I have received so much help on the few questions that I've asked..and also learned alot just from reading other peoples questions and answers. Sure there are some really stupid questions and answers and some real ugly ones..but the majority are helpful and informative. Getting points for them is fun too..it's an incentive thing,and you know..people are smart and careing...it shows here.

When I first joined I went crazy in the math section answering questions. Showing how to work out the problems and all, it was as much a refresher for me. Some people just wanted answers but alot of them wanted to know how to work it out so they didn't have to post every math problem on here. Sometimes I'll just put in a one liner in response to a question in some of the categories. Other times I'll click on a question just cause it's somethin I'm curious about as well.

People who answer with a 'Thanks for the two points or 'I don't know', those are the ones that probably look at this as a game.

If I can't answer a question, I try to look up some helpful links they can go to and find an answer for their question.

Mostly I think people really do try and help others out.

I have yet to ask a question so I cannot speak to that. However, my brain is working again now that I am answering the questions of others. It taps into your creativity,brings you outside of yourself for a few moments and reminds us that we are not alone. I think Yahoo Answers is great and all great(or lesser) things have the potential of abuse. For me,it's not a game for points but an opportunity to help myself by helping others. Keep Asking!