Poll: How many of you worry about asking a question for fear of violation?

It is a concern I have. When I step over the line and receive a 10 point hit (it has happen a few times) then I nod and say, "I understand, I deserved that". That is when the system has worked. However, that is a small percentage of the violations I get. I mostly worry about when the undisclosed rule is going to kick in and trigger the closure of this account. That is what I worry about.

Here is what I do to help ward a violation.

1. I actually printed out and read, from first to last the holy community guidelines and try to factor that in.

2. I apply principles from "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten"

3. I use the best grammar and spelling I'm capable of.

4. I try to reduce the energy it takes to answer my question by putting the whole question in the 110 characters and keeping the details "to the point" and concise. (under the theory that if it is more fun and less energy to answer a question than report it then they will take the more pleasant path).

5. I try to give the reader (and potential reporter) some doubt that this may not be the violation it is risk of.

6. I try to do the due diligence for questions and close them properly by explaining why a "Best Answer" was given and/or actually computing useful statistics.

Those who wrongly report my questions are probably guilty of one of the following:

A. They haven't read the community guidlines (see #1 above)

B. They don't apply the principles from "Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" (see #2 above)

C. They are bitter that they did not (or can not) receive a "Best Answer"

D. They are overly pious and believe these Q&A are part of the degradation of society. (I doubt they are that damaging)

E. They are ignorant of the consequences of hitting "report it". They do not truly comprehend that there are real humans with real feelings and that we all are part of this system (see B above).

F. They are immature (see E above)

The violation system here at Yahoo! Answers has problems. As I undersatnd it, it has had some improvements but has a long way to go. They could take a lesson from the venerable Slashdot.org site for its moderation and meta-moderation model. They do not disclose the necessary rules nor statistics that govern violations and account suspensions. The system can not keep Fizzdude out but will think nothing of closing a Level 7. Having a couple of computer science degrees, I could recommend a dozen or more upgrades but if they are handled by the violation mediation method then all is lost and there is no point.

I do. I worry about posting questions because I've gotten a number violations for doing that. In fact, I just got a violation not even 30 minutes ago. And yet, this is what Answers is about, it's a collective forum where we're supposed to be able to ask questions and post answers. I've been attacked on numerous occasions by trolls, and my questions have been deleted. I don't care about points being taken away, that's not the point (no pun intended). My violations have been for "chatting"..... technically it's exactly what a question and answer is. I contest each violation, do I get a response? Yeah, a generic dime a dozen response.

What I'd recommend Yahoo to do is review their definition of chat, get the trolls on here suspended not by their Yahoo ID (we all know just how easy it is to create more accounts) but by their URL or some other identifying means, change the way that reporting is done.... and if a user repeatedly reports and those are overturned, dock 500 points or 1,000 points from them. Make their names known, they're cowardly trolls. Many users are leaving Answers for other forums... tired of the b.s. going on here. Yahoo needs to do something, trolls are taking over.

I think Yahoo Answers ought to set up an area here for Humor and Conversation... they already have the customer base in place. They should embrace the fact that this has become a sort of social networking database, instead of try to mold it into fact only database. Yahoo offers nothing like this anywhere in it's fine collection of online offerings... a real time Q & A for adults ! Why should I have to worry if today I will exceed the limit for chat violations and get my almost level 7 account flushed ??? I do answer serious questions, but I also like to be a complete buffoon sometimes and ask silly stuff too... Please create a section that is devoid of all these strict rules (call it test posts if you want) and allow us our fun... and if any of us stray into R&S or some other area... then unleash the hounds and rain fire and brimstone on our accounts !!

I've gotten past the stage of worrying about asking. Yahoo deletes honest questions about things that involve their ethics, priorities and anything to do with goes on in Y!A.

Trolls can hit you up and you can get eight violations in less than twenty minutes... Yahoo doesn't care. If you appeal those violations, they send you a reply that says you could lose another ten points if you wish to pursue it. So, they want you to shut up and let it go.

People can suggest many changes and Yahoo still only does what suits them.

You are completely right. I can hardly ask a question without a violation even when nothing is wrong. When I appel to it nothing ever happens.

Assuming a Yahoo staffer reads this I have another question. What happens when we appel? Why haven't I gotten any results even though it's been several weeks?

Well, I'm new on here and I have already received a violation notice and had my second question deleted (and it was a legitimate question). So I guess I will be more cautious of the kinds of questions I ask from now on. Clearly the violation system has problems and they don't even follow their guidelines.

It is true that living in a free society you're entitled to speak your mind and be happy. But when we signed up on here there was this little tiny print that you agreed to that basically stated that you are going to play by Yahoo's rules. Sadly Yahoo only seems to validate only selected civil rights and amendments we all share as Americans. Basically, Yahoo is a bif fat capitalistic cash cow, bent on looking good for their investors and people who advertise here.

My two cents.

It is a bit inconsistent and sometimes unfair but the basic principle is that you have to think about the motive for the question. Are you really asking a question in order to get information or are you just trying to get attention and amuse yourself? Of course you can do both but its a matter of which is the main emphasis.

I do worry and I don't know what to do to stop it on one question I asked if the asker could provide a link to show he was telling the truth and I got a violation.

Judging by some of the vulgar things I've heard on YA, I don't worry about what I HAVE to say/ask. There SHOULD be boundaries. If I wanted to watch Porn, there's PayPerView for that, and if I wanted to see/hear a dumb girl ACT like a ho, I'd simply turn on the TV. I don't need it here. That's NOT the PURPOSE of this site. YA is to ask/answer, NOT ACT like total JackA**es. I can just watch THAT movie too if I wanted.