How is it possible for a "person" to earn a 5-digit point count in just one week on Y!A? - part 2?

Question

My recent Q (I will call it part 1; here is the link: 
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110614131440AAhq6AE  ),

received responses that provided some interesting (disturbing?) insights into how this might be possible. One responder said that:

“2) Another option is the LEGAL use of 'partners' (NOT multiple accounts). While it may not seem fair to US, it is NOT AGAINST the rules for 2 or more people to SHARE a single account. That way, they can easily answer in shifts - and post a LOT more answers and earn a LOT more points. Still perfectly legal on this site.”


I have to admit I was a bit shocked to see this written, as I was NOT aware that it was, in fact, “LEGAL to use ‘partners' of 2 or more people to SHARE O N E  account.”

IF IT IS TRUE, I can now readily see that such a collective of ‘partners’, acting as O N E account, could amass mega-points working 24 / 7 / 365.  Normally, I could N O T care any less that such folks with no outside lives would want to do such a thing, but I  D O  have some concerns on the potential for gaining points at the E X P E N S E  of other YA users.   

So ...

This raises another couple of (related) Q’s for me (and maybe others as well who are following this...):

Ⓐ First: can this status (the apparent legality of O N E account with M U L T I P L E partners) be confirmed by others who ought to know? (A YA staffer perhaps?)

Ⓑ Second: IF it  I S  T R U E (that single accounts that are shared by multiple ‘partners’ – may I be so bold as to call the group of multiple ‘partners’ a “collective” or a “clan”? – E X I S T with the “blessing” of Y!A)

THEN...

➊ does EACH “clan” member have a V O T E on any single Q that has been responded to in the name of the collective?

OR

➋ does the “collective” have just O N E vote that represents the (collective) “opinion” of the whole “clan”?


So my fellow YA users “in the know”: E D U C A T E  me, please!

Cheers! ☺

.

don&#39;t plagiarize · Accepted Answer

I think the "partners" thing that is being referred to would most likely be relatives.  For instance, you have an account.  Maybe your wife does not have an account because she prefers hot-mail and thinks Yahoo is just a bunch of ignorant yahoos.  However, she occasionally logs on to your account while reading some worthless sport or finance blog, and while there votes on a couple of questions, or even asks or answers a question.  This would raise your point total (answers and votes) or lower it (asking).  I do not think there is a way for both your wife and you to vote  on the same question without having two accounts

I think the people who are earning in excess of 20, 000 points per week are answering questions (two points) and then voting for their own answer (one point) and winning best answer (ten points) for a total of 13 points per question.  That would work out to about 220 answers and votes per day, which seems possible, but it would have to be done every day by someone with no other life to live.

 I know i have personally voted for my own answer on occasion, after it has gone to tiebreaker status, but that spreads my 13 points out over two or more weeks.  and despite being retired I do have a fishing pole and grand-kids and a life, and I think the most I ever got in a week was a couple thousand when I was home with a broken foot.

And in the grand scheme of things, points are worthless anyway.  Yahoo has not given away light bulbs or grocery bags for years, and nothing of real value for even longer ago than that.  The only thing wrong with the point gamers is getting their worthless answers chosen as best, when there might be a very good answer also posted.  However, that is primarily the fault of the asker, who does not return to check his/her question, and lets it go to voting

How is it possible for a "person" to earn a 5-digit point count in just one week on Y!A? - part 2?

1 Answer