I don't understand the Top contributor badge system.?

HI Scribbles: Sorry, but I never got a badge that I can recall; I DO have some pretty cool people in my network, though :-)

His Utmost Excellency, the Emperor, has spoken.

The top contributor badge system is based on recent activity on the site, rather than overall contribution, it is there to reward those that have recently dedicated a lot of time and effort to answering questions in between 1 and 3 categories.

A couple of years ago i consistently had around 3 top contributor badges, and managed to keep them for around a year and a half, at which point i become busier and so actually didn't visit Yahoo! Answers at all for around 7 months meaning i am no longer a top contributor, as i haven't contributed anything to the site in over half a year.

In reality Top contributor badges are not that difficult to maintain, and you do not have to dedicate huge parts of your free time, if you answer even 30-40 questions a week in a category, and receive consistent best answers in that category, then after a few weeks you are likely to end up becoming a TC, although the Yahoo! TC formula is kept secret and no one knows the exact methods of gaining a badge.

According to Y!A : "A "Top Contributor" is a member of the Yahoo Answers community who has shown that they are knowledgeable in a certain category. Each user can be a top contributor in a maximum three categories. You earn it or lose it depending on your recent participation in a certain section. The more positively you contribute, the more chance there is that you will get a TC badge. Just like featured users or category leaders, it's another way to give credit to community members."

Y!A has never said what the precise requirements are. It's commonly accepted that you need to answer a lot of questions (50?, 100?, who knows...) in a category and get Best Answers on a certain percent of them (probably 10-15%) each week.

You can have TC badges in up to 3 categories at a time. There is no TC badge for the Jokes & Riddles and Polls & Surveys categories.

TC badges are based on your recent activity, not your level or total points, how long you've been here or your overall BA %,

TC badges are category (or sub-category) specific. They are not intended to be az reflection of your overall Y!A participation.

:o)

<QUOTE>why yahoo gives me a Top Contributor badge if I can only give answers to the doomsday questions.</QUOTE> Everyone has to start somewhere. Soon enough, you'll be answering questions about doomsday AND long division. Remember to do your homework. Ask if you have questions; explain what you've tried AND where you're getting stuck, that way we'll be able to direct you across the hurdles you meet (just posting "here's my homework, do it for me" doesn't cut it because we don't know what you don't know). It takes more time and persistence than earning a Yahoo badge, but it can be done. Even *I* have learnt a few things from this forum. <QUOTE>wanted to be a meteorologist I love weather but i'm obviously fooling myself because Im to dumb to be one.</QUOTE> I've never met people too dumb for science. However, I've met plenty of people who are uninterested or that give up easily; about those, there's not much that can be done. I don't know how to put interest in people's minds; that's something they've to work on themselves. All kids start out wanting to know about the world around them. The difference between a scientist and other who chose other occupations is that scientists persist a little longer.

TC badges are "dynamic". They are awarded on Monday's, and if you continue to answer questions within that section, and get a good number of best answers, you keep your badge for that section. If you haven't been active in that section for more then 2 cycles (2 weeks) your badge can be revoked.

It doesn't take much to retain it. Just answer 20-30 questions a week in that section, and hope you get BA for 25% of them. Just an FYI: Voting for yourself isn't cheating, but don't vote for your question using another account. That is cheating, and Y! does find them. When that happens, both accounts get wacked. Not suggesting that you do that, but in case the idea comes to mind - don't. Its not worth it in the long run.

Hope it helps.

challenging factor. do a search on yahoo and bing. it will help!