Corrupt Yahoo Answers "best answer" system?

No, 'corrupt' is not an appropriate descriptor. The rules are very clearly enumerated, and by my observations, properly and honestly applied. They have occasionally been changed, generally for the better. At times, technical problems meant things didn't work properly, but they eventually got fixed. So no, the system isn't corrupt. But neither is it perfect.

There is limited protection against some corrupt uses like spam and point gaming. The only recourse is to delete the offending identity, but identities are so easy to get that it's a limited deterrent.

The original philosophy (hey, this is a philosophy section, isn't it?) was to make a place where anyone could ask a question and get an answer, and the accumulated answers would comprise an immense store of knowledge. Oh, and by the way, it's a highway for displaying ads and funding the business. At best, it's a limited, mixed success. But it's a toy, it's free, and not everyone plays with a toy in the way its designers expect.

When a girl asks, "How do I look?", do you think she is seeking information? When your buddy in the bar asks, "What do you think about that stupid thing the President did yesterday?", do you think he wants meaningful philosophical dialog? People like to interact. They want affirmation. They want small talk. They also tend to be lazy, selfish, and uncaring, so why bother to reward the person who provided you a genuine, useful answer, even with a vote that costs you nothing?

People respond to Yahoo Answers according to human nature and according to the incentives in place. Some really care about other people and find this an easy and entertaining way to do that. They establish a reputation. I take care to write good answers in a category I know and care about. I want these kids to have at least some good information available to them, and to see that science can be fun and useful. My 'reputation' of level, points, >50% best answers, top contributor, and #1 or #2 top contributor in the category help people take my answers seriously, and believe them rather than some of the garbage answers posted. That's my reward. Also, the researching and writing are therapeutic, and have helped me retain and sharpen my mental facilities. That also is my reward.

Sure, I'd love to see a system with incentives more aligned with what I value. If I found it, I'd use it. Meanwhile, as they say, the best deterrent to a good solution is one that works. Your criticism is really not of the system, but of the human nature of the people who use it.

It's always been that the person who asked the question can decide which answer is best. Recently because so few were doing that, things were changed to allow the person asking to pick best and close out after a short time period.

Indeed some ask just to get someone to agree with their point of view, For example...

I got a ticket for going 100 in a 70, but it was late and no one was on the road, so I didn't put anyone in danger and should not have received the ticket, right?

Yes, the cops are bored and have a quota to meet, that is why you got stopped.

Best answer. I agree.

Not much can be done about it, and there are lots of 3 year old questions that are stuck in a tie to look at and clear up.

Unfortunately, Yahoo Answers is not a discussion forum... that would be http://messages.yahoo.com/ which *IS* the Yahoo discussion forum. So, throwing a topic out there for the sake of discussion, as you point out as why you asked this "question" is actually a violation of the community guidelines.

I had to point that out.

As to whether some people pick incorrect answers that they like the sound of... of course it happens. It happens all the time. By my name, you can guess what category I spend my time in... and quite often I have to give people an answer they will not like. When a girl asked how she could "crash" her laptop without it looking like she did anything to it, and she states in the question as well that she doesn't want to hear from anyone how she is wrong for wanting to do this... I had to give her the bad news that what she wants to do, can't be done.... at least, not by her. Anything she does, will leave clear evidence behind that the laptop was tampered with. Most of the people answering the question told her to download a virus or bad software... positive sounding answers, but incorrect answers, as any software issue can easily be corrected with a factory recovery. This is not what she wanted to hear, but I told her anyway.

I doubt she will be picking my answer as the best answer... but that's not why I provided the answer. I told her the truth, because I can only hope that she reads it, and understand that she cannot expect to be able to scam someone and get away with it... since that is what she ultimately wants to do, in making her laptop LOOK like it malfunctioned without it being traceable back to anything she did.

So yes. The Best Answer system is indeed corrupt. In fact, the whole Yahoo Answers site is corrupt on many levels. From people who cannot stop asking garbage questions simply to either entertain themselves or others... to people who refuse to CHOOSE a best answer (or delete the question if they get no good answers)... to the spammers on the site.... to the "white shirts" on the site (organized individuals who create hundreds of accounts, simply to level them up and sell them to advertisers)... to those who only pick the answers that make them feel good rather than picking the correct answers... to those who wish to turn the site into some kind of Facebook clone or discussion forum. The concept of Yahoo Answers was a good one. Unfortunately, when people are not held accountable for what they say, they will say anything and everything. So the implementation of Yahoo Answers is a failure. Oh sure, it makes money for Yahoo, in the advertising it pushes... it just doesn't help many, and it proves to be more of a breeding ground for trolls than anything else.

The vast majority of Yahoo question askers never bother to pick a best answer at all. So it is not a conspiracy. It is more like voters that don't bother to vote in elections.

Everyone that does vote is biased. That is ok. Would you rather Yahoo chose a "super congress" where only 12 people's votes counted. Please choose a best answer, and vote on some old questions while you are at it.

Lots of people here tend to ask question to get the answers they want and not the answers they need. That's why so many answers get reported, because those people try to give a good answer regardless of whether or not it sucks up to the asker. And the asker tends not to like those kind of answers.

I rarely post questions, but I awarded a best answer to a person who I disagreed with the answer, but the answer showed effort, even if some of it was misguided. It is not necessary to have agreement on a contentious answer, just show effort, at least in my opinion.

But awarding the best answer simply requires a click; no explanation is required, and besides, there are only a limited number of characters for a reason for the selection. Some may simply be lazy.

Yes. I admit to being corrupt with this. I have picked best answers purely for information content rather than just agreeing with me, but I'm far more likely to just pick someone who agrees with me and ignore the other sides.

And I can't really think of a solution.

I understand what you are saying and indeed even suggested many years ago that the term Best Answer be replaced with Chosen Answer (chosen either by the Asker or by Voting).

Far too often, it is not the best answer that gets chosen. The site was originally designed to help in the interchange of knowledge. Instead it seems that point gaming, entertainment, ego support and bias rationalization seems to be the primary driving forces of many users.

The Yahoo! Answers site reflects the attitudes of the people who use it. Perhaps most are not interested in the Best Answer for their Question and this is why so few pick a Best Answer. Perhaps the site is one of the best pieces of supporting evidence that Humans are the most overrated species known.

yes some are just for in formation ........were do i listen to new age music

but opinion questions

you usually pick for your knowledge in that aria ,referring to your past experiences

iv never played here for points

was bummed out when i lost a account when i was 1/2 way to [ 7 ]on 6......having to start over

I have been active with Yahoo!Answers from the very start, and I have never believed that BA was a good idea.