Why do yahoo answers users repeat other users answers word for word?

Either they don't bother to read the rules and think it's ok to post anything they want, including a copy of someone else's answer, or they know it's wrong but just want the points and don't care. Those would be my main guesses as to the reasoning behind such petty plagiarism.

Yes, it is reportable; please report it every time you see it. This is a user-moderated site. All users should be responsible to report any violations they see. If you're the user who sees a violation, you're the user who should report it.

So that you know what to report and what to just roll your eyes at, please have a look at the Community Guidelines. They are found under the ABOUT tab at the top of the page and are short; they only take a real minute to read. Once you have perused them, please do report any violations you see. Click on the Report Abuse button under the question and you'll see what to do next. Reporting is totally anonymous.

It is wise to take the Community Guidelines quiz, too. http://answers.yahoo.com/info/community_guidelines... Not only can it get you 20 extra points, but it also lets you know you really do understand the rules here well enough to know what should and shouldn't be reported. If you simply report what you don't like, you can lose your reliability rating for reporting -- many of the things you may not like may not be true violations. The Yahoo computer will no longer listen to reports from you. To keep your voice, report correctly. To do that, read and follow the Guidelines.

It's a form of cheating. They are not attempting to answer the question, they are only trying to get 2 points. Yes, it is a reportable violation. It is cheating and points gaming.

"Cheating

Our points system is meant to reward the community members for sharing questions and answers, so creating multiple accounts or posting content for the sole purpose of gaining points or soliciting others for points is not permitted. Posting filler answers to a question in an effort to be first to answer, or copying and pasting other members' answers, are also forms of cheating."

http://answers.yahoo.com/info/community_guidelines

They do it because they're lazy -- and they don't know the rules. Posting another's answer as your own falls under the category of point-gaming, and yes, it is a reportable violation. Please report this anytime you see it. Copying another's answer is not allowed.

http://help.yahoo.com/l/mye/yahoo/answers/abuse/gu...

Until just now with the first two answers, I've never seen it. But I guess it's lack of respect.

they figured out posting "idk" gets reported too much, so they found a new easy way to get their 2 points.