I've contributed to YA for several years and have app;17000 points.?

They are easy to get...Saw one today where the user was suspended twice 3 weeks ago for cheating with 4 accounts and then joined back again August 15 and they now have one.

True they answered every question they could addressed each asker by name which increases the best answer chances. They also admit to having another account.

A TC is just someone that answered the required # of answers and got the required # of best answers to meet the formula requirements for that category.

It does not in any way indicate quality of answers by those that have it.

NO ONE knows what the formula is except Staff.

There isn't a set # of points or best answers needed as each category is different and it is based on total contributions Not just best answers alone.

******It does NOT make them an Expert in that category.

The best way to get one is answer in 1 - 3 category's you know the

most about usually for a 3 week period and get some best answers and if you meet the requirements you will have a badge show up one Monday morning.

You have to keep meeting the formula requirements to keep the badge.

There aren't Top Contributor badges in P&S or Jokes & Riddles.

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. <===============

:o)

No one is sure what the secret formula for achieving Top Contributor status is but most members agree that you need to focus on answering questions in 1-3 categories and get lots of Best Answers in those select categories. i was certain that you needed a minimum Best Answer percentage to be awarded Top Contributor but today i see i am now a TC in Yahoo Answers, a category that i answer frequently in but rarely get Best Answer for. The secret formula remains a mystery...

It's based on participation in a specific sub-category.

No one knows for sure what the 'formula' is, and it seems to vary between categories. In a nutshell, just answer as much as possible in a particular section, give great answers so that some of those answers will be Best Answers, and ... within a few weeks, you should have the TC badge

"top contributor" is "awarded" per category.

If you spread your contributions around, you may never qualify, but if you answer in only a few categories and get a few best answers, you can quickly get a TC badge in up to three categories.

no ones sure how it works.

but you must have, top % of best answers in a category.

plus keep it up to stay, with a top category badge.

You have to concentrate the majority of your answers in one category. No one seems to know how many answers you have to provide each day/week.