Are questions ever deleted for being "controversial"?

Question

Since I joined Yahoo! Answers, I've spent a lot of my time on Singles & Dating, providing relationship advice to people who need it, and I've noticed a very strange trend involving question deletion.  Obviously, with a diverse online community, there's going to be a large body of opinions, many of which are at odds with one another, and people's views on love and courtship is a field especially prone to such controversy.  

I've noticed that a largely disproportionate number of the questions in that section that get deleted are the ones that refer to situations that invert or ignore dating traditions, specifically the ones about gender roles.   While a great many stay active up to, and past, resolution, I can't help but see that a lot of questions about, say, a woman asking a man out on a date tend to get deleted.  

These are not the opinion questions like "Do you think it's okay if a woman pays?" that are more appropriate for Gender Studies.  These are merely questions, as any other, that in their question or description happen to refer to an unconventional situation.  To my understanding, most of these that I've seen were not repeat questions either, nor do they use profane language or anything else that goes against standard posting etiquette.

My question is this - if a question is reported enough by people who disagree with certain aspects of that question (even though it follows community guidelines), does that question stand a chance of being deleted?  Furthermore, has anyone else witnessed the deletion of (acceptable) questions that dealt in matters that may be contentious?

Yahzmin ♥♥ 4ever · Accepted Answer

Almost anything can be deleted if it is reported enough by trusted users. The person who is reported, however, has the option to appeal to get the decision overturned. However, staff states that over 90% of reporting is valid. Without details, it's impossible to say why things you've seen have disappeared. One of the most likely reasons, in that category, would be chatting or ranting. While it is OK to have controversial questions, having arguments here isn't allowed, and often that's what these degenerate into.

Bingalee · Answer

Qs are deleted on a regular basis here,controversial or not.Some categories are more prone to reporting than others,especially R&S &  the one you mentioned.A lot of it is not so much for the topic in question but for chat & offensive or sexually explicit content.Many members do not understand what constitutes chat or have not read the guidelines.Most things reported are violations,but occasionally spiteful reporting happens & the content is usually restored on appeal.

RAY G · Answer

> deleted for being "controversial"

I wouldn't have thought so: not that in itself. However, questions about controversial topics are often "rants" - questions strongly framed in terms of showcasing the asker's opinion. That's the problem usually. See the guideline:

=quote=
It is possible that a question could be considered a "rant", even if it is formatted correctly. Avoid posting questions that are more about declaring your opinions than seeking knowledge.
- http://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?y=PROD&page=content&id=SLN4203&actp=search&viewlocale=en_US&searchid=1378766998748&locale=en_US&y=
=unquote=

If you can tell from the question the asker's opinion on the topic asked-about, it's well possible it's a rant violation.

Anonymous · Answer

In practice, yes.
Anyone can report anything they don't like.
Two reports = delete

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Are questions ever deleted for being "controversial"?

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