Why is Yahoo Answers so toxic to open discussion?

ya's new owner Verizon has fixed it up a lot.

maybe their next project is cleaning up the ya Membership,

purging the trash

That is a good question, and I wish I had an answer. People always want vindication and affirmation for beliefs they hold. They want to know others feel the same way. There is nothing wrong, basically, with this. But name calling is something that should be left of the grade school playground, NOT on forums such as this. I attempt to pick questions to answer that seem like they really want information, not just vindication.

Y/A isn't however a discussion site. Sure, it's toxic, but that's because of the format itself and the fact it is open to the public. There is no filter at all to determine who asks and who answers questions. Permitting anonymity when asking questions degraded the quality somewhat, but it has always been a harsh place to visit for the thin skinned. Not all of the categories are as opinionated as Politics & Government and Religion & Spirituality however, but those subjects would attract trolls on any site, or newspaper editorial page, or soapbox on a street corner. Those are subjects for which many people are passionate and unlike Yahoo Products, Home & Garden, or Business & Finance, everyone has an opinion concerning them. You asked a very good question and I think you received some decent answers as well.

It seems to me that people who post such taunting or baiting questions are really just looking to stir up trouble and get others riled enough to argue. It's all about personal power, like "see, I made you look" rather than about having an honest discussion. The very format prevents the two-way dialog of a discussion. I once responded to such a question only to have the questioner respond that ahahahahahahaha, he just wanted to see if anyone would answer. He wasn't interested in advice at all, even though his question suggested he did. This forum can be a waste of time and effort for those of us willing to share our knowledge and experience, just because of these trolls.

I know why, as well as probably you do. I just wish there was something we could do about it. But when I ask a factual question, I get only three or four responses. On the other hand, if I ask a partisan question, I get dozens.

It's a question and answer site. Discussion is considered chat which is not supposed to be allowed.

People like Fred are why Yahoo is so awful.

And it isn't just the trolls here, the people you refer to are so "Passionate" about their beliefs and ideas that they refuse to be open to other opinions and ideas and for some liberals I've spoken to, they're not open to facts either.

They're stuck in their beliefs and refuse to believe anything negative about it regardless if the facts are there.

These people love to argue and the sad thing is that there are so many of these people who hate facts that the falsehoods are becoming true and if they're in a group it is impossible to get your point across, they cut you off and wave dildos in your faces.

I've seen it before.

Since Trump arrived unexpectedly, discussion on Yahoo has become so bitter for everyone.

sometimes their reporting seems a bit overboard.

It's a reflection of the current political rhetoric in greater society (i.e. there is no discussion it's just childish assertions and insults).