Yahoo! Answers Review

Yahoo! Answers is like a bad reality TV show. You know it's just a waste of your time, but you can't help yourself. From answering questions to asking your own questions, you can find everything from humor, stupidity and a little bit of seriousness.

What is It?

It's the Ask Jeeves of today. Everything is based on points - answer a question and get 2 points. Ask a question and lose 5 points. Have a best answer and get 10 more points! The possibilities are endless. There are categories for everyone - including pregnant, parenting, health, diet & fitness, ethics, law, etc.

How it Works

To ask a qusetion, you write down a topic (i.e. What vitamins can be deadly if overdosed?) and type more information if necessary (i.e. I'm currently taking D-3, C and B12 vitamins with Echinacea and Fish Oil. What would happen to me if I overdosed on any of these supplements?). Next you review you question for clarity or spelling (optional to some members) and select a category. Although they have automatic suggestions, you can also select a category for yourself. Just select "Ask" and you're good to go (and down 5 pounds). 

To answer a question, simply fill in as much information as necessary, state references if necessary and select "preview." Submit and you're on your way!

My Opinion

I've been with Yahoo! Answers since 2006, so obviously you can say that I know how to use it. As a website, it's fun. It reminds me of the Ask Jeeves question forum that was around in the 2000s.

Knowing this, it's pretty important to point out that you shouldn't really depend on this site for answers if this is a serious situation. If your baby is turning blue, don't ask about it. Go to the ER. If you don't feel your left arm, call 9-1-1. If your husband is beating you, it would probably be best to get away. 

When you ask a question, you may or may not even get an answer. If you do, there's no saying that it won't be a complete scam or phishing member trying to get your information. Sometimes you may get valid answers and other times you may get pretty much nothing useful. It's the risk you take.

For questions, you should also take them lightly. Most questions are hillarious in their stupidity (i.e. I just heard a noise from my stomach. Am I pregnant?) or just sad (i.e. I think I want to leave my husband for my coworker. He's a great guy and is everything that my husband is not. What should I do?). Sometimes you can find people who really want an honest answer (i.e. Can anyone help me with dealing with my father's alcoholism?) and other times people want you to be a physcic (i.e. Okay, so I don't know if I'm pregnant. Do you think I am?)

Grammar is always iffy. Some questions (and answers) may take a few tries to understand. This is a site where you need to stop being serious and enjoy yourself. Answers should only take 1-2 minutes at most to write. Anything more and you're just wasting your time.

Improvements

A lot of people don't realize how much this web site has really improved. When I was first using it, you would  be penalized if ANYONE reported you. People would report you for anything - many would be offended if you just disagreed. Thankfully, now that has changed and minor offenses really aren't penalized as much. They also have an improved community input to make the site a better place to use.

Overall

This is a fun site for just enjoying being bored. You can't going to walk away any smarter, but you may walk away with some great stupid questions. I go in spurts - I'll be addicted for a few weeks and then not really care to go back for a few months. Take it for what you will, but I would always check with a true professional before making any final decisions.