Yahoo Answers - spreading misinformation

[Evo]

Have you ever seen this? People ask questions, and from what I've seen 90% of the answers are utter nonsense or blatant misinformation. The "best answer" is chosen, not by someone with knowledge of the subject, but by any idiot that wanders by.

This is so bad, I just can't believe that there isn't a banner across the top of the page warning that the answers are likely to be wrong because the answers are not screened for accuracy.

 

[Cyrus]

People use yahoo!?

 

[Evo]

It will appear in searches, even with Google.

At least the misinformation is free. Google used to charge for it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Answers

 

[rootX]

I remember seeing it 2 yrs ago. They use some system that either a user who replies the most times or gets more votes for his answers becomes some top 20 helper in his area of replying. So most people try to come into that top 20 thing and reply even when they have no clue IMO.

http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/stars?sid=396545122

There aren't any moderators I think. It's all based on the votes by common members. I think one good thing about it is that it can serve quite a large number of people.

 

[Evo]

I think one good thing about it is that it can serve quite a large number of people.

I think that is the downside of it. Wrong answers being accepted by millions of people. Misinformation on an unprecedented scale by something people assume can be trusted.

 

[slider142]

Quite true. I used to frequent it when it was in beta mode. The fact that the answers are a popularity contest (and hence answers that are "common sense" got picked over answers that were true and well researched) is why my account is quite inactive there. :p

 

[Flat]

Like this?

http://bitsandpieces.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/imagesgirlfriend-20got-20pregnant.jpg

 

[Evo]

Yeah, that would be it. Unfortunately. People get points for being rated.

 

[Moonbear]

I've stumbled across that site before too. It's usually good for laughs...entire discussions by idiots for idiots. The advice there is similar to what you'd get if you wandered into a bar near closing time and asked everyone there the question.

 

[rootX]

I've stumbled across that site before too. It's usually good for laughs...entire discussions by idiots for idiots. .

Have you seen http://www.fmylife.com/?

 

[Moonbear]

Have you seen http://www.fmylife.com/?

I would have been perfectly happy never knowing such a site existed. Wow, those people are pathetic!

 

[Pengwuino]

I use to look around yahoo answers for a few weeks and it was just hilariously stupid. It is like asking a group of 13 year olds for their opinion on things. The science sections are just a forum for every intellectually numb mind online to spout senseless BS. As already said, the popular answer is rarely the correct answer. For a question that involves say, special relativity, the idiot who thinks 0.6c + 0.6c = 1.2c gets the best answer because duh, its common sense! The WORST part to me is the medicine section. I hope to god no one takes actual medical advice off that site. I haven't even looked at the politics site. There was always a push to get moderators but it's always been known that Yahoo Answers was just put up to add more content to the site and yahoo doesn't really care about structuring it.

I wiki'ed yahoo answers and it reminded me that occasionally they have politicians come on or people working for UNICEF or whatever the hell and they ask the community "serious" questions. It gave good insight into why the publics opinion shouldn't matter... for anything... ever. It was like a baby got a keyboard and just danced on the keyboard and hit Send.

Oh and even worse WORSE part! Some people will write elegant, long, detailed answers for questions and be beyond wrong in every aspect of their answer. This is especially annoying when the answer can be summarized in a few short sentences. The ignorant original poster, of course, thinks the long, drawn out response is correct because it's long.

Yahoo Answers! When the only question you have is how to waste you time.

 

[lisab]

Have you seen http://www.fmylife.com/?

:rofl: omg, I totally recognize that it's a guilty pleasure but I love that site. Makes me love mankind...really, we're all such dorks.

 

[DaveC426913]

I've stumbled across Yahoo Answers before. It is astonishing how vacuous it is - even for the intertubes.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I would have been perfectly happy never knowing such a site existed. Wow, those people are pathetic!

You've obviously never seen /b/.

 

[DaveC426913]

You've obviously never seen /b/.

Regular expressions?

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Regular expressions?

Sorry?

 

[DaveC426913]

Sorry?

I have no idea how to interpret the sequence of characters /b/ in a URL context (www./b/.com[/URL][/B]? Nope.). It only thing it looks like to me is a regular expression.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Oh! lol
/b/ (or "Random") is the most infamous of boards on 4chan.
I would not link it here and was leary of even mentioning where to find it.

 

[Flat]

Oh! lol
/b/ (or "Random") is the most infamous of boards on 4chan.
I would not link it here and was leary of even mentioning where to find it.

or the pedo-7chan.

4chan (and 7chan) is full of pedophiles and hackers, definitely would not go there.

Interestingly enough though, it seems like the vast majority of the internet slang/lingo originates from these sites.

 

[chemisttree]

I've stumbled across that site before too. It's usually good for laughs...entire discussions by idiots for idiots. The advice there is similar to what you'd get if you wandered into a bar near closing time and asked everyone there the question.

Somewhere in the world it's always near closing time...

 

[Focus]

You've obviously never seen /b/.

/b/ is the black hole of the internet

 

[Phrak]

"Why has Yahoo Answers been characterized as 'spreading misinformation'?",

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/i...Pdz0dkazKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20090423211714AATuqov"

 

[CINA]

I have no idea how to interpret the sequence of characters /b/ in a URL context (www./b/.com[/URL][/B]? Nope.). It only thing it looks like to me is a regular expression.[/QUOTE]

Your age is showing!

 

[rootX]

I found this today

http://static.funnyjunk.com/pictures/mermaids.jpg

Link: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090624013619AAFhbIJ

 

[lisab]

I found this today

Ahahahaha...she's offended by hearing mermaids don't exist...ahahahaa...

 

[leroyjenkens]

How is babby formed?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_RaPOOVX1Y&feature=related

 

[physics girl phd]

Oh my. I think our little E (now 6 weeks old) is part vampire baby. Once it starts to turn dark I can't pull her away from nursing without a HUGE crying outburst, and it's driving me insane (4 hours straight of continuous but lazy nursing, even when she's asleep?). I needed the laughs over my calming cup of chamomile.

 

[Sorry!]

I would have been perfectly happy never knowing such a site existed. Wow, those people are pathetic!

wow fml.com is such a funny website. I used to sit on it on my blackberry at work reading the stories hahaha so jokes.

 

[Proton Soup]

You've obviously never seen /b/.

4channers and other /tards/ are heavily trolling yahoo answers for the "lulz". craigslist, too, etc. if it sounds too stupid to be true, chances are...

 

[lisab]

Oh my. I think our little E (now 6 weeks old) is part vampire baby. Once it starts to turn dark I can't pull her away from nursing without a HUGE crying outburst, and it's driving me insane (4 hours straight of continuous but lazy nursing, even when she's asleep?). I needed the laughs over my calming cup of chamomile.

Oh pgp, I'm so sorry...have you tried a pacifier? You must be exhausted! Those first few months are so hard!

 

[junglebeast]

Ahahahaha...she's offended by hearing mermaids don't exist...ahahahaa...

Unless the original question was also a prank, this girl sounds dumb enough to actually take that advice (killing herself). That would certainly open up a legal can of worms for Yahoo if it got out...

 

[ideasrule]

Unless the original question was also a prank, this girl sounds dumb enough to actually take that advice (killing herself). That would certainly open up a legal can of worms for Yahoo if it got out...

Considering that the girl said she was a witch, I find it hard to believe her question wasn't a prank. If that's the case, I don't see what's wrong with the "Best Answer"; we give sarcastic answers to stupid questions all the time.

 

[ideasrule]

Like this?

What's wrong with that? I highly doubt the questioner was serious. Even if he was, I highly doubt that even he would be stupid enough to take the advice of the "Best Answer".