Get your funny bone in gear

It's time for April Fools

You either love it or hate it, but tomorrow is Aprils Fools Day.

Naturally ¢hεεrs shall be looking out for your April Fools related questions so don't let me down community as I shall be featuring some of the best questions in the blog.

One question that has already caught my eye, ' will the yahoo answers guidelines become void during April Fools Day? ', well don't get your hopes up to much as I can't see it happening.

Did you know ?

The origination of Aprils Fools Day is believed to come from France when it said until the early 16th Century the French celebrated the New Years Eve on the 1st of April, but on 1562 Pope Gregory XIII introduces a new calendar to the Christian world which changed the data for the new year to the first day of January.

Naturally world was slow to travel, it's not like they could just open up their yahoo email, so not everyone was aware of the changes. Therefore the people that continues to celebrate new year on the wrong date were said to be fools and had tricks played on them.

So what shall you be doing tomorrow & do you already have your tricks planned ?

¢hεεrs

There's a world out there !

What are the international yahoo answers ?

Did you know yahoo answers is supported in twenty six different countries ?

The site is based in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Quebec, the United States and Vietnam.

That's a lot of questions and answers and a whole new community.

Why not make the most out of the yahoo answers international banner which can be found using the yahoo answers country banner at the bottom of each yahoo answers web page.

Now can you visit any country you like ?

You sure can, answering and asking questions on each site however it somewhat limited. The yahoo answers guidelines ask that you also post in an understandable format, so posting an English question on the French yahoo answers is a big no-no.

Still, a great way to develop a language and meet new people... check it out.

¢hεεrs

¢hεεrs asks the community

Yum Yum !

Food certainly can be tasty, and we all have different taste preferences from the sour gummies to the intense heat of a curry, but I have a taste related question for the community this week.

This week ¢hεεrs asked the community, what causes aftertaste ?

I'm hoping someone out there shall be able to answer my question, and providing some links would be really helpful too.

¢hεεrs

Weekly Community News

Time for the latest news

It's the luck of the Irish

On Monday 17th, yahoo answers celebrated St. Patricks day, and once again the community failed to disappoint by asking many questions concerning the holiday. One community member was keen to establish what is St. Patrick's day all about, and luckily the community were able to help in the matter.

One asspect of St. Patrick's day that had yet to understand was the tradition of wearing green, but this fantastic question asked by Rebekah W answered my querry. I hope you had a great celebration.

Ask Mike keeps the community cool

Yes he's done it again and has asked the community another brain teaser. "Do the drawers in a refrigarator actually do anything?!" Well I would sure like to know and you may know the answer. The qeustion is still open so why not help Mike out.

¢hεεrs takes a break

From Friday to Monday (21st-24th) ¢hεεrs shall not be 'serving' the community. I shall be on holiday (vaccation) during the Easter bank holiday. The good news is I shall still be answering your emails so send them in if you have any question, comments or if you are simply bored.

Know something I've missed ? Why not sent it in... I can be emailed from my yahoo answers profile or look out for ¢hεεrs [uk] within the yahoo answers category.

All the best
¢hεεrs

Keep it down you chatter boxes !

Are opinion seeking questions seen as chatting ?

I was contacted by a yahoo answers user to help determine the understanding of the dreaded chatting violation within the yahoo answers community, so here it goes:

If you are found to have been chatting, they you recently asked question with the intent on opinion seeking to which a definitive best answer can not be provided.

Well what the heck does that mean ?

Basically if you were to ask "what is your favourite colour" you would be presented with a whole list of colours from the lovely community of yahoo answers.

Now, did you really need that list of colours ?

The chances are you were bored and asked a question simply to liven up a rainy afternoon.

Now to explain a definitive answer. With a list of colours, which one is the best answer, the first one for being the early worm - but how is that fair ?

See were I am going with this...

You need to post in a question and answer format in yahoo answers, and seeking opinions really doesn't count as asking a question.

So how can I avoid the dreaded chatting ?

• Try to post a question that requires knowledgeable answers
• Don't ask for user's opinions
  
• If you require a poll, post it in the polls and survey category
• Don't use yahoo answers on a boring rainy day

Okay, so we made the last one up, but if you need more help, read about chatting in the help pages of yahoo answers.

¢hεεrs

Featured question

We shall remember...

History comes alive with this enlightening question as user ruthiecrawshaw asked, "What weapons were used in world war one?".

This is a very intriguing question which ¢hεεrs felt deserved to be shared with the community as the second question to be featured. You can read all the answers provided, or even provide your own by using the link provided above as the question is still open.

Thank you ruthiecrawshaw
¢hεεrs

If you would like to see your question featured here in the near future, drop me an email from within yahoo! answers. Provide a link to the question and the question title, and provide a little comment about yourself that you would like to be included.

Wanna Cartoon ?

How do I make a Yahoo! Answers Avatar

An avatar is a great way to define a public image, do you want to make your avatar cool, realistic or downright crazy, well you decide!

The first stop is to visit the Yahoo! Avatar creation page

Here you can create your avatar from numerous backgrounds, clothing styles and even hairstyles. If you are looking for a particular item, a great tip is to use the Yahoo! Avatar search feature. Once you have created your masterpiece, don't forget to save it.

So how do you get your avatar into yahoo! answers ?

1. Go to your Yahoo! Answers profile
2. Click the edit my information link
3. Scroll down to picture options
4. Select use my Yahoo! Avatar which should be displayed
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page
6. Select preview
   
7. Select save
   

Your new avatar should be displayed within the community instantly.

The good news you can update your avatar at any time using the Yahoo! Avatar creation page. Any changes you make shall be made to your avatar automatically.

The following related questions should also help

How do u get a avatars picture when answering a question in yahoo

View question

Look out for future blogs outlining how to use a real image

All the best
¢hεεrs

Weekly Community News

Yahoo! Answers news for this week

Have you taken the new community moderation test ?

How clued up are you on the current community guidelines, well why not put your money where your mouth is and take the yahoo answers community moderation pop quiz and see what score you get. Sadly there are no prises, but you can comment on the quiz and find out how good (or bad) other users did in the yahoo answers staff blog.

An event banzai !

Today the 12th March is no smoking day, if you forgot then it's a good thing the community were ready to bombard the community with questions from how to dispose of cigarette lighters to finding out the best methods to help kick the habit altogether . Why not check out the official no smoking day website to learn further information.

That's not all. We have sports relief on March 14th & it's the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick's Day, call coming up on the 17th March. Look out for featured questions and information on these events in next weeks community news.

An update on the top ten category issue ?

Last week we reported that the top ten category leaders were failing to update. A week on and the issue is still present, however staff have been alerted to the issue and 'hope it shall be resolved shortly'. Keep up-to-date on this one in the yahoo answers suggestion forum

Disclaimer: Image by jciv at Yahoo! Flickr

¢hεεrs

Deja Vu

I'm going to tell you how you can save points

Why ask question when the answer is most likely already out there ?

Yahoo! Answers have some great tools to allow you to check if a question has already been asked, and such features may allow you to save loads of points by learning from questions that have already been asked.

Firstly, when you ask a question, yahoo answers shall automatically search for questions of a similar topic. This is a great way to see if you are asking an original question or to see if your question has already been answered.

The second hint I shall suggest would be to make use of the advanced yahoo answers search , a great tool which can be asked to located questions in specific time frames or categories. The advnaced and basic search can be found at the top of every yahoo answers pages.

Lastly there is the discover portal , a great way to see random resolved questions within the community, it may also be a chance to add some new contacts to your yahoo answers network

¢hεεrs

Yahoo! Answers community petition

The community has always been invited to share their own views and comments concerning Yahoo! Answers within the yahoo! answers suggestion forum, however for some users, they are appealing directly to Yahoo! Answers staff.

What is this petition concerned with changing?

Several users are keen to raise the number of reports required to remove content from the community as a violation. At present at least one or more trusted users are required to report content, prior to its removal from the community. It this too little a number of reports ?

If you are keen to have your say, take the petition here

If you are keen to find out more about the current community moderation, why not read all about in the community moderation help pages

All the best
¢hεεrs

Disclaimer: Publishing this article does not in any manner of speaking reflect the personal views to that of ¢hεεrs or any other specific member(s) of yahoo! answers. This petition is taken using an external Internet service out of the control of ¢hεεrs, who can not take any liability for the actions/ results / content of such a petition. This petition has not been created by ¢hεεrs, and is a free public domain sponsored by 'iPetitions'.

Featured question

How is "bill" short for "william"?

This delightful and intersting question, 'How is "bill" short for "william"' was recently posted within the community by user Emsters.

This is a very intreging question which ¢hεεrs felt deserved to be shared with the community as the very first featured question of my blog. You can read all the answers provided, or even provide your own by using the link provided above.

Have you never stopped to imagine how your own name was created or originated ? Why not add it as a comment.

Thank you Emsters
¢hεεrs

‘Say cheese'

Understanding the community guidelines

Taking photographs can be a very rewarding hobby, indeed lifestyle for some; or simply an opportunity to catch that split second when we are looking our best. However is Yahoo! Answers the best place to share such photographs?

Using photographs and images to create guessing games and opinion seeking is a Yahoo! Answers no-no according to the Yahoo! Answers Community Guidelines. Do you really need to ask ‘How old do you think I am?’ based on a photograph to a community of strangers? Such questions do nothing more yet promote chatting and ‘point gaming comments’ – and that’s not the Yahoo! Answers way now is it!

As a member of a vast community of ninety one million users, consider

Who will be seeing my image?
What may happen to my photograph?
Will people be able to discover personal details from this photo?

See where I am going with this – who knows what result from sharing one photo could be…

So when is it okay to share that prized pic?

You are welcome to ask for help or details on a technique, or simply how to improve a photo you may have snapped – it’s common sense really. Users can also use Yahoo! 360 to make a custom avatar for Yahoo! Answers as well as to create polls and blogs which is all fine and dandy.

Take note that many users come to Yahoo! Answers… to answer questions funnily enough. Please don’t fuel the fire of chatting and consider using Yahoo! Answers for its intended purpose before asking that ‘all important question’. The plus side is you’ll save points too….!

See more hints on the community guidelines at my second Yahoo! Answers community guidelines blog

Image 'smile #2' by konaboy from Yahoo! Flickr

All the best
¢hεεrs

So how many points do I need ?

A very popular question asked within the community is, 'how do I gain level two ?'

In order for yahoo! answers users to gain level two status, you require a total of two hundred and fifty points on your account, that's it.

As a level two user you unlock some funky new features including

· The ability to use the thumb ratings
· Post up to ten questions a day
· Post up to forty answers a day
· Star up to one hundred questions
· Vote up to forty undecided questions

It's all good, and a nice thank you for using Yahoo! Answers

Further information on the point system can be found at Yahoo! Answers point system

All the best
¢hεεrs

Weekly Community News

Yahoo! Answers news for this week

Could suspensions be a thing of the past?

Following a recent request for timed suspensions it does indeed appear that staff members are looking into the idea. For many this is a sigh of relief which could result in accounts not being fully inactive from the community. Should we see any developments in the near future they shall be posted.

The community bids farewell to Yahzmin

It has been confirmed that user Yahzmin wishes to leave the community. As one of my longest contacts within Yahoo! Answers, I personally wish to bid farewell to one of the most experienced, kindest and knowledgeable person I have met on the site. Many others share such sadness, however we wish Yahzmin all the best for the future and hope that she may have not totally abandoned the community forever.

Another question from Ask Mike

What do you like best about your hometown? With the question closing in little under nine hours why not voice your opinion or simply await the best answer to be chosen. Further information can be found on the topic.

Top ten categories updating

And finally, several members of the community have commented that some of the top ten user categories appear to not be updating. Staff have been made aware of this issue however there has been no news concerning this matter.

Remember for all the official goings on remember to read the official Yahoo! Answers Blog

All the best
¢hεεrs

Do you have Yahoo! Answers fever ?

How long is too long

User spam, amongst others are keen to establish how long is too long within Yahoo! Answer. In all fairness can one use Yahoo! Answers too much ?

We all think Yahoo! Answers is a great site for asking and answering questions, with some users spending up to six hours a day helping users out, gaining answer to questions and enjoying the ever expanding community.

It's evident that Yahoo! Answers is able to provide answers to a vast range of questions, from saving money to finding out were is a good place to eat.

Whatever your experience is with the service, I hope you find the answers you are were looking for.

¢hεεrs