About those links
Let’s say you ask or answer a question and you want to include a great website as a reference. How can you make sure your link doesn’t violate the Answers Community Guidelines? Here is a refresher on what is acceptable and what may be an infraction of the Community Guidelines.
What’s considered spam?
Spam is unsolicited email. A spam answer usually has little or no relevance to the question, containing either a link to a spam page or an email address. If you notice someone repeatedly answering questions with a link to an unrelated site (usually a site offering money or selling products), report it! You’ve found a spammer.
What about links in an answer to a question I posted?
Some people end their answers with “Please answer my question: http://answers.yahoo.com/…” But the question they link to often has nothing to do with the question you were asking. This kind of linking violates the Community Guidelines – it is the same as spamming unsolicited links.
What kind of link is acceptable?
If you know a website or a book that might help the asker, by all means include it in your answer! Just paste it into the “Sources” box on the answer page. You’ll help make your answer more thorough and useful.
By posting relevant links in the “Sources” box and by reporting spam, you’re helping to make Answers a better site.
Have more questions? Leave us a comment and let us know!
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sometimes well enough, spam and spam-bots, and advertising is easy to recognized and report,
sometimes correct answers often get snipped with half a url link, causing false error,
sometimes other users copy another users answer with links, not realizing, that whole link is not copied, causing errors, and obviously a duplicate of others previous response,
you mention the “Sources” box , this box tends to lag in uploading with answer, causing lag delay and no answer sent, thus not good to use if problem always occurs and reason or cause remains unknown to respondents, often 999 or unavailable other error appears, not fun after typing in answer, over and over again,
limit to links is ten, this is ok , still suggest not allowing new users to us any links for first twenty answers/ questions, cause of only spammers doe this with first twenty limit and create new accounts anyways,
looks like a nice day for para-surfing :}
and ignore typos, happens a-lot and can not undo,
..
Generally if I post a link it’s to a particular program that I’ve referenced or a website that I’ve referenced and so I put it right in the response. Is there some real reason I shouldn’t be putting that in the answer? Given that a lot of the people asking questions don’t bother to try to look anything up first I doubt that they even bother to check the source box.
Yea, and as long as it doesn’t make Obama look bad its OK, other wise it will not even get posted. It will sit their with zero answers all day. It will still get a violation if “somebody” hits the report button anyway.
I’m glad you guys posted this. Still, isn’t there anything else we can do about those people who post “Rick rolls” (videos with a singer, usually containing a virus)? is there any way that prevents the poster from posting it up like a link scanner that’s built into the site?
also, yes posting questions on an answer is kind of spammy, but not much. it really isn’t a nuiscance, unless the person actually just puts the link alone. i think, in my opinion, that there isn’t anything wrong with that ONLY if the question is answered too that they posted it on.
thanks.
But what about putting links into your question, can we use those?
So I once posted a series of links with my question “I’m going to enter these paintings into a contest, which one should I enter?” And the question got deleted. The paintings were all mine, and posted on photobucket, which I thought would be ok. What was the problem?
wel what about questions with links?!
Do all links have to go in the sources box?
I have posted pics from Google Image Search that relate to the question, then written in the sources box, “Google Image Search, (website pic came from)”
Do I need to start putting pictures in the sources box?
What about those smarter spammers that tells someone to look on his avatar for the link? Or one that posts links in the Sources section that is irrelevant to his answer?
Are any more permanent solutions being looked at? I see spam is deleted quickly after it’s reported (and thank you for that), but it doesn’t seem to slow down the spammers who continue to post from the same account or just start spamming with another account.
Thanks for this blog entry, especially for the clarification about those “Answer mine” links!
I post links within an answer if the link is part of the answer. For example “to change your password go to xxxxx” or “cartoon avatars are created at xxxxx”.
I have had problems in the past with the 999 error when answering the same question multiple times a day with the same answer and link.
I would only post the link in the sources if it was the source of the answer.
@simon
You’re free to put the link in your answer, but we recommend that you use the Source box. Answers is just formatted where the user gives their experience and/or opinions in the Answer box and then provides a source if they have one.
Plus, it’s just easier for the user to see if they want to research more information.
@Chocola
Currently, we have no way of preventing “Rick Rolls” so please use the “Report Abuse” button and add in the additional details box as much information as you can.
This ensures that the violation is looked at quickly by our Customer Care team.
Thanks,
Lou – Y! Answers Team
@Clare
Yes, you can put links in your answer, but we recommend that you put them in the Source Box. That way it’s easier for the user to see and they may research more information if needed.
Lou – Y! Answers Team
@Shrek
Your situation is similar to “What about links in an answer to a question I posted?” Be careful when posting links that click to your personal stuff/sites etc. This can be viewed as personal promotion.
Generally, these questions get flagged.
Lou – Y! Answers Team
@someone
If you see a spammer using any kind of tactics to spam Y! Answers site, please report them using the “Report Abuse” button. Also, add any additional details which you feel if relevant.
This ensures the spammer is seen by our Customer Care team. Thanks for your help!
Lou – Y! Answers Team
@ Lou
We miss you on the Suggestions board, how about dropping in once in awhile?
You forgot to mention that compulsively posting the same links in every answer even if they are relevant to the questions is still considered spamming.
Hey LOU, long time no see! is it really you?
>>>>>
Are you guys aware that the SOURCES box does NOT get copied to the Report Form?
Which means if the Sources contains the link that is the Rick Roll or the spam to the scam site, CC does not get to see it.
So please, anyone reporting, copy & paste the Sources box to the report form Reasons box, if that’s where the violation is.
Has spam multiplied exponentially at YA in the last, say. six months? I’ve drifted away from some categories and into others, specifically fewer humanities, more tax and credit, so maybe am I just spending more time in categories that have always been spammier? I’ve never seen spam out nunber real answers 4 to 1 until very recently. What up with that?
@ Lou
I noticed that your answer above didn’t include all of the information that you have posted in previous answers.
For clarity I hope you don’t mind if I quote you.
by Yahoo! Answers employee Lou | 10 months ago
Yes, you guys are right. If they answer the question and link to a related question of their own, it should be fine. If they answer with only the link, or if they don’t answer the question and include the link, that would be a violation. If they always answer the questions but keep posting links in every answer, that may be considered solicitation or spam, and we would need to look into it more.
http://suggestions.yahoo.com/detail/?prop=answers&fid=64887
On the Forum (Suggestion Board), I see too many people who feel they are unfairly reported for using legitimate links AND CC upholds their violations. Of couse, I don’t know the full story, but maybe you guys need to make an FAQ on the subject of what’s a good link and what’s a bad one.
Oh, and if you make an FAQ on it, please include clues about proper syntax around links. Naked links are clearly not ok, but some ‘right’ examples would help the community, in my humble opinion.
You forgot to mention that compulsively posting the same links in every answer even if they are relevant to the questions is still considered spamming.
This is one of the tactics pro spammers use to comment spam. Their answers are usually very low quality and their linked to sites are very often phishy and contain links to other more malicious sites.
“Some people end their answers with “Please answer my question:”
—–
http://suggestions.yahoo.com/detail/?prop=answers&fid=54308
Question:
“Posting links to one’s own questions by using other peoples question”
Answer:
by Yahoo! Answers employee Lou | 2 years ago
“If the answer doesn’t attempt to answer the question, it can be reported for “not an answer.”
If the answer is very thorough and they post an unrelated link, and it’s only done occasionally and not meant to spam or solicit, you probably shouldn’t report it.
If it answers the question but the link is to a point-gaming question like “How many answers will this question get?”, then it can be reported as point-gaming.”
Alright, that clarifies something.
Care to comment on:
A cut and pasted answer without quote marks and a source is plagiarism and should not be tolerated.
A link in the source box without any text in the answer box is prone to make little sense if the link URL moves or is deleted.
A link to a commercial site used as the answer for multiple questions should be considered SPAM.
Any link to the answer’s questions or answers that is not directly part of an answer to the posted question is self-promotion.
Hi Y!AT and Lou
I never did see you post any recent comments on the board Lou but hi anyway.
It’s nice to see another new blog regarding the reporting process.
Thanks
All of this sounds fine, but it breaks down when people abuse the ‘community moderation’ system.
I answer a lot of “Will the world end in 2012″ questions in Astronomy & Space. Someone there who disagrees with science-based answers to that question (or anyone who answers 2012 questions who disagrees with them) goes down the line and reports answer after answer.
If I include a link a page on my blog with an extended/detailed answer, with links to other sources, it gets reported as ‘solicitation’ or ‘TOS violation’, even though including that kind of link is *specifically* allowed in the TOS.
Yes, I will post the same or very similar type of answer many times per day, because those questions occur many times per day.
Answers get deleted, I appeal, and Y!A staff upholds the deletion. Some Y!A staff appear not to understand the ‘rules’ as you’ve laid them out here.
Getting in touch with a live person appears to be very difficult.
The result is that someone who abuses the ‘report answer’ button using multiple accounts can squelch answers they disagree with.
What is the solution?
@ Lou,
“This ensures that the violation is looked at quickly by our Customer Care team.”
I’ve asked Y!AT via e-mail, no reply. I’ve asked Y!AT on the Suggestions Board:
http://suggestions.yahoo.com/detail/?prop=answers&fid=145103
No answer, not even a green banner of review. So I’ll ask, yet again, here.
Exactly how does this work, when the Reporter is high TR, and the content is immediately removed by CM, and the only likely, probably even possible, way CC is going to see the Additional Details is if the Reportee appeals?
I’ve reported an UNDERAGE participant on Answers. There were only 5 total Qs and As, and full Additional Details were included on all 5 reports, but, there being only 5 reports, there was no 6th report to trigger a “human review” of my reporting that account. Content was removed immediately as a result of all five reports. That was three days ago, the Profile is still live.
Is that considered “quickly”? Will the Profile ever be removed as a result of those reports? Again, how is this advised procedure expected to work under these conditions?
@Oh Really!
I totally concur with Astrogeek. If the same or similar question is asked 10 times per day, then the same link is going to be posted 10 times per day. That doesn’t make it spam.
Astrogeek’s experience is not unusual.
There are reports of people losing appeals for SINGLE answers with links in them, to sites ranging from Microsoft, through Government agencies to university sites.
None of the answers appear to be any kind of violation by any stretch of imagination.
So someone (low level,I hope) at CC is just denying appeals for spam or solicitation to any answer with a link in it?? I doubt they’d go to the trouble of clicking the link to check it out.
LOU the problem is you and we might have a good understanding of, and be in agreement on, what constitutes spam or solicitation.
But HOW can we get CC onto the same page about it?
If you post a link that is not related to the particular topic.. it can be considered as a spam
Recently I was suspended for a few days for an answer that included a link to Astrogeek’s site, which carries no advertising nor offensive material. Thanks to quick action by Lars I was back on board soon after. (Astrogeek’s comment is two or three above mine.)
Yes, I’m one of those trying to debunk the 2012 scare. I’m one of those who has been consistently thumbed down by an operator of multiple accounts. I’m one of those who has been suspended, almost certainly as a result of this holder of multiple accounts abusing the community moderation system. At one time I believe “he” had as many as 15 accounts and at least eight, which “he” consistently used to vote for his own answers.
Astrogeek and I are not the only ones to notice this fraud, other users in the science pages have noticed within a few days of opening accounts, a few have known about him for eight months or more.
I believe that this abuser is the person who impersonated me by leaving a comment on Astrogeek’s site. Astrogeek was good enough to contact me with this person’s IP address. A quick search revealed that this person lives in South Carolina or close to it, uses Bell South in Atlanta as an ISP and that “he” has associations that are not inconsistent with the answers given by the Y!A abuser.
I would suggest very strongly that you check the IP address, not the screen name of any person consistently reporting answers that are appealed and restored, particularly in the science and religion pages.
Happy Daze
Ken E
I have only recently begun reporting “Self promoting” references. I glad to know I was doing the right thing, since it was beginning to irritate me.
You have installed a new function that I do enjoy. It is the suggested questions. However, it has a few glitches in it. 1) already answered questions are given 2) deleted questions are given. The function has no purpose if these type of questions are delivered.
I think that level 1 should be disallowed somehow from posting links. This would pretty much end all spam on Y!A, since no spammer is going to want to labor their way to level 2. You already have limitations on users based on their level, adding this one would be a huge deterrent.
@ JG2
http://suggestions.yahoo.com/detail/?prop=answers&fid=144248
Question:
“Is Answer Manufactring Acceptable within the TOS and Commmnity Guidelines”
Answer:
by Yahoo! Answers employee Yahoo! Answers Team | 4 weeks ago
“This behavior is indeed a violation and is reportable.”
Disclaimer:
I don’t agree with that staff’s ruling on “Answer Manufacturing” at all, but there it is.
@ Joe:
That would pwn them.
Also, adding a spam blacklist prevents posting links to specific sites (and would stop spammers who post links to the same site over and over again.)
A link blacklist is sorely needed – anyone that does any spam reporting could probably give the same “deadly dozen” of stefsclothes, ioffers and all those garbage dataing site redirects.
Come on Y!A, a bit of proactivity please!
Also, possibly using one of the honeypot or spam reporting systems to bar known abuse IPs would be good.
I can’t stand it when people answer questions with a link to theirs.
So annoying.
How should I report the multiple account spammers- they ASK a question, and then answer with a second account providing their spam link. Ex- where can I watch live NHL games on my computer? And then they answer with another account providing a link to their own site. I type in the report box that it is ‘Spam using multiple accounts to ask, and then answer with a second account’, but they are appealing the violation notices after I report them, and ****you are reinstating their spam answer****.
What is the proper way to report this so you as the yahoo answers team are aware that it is spam and don’t reinstate their answer?