Choose a best answer, prevent a tie!
Did you know that on average, 10% of questions are in tie-breaker status at any given time on Yahoo! Answers? And, at any given moment, there are literally millions of questions open on Answers?
For many members, it’s easy to get swept up in the “Ask” and “Answer” flow as you watch the steady stream of answers that come in when you ask a great question. But then the tough part comes: picking a Best Answer! How do you choose?
If you’re looking for a few tips on how to pick your next Best Answer, here are a few taken straight from our community:
- “To put it simply, I go with the one that is the most useful or the least useless. I do notice the number of thumbs-ups and downs the answer gets, and I use that and the level/BA percentage of an answerer to determine whether or not I should trust the answerer, but the main deciding factor is what I think of the answer itself. A concise but comprehensive explanation beats a long drawn-out half off topic lecture.” – Luigi
- However, “According to the specification of the question I read carefully and I compare it to the other questions, I make sure their answers make sense and have more clear explanations. Not always the thumbs up are right and this person can be wrong, So I read & understand before I give my best answer…8)” – “Evo_Raptor”
- “[…] If there are two equally good answers, I choose the one with better grammar, punctuation, and spelling.” – *Sombra*
- “I pick Best Answer by re-reading through all the answers again from my question. Then pick the one that was the most helpful, informative, and the answerer was polite while giving me the information I needed.” – Future Pet Vet
- “Whoever has clearly spent the most time answering the question and not just put silly 1 word answers or sarcastic comments. Also, if i believe the answer is 100% true.” – Craig and Charlie
Even with tips like these, picking a best answer can be tough—and for many Answers community members, it becomes so tough, questions go unresolved and end up in tie-breaker status.
But for those of you who enjoy helping the undecided pick a Best Answer, be sure to check out the Answers TieBusters group—a group dedicated to clearing the backlog of undecided questions found on Answers: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Yah00AnswersTieBusters/
All in all, remember: If you asked a question, choose a Best Answer! Otherwise your question may end up in Answers limbo, and you may never give someone the joy of earning a Best Answer!
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It is so easy to do. A great way to earn some points and climb the level ladder. It also encourages people to answer more because they see resolution to other questions they have answered. Nobody wants to answer questions and never get credit.
I like voting, It is an easy way to earn points. Plus the people in the group are helpful and nice.
4wheels
A blog on picking a BA and you don’t mention that the asker gets points returned if they do it?
Myself, I pick the answer that backs up its claims with the best sources or one that is easily verified by a little searching. That is, of course, assuming it is well-written and all.
I like voting, too. It would also be nice if you allow people at Level 7 to get infinite voting limit.
After I looked at some of th Qs & As that have been sitting out there for 2-3 years, I concluded that they are there, unanswered, because either the Q was incomprehensible and unanswerable or the answers were so bad that the only fair answer would be “no best answer”.
The only time I don’t chose a best answer is when I can’t actually get round to it, but usually when this happens I at least place a vote on the answer that helped the most.
Once the question gets resolved, one way or another, I send a message to that person. All of the times I have done this the person I have chosen is voted as best, though often I am the only to vote.
I enjoy voting as often as I can. It not only takes your mind away from the stress of everyday life, it is a great way to expand your knowledge in the particular topic you choose to work on.
Why not just pick THE Answer that WORKS? How hard is that?
Wow … I’m such a grammar bug, I even got “quoted” on it in the Y!A blog!
Maybe you should get rid of the point system. It seems to be at the root of all problems. The points are useless and you can get two points automatically for posting anything. The competition for points brings out a “win at all costs” mentality in some people and leads to many of the problems that exist here (false reporting, multiple accounts, etc). I come here to ask and answer questions. I could care less about the points.
Good topic.
Henry, why should they mention it? The Asker also gets points back if the Q is resolved by votes – in fact the high probability of the Asker getting more points if the Q goes to voting is an issue that should be addressed.
i find it really irritating when i spend ages on an answer and somebody else gets best answer through either shock tactics or by dissing every other answerer.
i only ever answer when i’m 100% sure that i am correct, or in open ended questions on subjects such as emotion, i never dismiss anything, as some other answerers do.
the ‘computers and internet’ section is plagued with people who only ever say “get this for free!” or “its a virus!” without even considering any other possibilities, and yet so many of these get best answer. i can’t believe askers allow themselves to be manipulated like this.
ooh.
also, i hate it when people put stupidthings in their ‘sources’ box, like “i’m a computer technician”. if its true, then fair enough, go you (Y), but 90% of the time you can look through their answers a find out that they are also a lion tamer, astronought, Chef, and racing car driver also.
but people fall for it.
Yeah. That usually happen if there’s a lot of answers &/or there’s not much people in that category. Some people have 2 or more Yahoo! Answers accounts. They can vote for their own answers multiple times & make them easy to get their answers been choosen as the best answer.
Not to be nitpicky, because I truly do love this site, but if the pages of questions “in voting” were defaulted to “oldest to newest” instead of vice versa, a lot of these tiebreakers would be resolved faster.
Voting is one way of improving the quality of the Best Answers on the site. Take the time to join TieBusters. Vote early and vote often.
Well i just use my own judgement to decide which one is best. If they’re both good, i choose the one that came in first.
Yep, hear my whining and crying about unlimited voting – I don’t WANT the points for voting; I want to see the categories cleared up.
This is about the”Comment Box.” I love leaving comments, but I don’t think anyone reads it! Why can’t you “light up” the Comment Box like you light up the “Stars?” Then the person will notice it and read it. Thank you. -LL
I do both since on questions which I have no clue on or on polls, I let the ‘community’ do it. Other than that, I choose my answers.
get rid of the voting system please it’s annoying.this tie-breaker issue won’t going anywhere since most of the people came to Y!A just for the sake of asking question then leave it to expire for years.if the asker pick BA themselves,give 5points as reward but if they don’t solve their question after 4 days of posting,they going to lose another 5 points.
I love the point system! It totally makes sense. There is just soooooo much nonsensical, rude, hateful and just plain incorrect answering going on that there needs to be a mechanism for dealing with it. This is how it works…. vote No Best Answer! It works for bad questions as well. It works over and above the reporting system. Sometimes it seems like its not worth it to report – or maybe there hasn’t been a definite rule broken – but the spirit of the site has been compromised. Lastly, I do notice a person’s best answer percentage and I think others do as well. It can be an indication of the quality/value of the response – if people vote responsibly.
OW! Yuri, that is harsh! I agree that leaving a question open for two years is ludicrous, but give the asker a little more time to think it out. But Y!A needs to send the asker a few more reminders to pick the BEST.
Also, many people seem to think that a Thumbs up or down gets the vote.
I skip over answers that start with a question that requires an asker response. I ignore the sarcastic and ugly answers, too, unless they are really the most on point of the bunch.
I also ignore, and possibly report as abuse, those one word ‘answers’ like “??” or “whut?” or “DUH”. Obvious point getting abuse that should have been thrashed out before the question got to the voting stage.
And what is wrong with voting “No Best” if none of the answers really get to the heart of the question?
Let’s get them cleared!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!
Babe
It kind of bugs when I see resolved answers to be picked by the voters, it makes me think that answer is not as good because the who asked the question didn’t like it. Choose best answer, is fun and I bet you get excited too when people pick you Best Answer
i think it is a great idea for having best answer because it shows what the person who asked the question is really like. So if the best answer goes to someone who said *idk* you know the person who asked doesn’t really care. but if the person picks one the best, that explains more than *hot water* it shows that that person really apreciated the help. also, it makes the person who got the best answer quite happy, knowing that they helped someone out.
HUGS
amy
I’m curious to know if there will be a sort of “Break the Tie” option on Y!A. I’ve got a couple of questions that are still in tiebreakers, months or even years still unbroken.
I usually prefer to choose my best answer, but sometimes can’t decide and let people vote.
I hate it how some people always forget to pick a best answer
lots of time I will vote for myself when its in voting is that against the rules?
The very first thing I do is make sure I understand what the question is actually ASKING for. That is the only way I can determine if the answer addresses the question. Many great, well thought out answers with citation, do not answer the question that was asked.
I vote for the answer that gives the best answer in the simplest terms. It isn’t always the longest answer, or the answer with the best grammar. It’s the answer that best addresses the question.
The only way you can get things going smoother is to get people who know what is what in certain categories i have seen many answers that seem to get the win just because someone has “top contributer” tagged on their username when in fact some of these ones have wrong info for some answers i have seen it and it is annoying to see someone win that have wrong info for a question.So once again devise a thing to get people who know what is what in certain categories to make sure a great answer doesn’t get overlooked like i seen many times.I now go through and give thumbs up or down now to try and help in this matter but i make sure it is something i know myself before i decide an answer should be thumbed down.
I can’t believe Yahoo!’s blog quoted me. =P
I know my comment makes it sound like I am naive enough to believe that a high Best Answer percentage and point total ALWAYS indicates that the answerer is 100% correct, but I am not. Most of the questions I ask are homework help questions (asking if I’m on the right track or asking for some pointers in the right direction), and I usually do not pick Best Answer until a day or two after I ask the question, and by then, my teacher will usually have resolved my question, so by then, I’d have a way of authenticating the accuracy of the answers.
I try to always pick best answer, but it gets really hard to remember once I extend the experation, and they don’t send another reminder for me to take care of it. That’s how the majority of the questions that didn’t get taken care of went.
Do like many other people that ask questions
on here do… They just completely forget about
their own question altogether and not even bother
to acknowledge ANYONE’S answers…which in
turn leaves the question open for those with enough
fake profiles to vote for themselves just for points –
leaving those of us who spent time researching the
answer to only find ” Look up Google ” or ” I don’t
know ” as the best answer given ….
There are bugs in the system that will never be addressed and thereby leaving the answers from
the answers community as less than reliable
**
what happens to questions in tiebreaker from two years or so ago.
Some people may not like to vote for fear of hurting the answerers’ feelings. I prefer it when you select a Best Answer on a question I have answered, even if you don’t select my answer, because then at least I know that you read the answers you received!
That helped a lot!
~ Nathan
I love the question and help area. Points mean nothing to me!! If I Help 1 person, that makes my day. That is all its about for me! Sherry
I have been having a problem with the voting for a while… many of the questions already have a Best Answer and are two months to a year old which makes it tiresome to search for new ones that need to be voted on.
This problem has been especially bad for the last few days.
This may be a misperception on my part, but I have noticed that many askers seem not to even check their questions after posting them, let alone bother to vote a Best Answer. I see far more Best Answers voted by the membership-at-large than by the original asker. Perhaps this is a result of the points system?
Personally, I am especially pleased when one of my answers (into which I always put considerable effort and time) proves helpful and gets a Best Answer response from the actual asker.
Why bother voting anymore, There are too many people using multiple accounts and friends to vote for them by MARKING their answers with symbols or their initials in the source area.
I have seen the same 2 people win every time with the exact same number of votes all in the same category. Seems fishy to me.
Could the TIME period be shortened to less than the 4 hours for selecting a Best Answer?
Usually after 30 minutes, that’s the most answers a question is gonna receive.
It seems the steeewwwppid questions generate the most answers.
9:02central/jabril
I was responsible for hiring at our Company for many years. With the mounds of resumes I received, it was sometimes easier to eliminate certain resumes and then choose between the remaining ‘good’ ones. I use a similar system when voting on YA.
First, answers with bad grammar or poor spelling are immediately eliminated. There is no excuse for this as there is built in spell checking. I also can’t stand users trying to sound slick by using exhausted, irritating phrases such as ‘that being said’.
Lengthy and wordy answers are insulting to other members. Who has time to read a book on Y/A? A good answer can be short and to the point.
Lastly, I look at duplicate answers. For example, you see someone post a decent answer. Ten minutes later, another user takes this and rewords it, hoping to get credit for the best answer.
Ijust would like to know the ans. to my question. I don’t care about point totals or who wins the game.
I guess the secret’s out
Great topic and great question leading to this blog. It’s interesting to see what others think/do when trying to pick a Best Answer to their, or others, questions.
(I would have commented earlier but my computer was on the fritz.)
Only people who vote are the ones who want to earn points and they are in tearing a hurry. They hardly read anything. As result some of the silliest answers end being the best. So, askers, do not leave it to voters. Choose the one that you feel is fair, if not the best.
I’m puzzled one thing.
The thumbs up/down thing.
I see the absolute best answer, and people are giving that person thumbs down hits.
It should show where they come from, and require a why factor to it.
It looks abusively used.
One of the most annoying issues on Yahoo Answers is that so many people ask a question, but then NEVER choose a Best Answer. This happens a lot in the Photography category. In fact, probably 75-80 percent of the questions are always unresolved because the asker never chooses a Best Answer. You can look at their Q&A profile and ALL their questions go to voters. And the sad thing is that usually the worst answer, with everything misspelled, is the one that will get chosen by voters.
It makes me wonder if they even bother to read the answers to their questions. Are we wasting our time?
Also, just because an answer is “too long” is no excuse. If you don’t want a detailed answer, then don’t ask. Period. Saying an answer is “too long” or has “too many words” is childish. Anyone who says an answer is too long needs to grow up.
I think Yahoo Answers needs to add something where once a question reaches the deadline, the Asker MUST choose a Best Answer for their open questions or else they can’t post any new questions. It’s only fair. They need to acknowledge the people that answer their questions and try to help them.
what if none of the answers are correct, or if yahoo picks a best one for you and its totally wrong? this is happning to me as we speak! i no know the answer to my question and yahoo picked a “best answer” for me and its wrong. is there any way to post an amendment to the Q or something because i am quite perplexed that thre is nothing i can do to remedy this situation.
OK, seriously…! WTF am I doing wrong? On about 75% of my questions, I NEVER GET A CHANCE TO “CHOOSE” A BEST ANSWER!!! I go to my question, now in “voting,” and all I can do is vote as if it were someone else’s question! This is EXTREMELY frustrating! It’s not an account log-on issue, and I seem to remember that when I do get to “choose,” I get an email to that effect; no such mail for the 75% “failed” questions, so I know I’m not just missing a window. What’s the deal?
Also, there are a lot of floating categories on the main page, like the stuff from the staff. Couldn’t Y!A add a floating section that cycles some “deadlocked” answers for the community, effectively “bumping” them from dated oblivion? That would help clean things up, I think. Lord knows I have a bunch of answers that never got resolved!
Yeah. I’ll log in and see that I have a new best answer. I’ll go and check it out and see it was put to a vote! I’ll never know if I actually helped that person! Other people could have voted for me just because they liked my avatar. I think askers should HAVE to select a best answer.
Too little… too late.
I’ll be honest, yahoo currently allows you to vote for your own answer. That should change.
where is the best answer button???
honest speaking i love PBB Double Up
I think askers who fail to choose a BA to their questions should not be allowed to ask questions again, for th next 3 months. Or, to relax this a bit, apply this to those who fail to resolve 3 questions, allowing for the possibility that they got tied up with something.
And then, after being allowed back in 3 months, they will be forever banned from asking if they commit the same “offense” again, of not resolving 3 more questions.
Rather interesting blog you’ve got here. Thanks for it. I like such themes and everything that is connected to this matter. I would like to read more on that blog soon.
Best regards
Usually the more info and knowledge one has is the one who will have the best answer. Also someone with first hand knowledge.
A best Yahoo! Answer is one with a full,whole,100% precisely concise answer to the question providing a completely substantial answer to the question and is easy-to-read-ShadowXMaster1
My Granddaughter has a Nintendo DS I was wondering what we need to hook up to the internet. we don’t have cord for this? I got a Router.
Thank you Dan Miller
ywah i agree w/ all of you because it builds your knowledge and others and almost evveryone in the world knows about yahoo. its the best search engine ever.
It just makes me feel good to try my best to help someone out knowing I’ll never meet them.Well the old saying no good deed goes unpunished doesn’t really apply to yahoo answers.If someone doesn’t like my answer it doesn’t phase me.If my answer is good or bad,I willnot get and don’t expect any kind of payment or retribution/revenge for bad advice.I’ve asked 3 questions and answered several hundred.I try to stick to the subjects I know well.It keeps my mind active,And makes me feel good,to help others.
how do you even choose the best answer???????
Following up one of my answers, I noticed that the question had been resolved. There were 18 answers and the only person who did NOT make an attempt at a proper answer, was chosen by the Asker as Best Answer. Asker acknowleged in his comments that it was a non-answer, but it turns out that they were Fans and Contacts of each other.
I just spent an infinite amount of time answering a question on religion. I looked up a lot of references because this being an important subject, I didn’t want to rely on my memory and maybe make a mistake. After answering the question and listing the sources I pushed the preview button and it said “The question has been deleted”. I really can’t see how the question was against any rules or guidelines. I had a great answer also that other readers would have benefitted from. Oh well.
It took me a long time to even know that i was sposed to return to my question and pick a BA – (I have only asked a couple questions, so it wasn’t hundreds or anything!)
I also dislike that so often, great answers that I read, and think are well thought out, and “logical” and honest, and show that the person really put some “work” into finding it, and the posting it in a way that we could all understand – - thinking that THAT’S a great answer – and come back the next day to see that some 2-worder or a ??? got chosen??
In fact, I kinda avoid asking any questions – I’m not that familiar with that whole process – I also have answered a question, and then just when I tried to preview it, it had been deleted….
anyway, i’m just ranting here – it’s 5 in the am.
goodnight world,
justme (mary)
I ALWAYS go for the best voted answers before I check out what everyone has to say. I think it makes it a lot easier and a lot more convienent when in a jam and just need a reliable solution.
hown do you choose the best answer
I luv answers…itz da best
i believe to give best answer provide all information the questinee is asking for and list valid facts and detail and provide them links to back up your claims nobody want to be short ened when asking a important question they all expect a valid response
If anyone needs help real help find me on my profile the profile name is same as above
you said i was off of chat, because i went to another one ,i didnot do anything , i want back on yahoo chat
well do somthing about it
It is really that easy. You asked a question for a reason, you wanted an answer. When you found the answer that fully answered your question you choose it for best answer! If not, choose no best answer!
I recently asked the question, “what is the main diff between pac and Mayweather fans and so far there are 7 answers. Foe some reason the page does not present me with a “choose the best answer button”. Why?
Let us seize the day,
I love to choose best answers for my questions. I always re read all the answer and choose which one i feel truly answered my question.
I also love getting chosen as best answer. 10 points!
Granted, you answer questions to demonstrate your knowledge, but you also learn in the process. I can only answer questions in a variety of topics, rather than sitting back hawking up the latest question about your nugget of information.
More to the point, getting best answer isn’t always the objective. I tell it straight up, as it is, and if my goal was to get a solid percentage, I wouldn’t insult half the people asking questions. If you are not doing it for kicks, you are doing it for what, points?
This is good article and seems to give suggestions to select best answer.If we select best answer,People will get interest to answer fo rquestions.and it would help to acheive some points more.
how do you choose a best answer? wut do u do?
I don’t think the answers should be closed once the “best answer” is done/resolved. First of all, there easily could be an update, or the answer could simply be wrong. “One year ago” BUB20789 asked, “Who sells AutoLite batteries? Need Replacement!!?” The “best” answer given was from I am I said: “Autolite batteries are original equipment on Ford products. A Ford dealer would be the only place to contact.”
That is and was not true. Our AutoLite battery was purchased from Checker (now O’Reilly/Checker) 3 years ago. We needed a new battery today and they still sell this battery. On this same site, someone asked if this brand was sold by Walmart and the answer was yes.
They should also vote for the funniest answer ,what about the sense of humor.
still didnt tell how to do it? if i pose a question how do I mark the one I like as best?
IF Yahoo’s Answer staff was as smart as they think they are, many questions never receive BA becasue none of the answers are worth giving a BA to. Since there’s nothing in it should one gives no BA, many just don’t bother with it. There’s your botton line!
I love answering questions on Y/A. I get pleasure when I am able to help someone with a problem they are having. Especialy in the auto catagories. What I don’t particularly like is when it’s so obvious a student is wanting you to do their homework for them. Although I am guilty of helping them, I always try to make the point that it’s best they do their own research. It stays in their head that way. Although I don’t ask many questions, I always try to pick best answers by considering the time and though. and sincerity put into answer. If I am stuck as in a tie. The grammer, spelling, and punctuation counts more.
a gr8888888888888888888 idea but how can we have 100 points?This may lessen the competition among repliers,without comp where’s the fun?
I think giving 2 points per vote instead of 1 would be a great way to encourage voting.
Let’s face it; the amount we can vote is very limited, particularly compared to the amount of questions we can answer.
The voting system is good but it has some flaws. Some users won’t bother earning one measly point for voting so they don’t bother doing it. They could at least give more points for voting. There are over 9 million questions in voting right now. And most people ask questions just for the sake of asking and when they get a good answer, they leave their question to vote and leave it with no BA for years…I vote when I’m on my phone when I get really bored so it’s no problem for me but I know a lot of other users couldn’t be bothered with it and I don’t blame em.
how do i choose a best answer??
im new too this and i already like it but i know im goin to need alot of help from freendly people:)
how can i increase my yahoo level. now i am in level 1. i need to increase my level at least 2.
I haven’t yet found a way to sort the questions I’ve answered that are “in voting” from all the flack that ISN’T in voting. This is annoying.
There are several problems that others have mentioned that I agree need to be addressed.
Is Yahoo ever going to do anything about any of it,
or simply sit by and allow everyone to complain
ad infinitum with no hope of seeing improvements?
I love the Q&A with the ability to leave your comments! You never know if you come across one you think someone answered wrong on and you actually have the answer that can truly help someone!! As well as not having the answer to a questioned you desperately need answered, that someone can help you with!!!
I don’t agree with this Idea of how to choose your best answer if like there is a tie to answers on a question , WHY , coz this method of choosing the best answer does’nt make the answer the Best answer its just mathematical so this proves that they are some areas that mathematics does not apply in peoples lives , for example in a group like religion and spirituality people vote for an answer because of their belifies so the aproving of a question will be on the basis of the number of whether atheist or christians voted so this Idead may be applicable in other categories on this one its not applicable .
I agree with this idea of how to chose your best anwers
This is my first time votting i dont know what 2 do lol.
I dont even know what the conversation is about.
i totally like the idea
I totally agree with the best answer being chosen.
We are all individuals and have different ways of thinking or solving problems out. The best answer would be the one that solves the situation with least or no rep-recursions. I am always a little high when I get a note saying my answer was chosen as best answer.
It motivates me to come here. I feel very useful.
woa…your idea is good
I like it?
I like the idea of best answers. We all have our own answers we think is right and that will do us good if one of us gets the right answer:)
I don’t agree with this Idea of how to choose your best answer if like there is a tie to answers on a question , WHY , coz this method of choosing the best answer does’nt make the answer the Best answer its just mathematical so this proves that they are some areas that mathematics does not apply in peoples lives , for example in a group like religion and spirituality people vote for an answer because of their belifies so the aproving of a question will be on the basis of the number of whether atheist or christians voted so this Idead may be applicable in other categories on this one its not applicable .