Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers blog

Ah, “noise”. You know, the trashy questions that pop up here and there, like “What’s your name?” and “Who wants to chat with me?” (Note of caution: “What’s your pet’s name?” is probably a phishing attempt to get your password).

Some of you complain that there is too much “noise” on Yahoo! Answers, and some of you complain that we’re too strict in our removals. Well, today’s post is about how we can all do our part to make everybody happy (I’m feeling idealistic today).

First, to the people complaining about having a question removed.
Let me reiterate that Yahoo! Answers is NOT a chat site or personals message board. It is a Q&A site where human knowledge can be shared. Therefore, questions like “Does Larry like me?”, “What’s my middle name?”, and “Who wants to date a hot stud?” will be removed. If you try to post your email address in an attempt to chat with other participants, we will also remove it. For you, we recommend http://uk.chat.yahoo.com. It’s a great place and trust us, you will be much happier there.

Second, to the people complaining about the noise.

You may not know this, but you have the power to weed out noise. Here’s how:

1. Don’t answer those questions. Questions with no answers are deleted automatically after  seven days, so it’s a good way to purge them.
2. Report the abuse. These questions are in violation of community guidelines, and customer care will review the report and take appropriate action. We are working on ways to make it  easier to weed out bad stuff, so stay tuned.

And for some stimulating bedside reading, our community guidelines page is a great place to get a sense of what we’re all about.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

Our latest featured user is Dumplingmuffin, a young-at-heart mother, grandmother and semi-retired nurse from Northamptonshire. An active answerer since December 2005, Dumplingmuffin has found time to notch up an impressive 3332 answers. They can be found mainly in the Health category as well as Pregnancy and Parenting. It’s a wonder she finds the time in between working and looking after her three grandchildren!

A self-confessed Answers addict, Dumplingmuffin’s extensive advice ranges from treating childhood chicken pox, to menopause tips as well as helping with worries about serious health problems.

“My specialist subject is anything medical as I have been in the profession since the late 1960’s when I trained as a state registered nurse. I’m now working part-time preferring to take life easier. I try and learn something new every day as a little knowledge is a good thing.”

Thanks for your contributions so far Dumplingmuffin!

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

We’re into the third week of the World Cup now and the kid gloves are ready to come off as we enter the knock-out rounds. 

The FIFA World Cup category is bustling with speculation, opinions and comments about the ongoing tournament.  Some fresh topics at the moment include the role of referees, which is certainly topical with the only English referee Graham Poll being sent home early after his terrible performance in the Australia and Croatia game. 

Dare I mention England’s chances without blighting them?  I’m sure most people would agree that we haven’t been the most impressive team so far this tournament, especially compared with the likes of Argentina, Spain or Portugal.  But we have done well to top our group where even other top seeded countries have failed to qualify.  

With England playing this weekend we expect to see a full strength side to face Ecuador, a small country of 13 million people, who weren’t expected to get through the group phase.  So, let’s see if we are partying in the streets after this weekend, or whether the World Cup dream will be extinguished…

One thing is certain though, the quality of football at this World Cup has been outstanding; let’s hope it continues and that England play a part in it past this weekend.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

With the World Cup now in full swing we have asked Ex-England, Manchester United and Celebrity Love Island star Lee Sharpe to take time away from his world cup blog to ask questions, and to answer your questions on Yahoo! Answers.

Simply post your question on Yahoo! Answers, then post the link to the question in the comments field below and we will be sure to pass the question onto Lee.  Alternatively, you can mail a question directly to Lee at ask_sharpey@yahoo.co.uk and he will answer you on his blog, but this won’t be in Answers.

While you are there, why not have a look at other questions in the FIFA World Cup category?  There are a range of football questions and answers to enhance your knowledge, enabling you to surpass even the most experienced pundit!  Whether you need to know the rules of football, just the rules of offside, or if you want to know the all-time top scorer in a world cup, we have the answers!

If it isn’t in Yahoo! Answers - ask a pundit… Here is your chance.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

 Find yourself unable to get through the day without your regular Yahoo! Answers fix? Don’t worry – Yahoo! Answers is now only one click away with Yahoo! Toolbar.

Yahoo! UK & Ireland have just launched a new version of our toolbar for Internet Explorer which provides you with instant access to Yahoo! Answers, no matter where you are on the Web.

The new toolbar now offers tabbed browsing to Internet Explorer users, which will help you to manage all your questions and answers without having to open lots of different windows. Also, you can now search Answers direct from the search box on the toolbar.

Download and install the new version of the toolbar, then add the Answers button by following these simple steps:

1.      Click the ‘pencil’ icon on the Toolbar

2.      Select ‘personal options’

3.      Then select ‘add/edit buttons’ to include Answers

Alternatively let us do it for you in one simple step.

In addition to the Answers button, the new toolbar also provides some other great new features:

·         Enhanced Search box – easily re-run previous searches.

·         New Search Options – Search for content from Answers or for photos from Flickr directly from the search box.

·         Tabbed Browsing – no need for multiple Internet Explorer windows, manage all your pages in one browser.

Firefox users need not feel left out, the Firefox version of the Yahoo! toolbar is also available and you can add the Answers button by following the instructions described above.

Keep on clicking,

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team