Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers blog

How can a potential answerer tell that a question titled, “Help???????????” is really asking for study tips for an upcoming history test? Another “Help?!??!?!?” question pertains to face washing habits and the persistence of spots.

Whether titling a blog post in the form of a question, soliciting help from a friend in conversation, or asking a question on Answers, it is important to be brief and specific. You don’t want to dance around your point, but you also don’t want to exclude important information.

Phrasing matters for conversation, heated arguments, debates, speeches, and even essays. It could refer to either grammar or music, but how would you know which one is intended to be referenced from the vague title of this post? It lacks context, and we see something similar to this happening on Answers all the time.

People asking for situational advice often title their questions with a single word and excessive punctuation. When questions are phrased like this, how is anyone going to know whether or not they could offer any valuable advice in the form of an answer?

Now it’s true that question categories help provide some context when browsing through Answers, but seeing numerous poorly phrased questions can be frustrating. It also makes it difficult for us to share good questions and answers. We would have loved to share both of the questions in the opening paragraph if not for their unfortunate titling choices.

Our editors also help promote quality Answers content all over the Yahoo! network – like the Pulse module on the Yahoo! UK & Ireland Front Page and sites like Celebrity Big Brother on Yahoo!. However, we can’t feature questions consisting of only one word titles, no matter how excellent the content may be.

So perhaps a better title for this post would be, “Why does phrasing matter when asking questions?” The answer is simple – clarification.

So, how does phrasing affect your activity on Answers?

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

Tears? Check! Fantastic hairdos and glittering dresses? Check! Overlong speeches? Check! Another year, another glamorous Oscars night.

As usual, the bald little golden guy was there to be squeezed and kissed by actors and actresses barely able to contain their emotions. And what a life this little Oscar man has led! Still young in his 79th year, his origins are somewhat debated. When Jennifer E started wondering where the name Oscar came from, Kusazumir came up with two most likely explanations.

“One biography of Bette Davis claims that she named the Oscar after her first husband, bandleader Harmon Oscar Nelson. Another claimed origin is that of the Academy’s Executive Secretary, Margaret Herrick, who first saw the award in 1931 and made reference of the statuette reminding her of her Uncle Oscar.”

There have been many discussions over the past few weeks as to which film would end up winning in the Best Picture category. This debate is now closed, and it is time to congratulate Martin Scorsese for delivering the goods with The Departed. It has marked Scorsese’s return to gangster form after some lukewarm attempts at steering clear of the genre. A question that Wolfie86 wondered though was how it compared to the Italian-American filmmaker’s last underworld classic: Goodfellas. Popular opinion was in favour of Goodfellas. Mo-Z, however was quick to respond in favour of The Departed. “It was so freaking awesome. It’s like the one movie I actually want to see several times”.

Babel, with it’s complex story spreading over three continents, had drawn some mixed reactions from the Answers crowd. As Cerith W pondered what the message of the film could be, Daff73 tried to sum it up in the best possible way. “It was definitely a different movie. However, I think its overall message was that all of our lives are intertwined and chain reactions can set a path for us all”.

More reliable than a Royal Mail postman, Clint Eastwood was once again back this year to deliver his ‘Letters from Iwo Jima’. While he missed out on what would have been his third Best Picture Oscar, a new nomination was certainly the confirmation that he remains one of Hollywood’s biggest talents. A Second World War double-bill with Flags of Our Fathers, Letters tell the story of the famous Iwo Jima battle from a Japanese perspective, with actor Ken Wattanabe as General Kuribayashi and Kazunari Ninomiya as a soldier whose life is about to change forever when American forces gather to invade the island.

In the time-honoured Oscars tradition of nominating at least one independent film, Little Miss Sunshine was this year’s underdog and a firm favourite among those who like their films witty and low-key. It certainly has fans over here, with Coco leading the charge, eager to let everyone know how much she loved the film.

Last but not least, old Blighty had sent quite an ambassador into the Best Picture category this year. After sweeping the board at the BAFTAs, hit movie The Queen was looking to take the crown again. One must certainly have been very disappointed to miss out on the ultimate prize, but Dame Helen Mirren still was queen of the night, pocketing a statuette for her performance in the leading role.

What do you think of the Oscar winners this year? Are the awards in the right hands? Ask the questions on Answers or tell us what you think.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

“What can you do today to help somebody?”

– Adriana Barraza, Oscar nominee for best performance by an actress in a supporting role

As the anticipation builds for this weekend’s 79th Annual Academy Awards, aka the Oscars, Yahoo! Answers has an exclusive question from Oscar nominated actress Adriana Barraza.

She’s nominated for her part in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Babel which also stars Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Kôji Yakusho, and Gael García Bernal. Without spoiling the plot for anyone who hasn’t seen it, the film’s narrative investigates how cultural assumptions prevent people truly understanding each other. It’s a poignant question in an era of globalisation, we’d wager. Yet the film also carries a humanist message that points to people’s similarities rather than their differences.

Answers users, such as Wing Commander, have wondered what the title of the film refers to, and Florence, via her mum’s expertise, explains that it’s a biblical reference to the “Tower of Babel.” The chapter reads “that god punished humans by giving them different languages so they could not understand each other… In the film, the issue raised is that they are Americans who can’t (for obvious reasons) speak Arabic and have a hard time getting her to a doctor.”

Waleed Z was impressed by the soundtrack to the film and is desperate to know what track is played in the rave scene . Phoenixdarkness is on hand to help, pointing him to “September/The Joker” by Fatboy Slim. “The whole soundtrack is well worth getting,” he adds.

The Oscars are announced late into Sunday night UK & Ireland time and we wish Adriana the best of luck in her quest to win best performance by an actress in a supporting role. In the meantime, why not answer her question.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

It’s that day of the year when everyone breaks out the frying pans and reaches for the maple syrup. Yes it must be Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day: a day for feasting before the fasting begins.

As ever, Answers is a treasure trove of information. Ever wondered why Pancake Day is also known as Shrove Tuesday? Jayebird has and Lee was on hand to answer.

“Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent, when people would go to church to confess their sins, repent and be forgiven before the fasting for Lent,” explains Lee. “The tradition of eating pancakes is from the need to use up food which would spoil before the Lenten fast so there is that link with ‘Fat Tuesday’.”

If Lee has cleared up where Shrove Tuesday originates, what about pancakes themselves – how did they come about? Diana S has been pondering this one herself and while he was unlucky not to get best answer, ted_armentrout has some good ideas.

“Pancakes are an ancient food; cooking on a griddle or other flat, hot surface is a far older technique than oven cooking. There are recipes for pancakes, in fact, that appear as far back as the height of the Roman Empire, in the culinary compendium “Apicius.” In it, cooks found a version with honey and pepper. Flour, eggs, milk – such simple ingredients were also mixed, fried, and flipped to create a traditional Shrove Tuesday treat, before the Lenten fast.”

He’s also pretty up on the variants of the pancake theme found around the world: “Toad-in-the-hole, from England, and pannukakku, from Finland, are baked rather than fried. Russian blini are leavened with yeast. The best French crêpes are too thin to have much of an interior. No matter, they’re all equally delicious.”

In the Food & Drink category, Sainsbury’s are currently asking a wonderfully topical question: what’s the secret to perfect, flippable golden pancakes? There are lots of good answers already but user J3nny3lf has added an interesting nugget of experience: “don’t attempt to turn them until they are bubbling at the edges. That’s when they are ready to flip. And that’s when they are generally golden.”

Pancakes are, however, often made from egg, which is all well and good if you can eat them, but what can vegans or Sikhs do if they want to join the pancake scoffing frenzy? Kerry r wonders if you can make them without eggs. Snikerdoodle1717, who’s vegan, insists you can, suggesting adding “chocolate chips, blueberries, strawberries, or even a bit of mashed banana to alter the taste.” The recipe sounds mouth-watering. Happy Pancake Day everyone!

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team

We’ve had a whole range of quality Answerers in the past, from wine experts to handy mechanics. Well this week we’re congratulating A*, a young Londoner with superb software knowledge. Still fresh from university and a budding interaction designer, A* has managed to offer an amazing array of best answers and climbed to Level 6 with over 10,000 points.

A* admits to being addicted to Answers and due to his keen interest in the world of technology, he is found mostly in the Computers & Internet category. With technology rapidly developing these days, it’s always useful to have a techie who can help others understand their clever gadgets or problematic PCs. Stevie C was facing some confusion over her dead iPod battery but A* was there for him with some helpful advice. Rather than MP3 players though, A* confesses his love for Macs, which he seems to know inside out. So if you’re having trouble deciding which one to buy, you know who to ask.

Being a master of various types of software is something that must come naturally to A* as he has pointed people like Ixery Akay in the right direction for getting to grips with Photoshop. Meanwhile, Will has been left scratching his head at how to achieve that perfect effect in Flash and not surprisingly, A* has been ready with the perfect answer. From iPods to Macs and on software, there is still no stopping A*s expertise – he has also shared some wireless wisdom when describing Wi-Fi hotspots to a user not so familiar with them.

He may know hardware and software like the back of his hand but those are not the limits of his enthusiasm.“In my spare time, I enjoy visiting galleries and museums, cooking and of course, participating on Yahoo! Answers” he explains. “I enjoy all sporting activities but these days I’m more of a spectator than a participant.”

When speaking about Answers, he has captured one of its important characteristics: “I always try and answer questions well in the hope that the information I provide will be beneficial not only to the person asking the question, but to the whole Answers community.”

Well, judging from your outstanding contribution, we think you’ve definitely managed to do that A*. Thank you for being our computer genius and keep those great answers coming.

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team