Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers blog

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: here.

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!

– Yahoo! UK & Ireland Answers team