Events, Happenings & Cool Stuff

I had heard about Yahoo Answers off and on for a while.  If you are unfamiliar with this site, it’s basically a

How Smart Is Yahoo?

place to ask questions and seek advice.  The answers and advice you receive are not from the staff employed by Yahoo but from everyday people around the globe.  It wasn’t until my son came home with flash burn in his eyes that I actually used the site myself.

Apparently, my 17-year-old son thought he was “cool” enough to weld his friend’s exhaust without wearing the proper eye protection.  His side of the story… the welding helmet he had only offered a very small window to see through.  Regardless of the actual events, he had a horrific case of flash burn in his eyes.

Before I made the trip to the emergency room, I decided to ask about flash burn on Yahoo answers.  I was blown away by the amount of responses I received in only 2 minutes!  After my son’s eyes were properly examined, treated and he was fast asleep with potatoes on his eyes, I decided to explore this site further.

Any and every question you can think of has been asked and answered.  The range of questions is astounding.  Some people ask for advise on relationships, recipes and health, while others ask for specific information on vehicles, businesses and pet care.  As I was exploring, I noticed about half of the questions seemed to be from teenagers.  Some were seeking help with homework and puberty, but the majority wanted feedback on their looks…even posting pictures of themselves.

There are 3 basic sections of Yahoo answers.  A section to “ask” where you post your question; a section to “answer” where you post your answer to a question and a section to “discover” where you can read questions which have been asked and resolved.  Since I didn’t have another question to ask, I opted to click “answer” to see if perhaps I could assist someone with a problem.  I found myself completely addicted!  I was sharing advice, my views on different topics and even posting some of my own personal experiences with complete strangers.  Before I knew it, it was 4am so I logged off and headed to bed.

The next morning, as I sipped my first cup of coffee, I found myself logging back into the site…I was as hooked to Yahoo answers as a hungry fish is to a fresh worm. Throughout the next few weeks, I logged in 3 or 4 times a day to share my advice and thoughts.  As the days passed and the newness of this addiction faded, I logged in less frequently, but still at least once a day. Once a day, that is, until last evening.

As my guests left earlier than expected, I settled onto the couch with my laptop and once again logged in.  I performed a few searches on various items I am somewhat knowledgeable about, but found no new questions that peaked my interest.  I began reading the most recently asked questions and gave my 2 cents on a few questions.  During this time, I came across a question someone asked about funny advice.  My curiosity got the better of me and I read the entire question.  They were asking for funny advice…as in funny, ironic statements.  This question had many responses, some were old clichés, some were rude and involved 4-letter words and some were unmentionable.  I briefly thought about it and opted to give my funny advice…”Never take a sleeping pill and laxative in the same night”.  It is an old one, but still funny and true in it’s own right.  I went on to continue answering some more questions and shared more personal experiences.  During this time, Mike and I were chit chatting and I told him about the aforementioned question as well as my response.  He suggested I edit my answer and add one of his favorites….”Fat people are hard to kidnap”.  This phrase was something we had received and printed on a t-shirt.  We both chuckled and I added his suggestion.

Please don’t take this the wrong way, Mike and I are the most down to earth, fun loving people.  Neither of us have a prejudice bone in our bodies and have many friends of various colors, sizes, shapes, orientation, beliefs, etc.  As long as you are a true person, you are welcomed into our lives and home.

Once again, I looked at the clock and headed to bed at about 2 am.  When I awoke this morning, I followed my usual routine…coffee in one hand and laptop on my lap.  I attempted to log into Yahoo answers to view any feedback on my advice, but was greeted with the following:

“Hello Tracey

You have posted content to Yahoo! Answers in violation of our Community Guidelines or Terms of Service.  As a result, your account has been suspended.

If you feel you were not in violation, please contact our Customer Care and tell us why.

Regards,
Yahoo! Customer Care”

Naturally, I emailed “customer care” asking what I could have done to yield this result.  After hours of waiting, I finally got this email:

In order to investigate this issue, we will need the Yahoo! ID that you
use on the Yahoo! Answers site.

This information will help us to assist you. We apologize for any
inconvenience.

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Answers. Your case number for this
issue is XXXXXXXX. Please reference it in all future communication about
this particular issue.

Regards,

(Actual Name)

Yahoo! Customer Care

XXXXXXXX

For assistance with all Yahoo! services please visit: (website)“

I supplied them with all the requested information and again asked what I did to cause this result.  The only

thing I can come up with is the “Fat people are hard to kidnap” response.  Again, after hours of waiting I finally got a response, here is what it said:

Once an account is disabled for a violation of the Terms of Service, the
subscriber to the account will lose the ability to log in and access the
account and its contents (including email and content stored with any
other Yahoo! service). The account also will not be reactivated.

Should you choose to create a new Yahoo! account, we invite you to read
the Yahoo! Terms of Service and Yahoo! Community Guidelines to help
ensure your new account is not deactivated.

Yahoo! Terms of Service:

http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/utos-173.html

Yahoo! Community Guidelines:

http://answers.yahoo.com/info/community_guidelines.php

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Answers. Your case number for this
issue is XXXXXXXX. Please reference it in all future communication about
this particular issue.

Regards,

(actual name, yet different name than previous email)”

Once again, they did not tell me what I did to deserve the “tos”!  I feel like a child being punished but not

That's What A Guy Vito I Know Says

knowing why.  Would you ever punish your child or anyone and ignore them when they asked what they did?  How can one correct the problem, or defend their actions without knowing exactly what they did wrong?

Another point one should note…though they penalize me and completely delete my account without explanation, in the same email, they inform me I could create another account and continue to ask, answer and discover.  In the words of Garth from Wayne’s World….”As If”!

Has anyone had a similar experience?  Was I wrong to post the funny advice I posted?  I’d love your feedback and comments.