no.stupid.answers

I’m often asked by new Supervisors, “What types of questions should I trash?” As a rule of thumb, we try not to delete too much from WikiAnswers. It’s always better to move, edit and salvage questions. Deleting disrupts our database history, preserved search engine results and pages that folks have bookmarked.

But there are times when the garbage needs to be brought out. Here are the guidelines for using the Trash feature:

* Questions of a sexual nature should be rephrased to adhere to our Stylebook rules with proper ‘anatomy’ terms used. Any sexually graphic or explicit questions should be trashed.

* Questions that ask about how to perform an illegal activity (such as hacking into a computer network or stealing a car) should automatically be tossed in the trash can next to the smelly empty tuna cans and green, three-week old bread.

* Questions that ask for or reference personal information (such as cell phone numbers or street addresses) need to go to the round file.

* Questions that are otherwise dangerous, or asked to provoke, titillate or advertise are also candidates for being obliterated.

To send a question on its way out the door, simply select ‘Trash’ from the menu on the left. Remember, on WikiAnswers we go against the grain… When in doubt, don’t throw out!

Supervisors and everyday contributors frequently ask, “What’s the deal on signing answers?”  As you know, WikiAnswers is a Q&A community (and a darn good one!), where answers are grown collaboratively.  Unlike other Q&A sites (no names mentioned), we are based on the ‘wiki’ concept, which means that anyone from anywhere has the ability to edit and modify existing posts.  There is no ‘ownership’ of answers (unless the question is asking for opinions), so signing answers is indeed discouraged. 

What we are aiming for is one really great answer for each question (where possible and feasible) that is collaboratively created by the community over time.  And ideally, we want one answer with a neutral point of view. Bottom line…feel free to delete any personal comments, notes, contact info and what not from answers - including any references to “Hope this helps!” 

Hope this helps! 
 Example Wrong:

 Example Right:

Protecting questions is a powerful tool given only to Supervisors.  This feature comes in handy when a Q&A is being repeatedly vandalized or when spammers are attacking a specific page. 

But be careful.  Once protected, a question cannot be edited or improved.  So if you choose to protect a Q&A, remember to unprotect it once things settle down so that legitimate contributors can add their posts. 

The ‘Protect from Changes’ tool is located under Question Tools on the left side of the page.

By now, you’ve probably heard the term WYSIWYG while venturing through the WikiAnswers community. Just saying it…WYSIWYG (pronounced wiz-ee-wig)…tickles the upper lip. Funny little thing, isn’t it?

Some people (we won’t mention any names) still think that this is some type of newly fangled dance craze, while others are convinced that it is the ultimate in synthetic hair (WYG?). Not so. WYSIWYG is actually short for What You See Is What You Get. It is similar to a word processor (with a ton of various quirks), in that what you see as you are editing is what will appear in the final product. No HTML or wiki markup language is required.

The WYSIWYG Editor is available on WikiAnswers bio pages and also when you are posting or editing answers. So, have fun and go crazy (but not too crazy or we’ll block you).