Shiny new answers. Perfectionistic edits. Categorization after categorization after categorization. Contributions are the pulse of our Q&A community. We record them, search them, filter them, revert them, reward for them and – sometimes – block for them.

There are dozens of ways to contribute on WikiAnswers, and until recently, they were all bundled together into one big contribution total, which looked like this box here.

(This is my stats box, by the way. And I like that number, 22,353. It’s not like Steven Keyman or HisPowr4U, but it’s still something to be proud of.)

What if you could see the breakdown of your contributions, and where you stand within the community in each grouping? Yeah, that’s what we thought, too. So the boys in the back room did some magic, and today we are rolling out a new contribution system that will let you shine in five new ways:

• Answers: first answers
• Edits: edits to questions, answers, alternates, related questions and related links
• Organization: categorization, flags, features, merges, splits, protects and more…
• Questions: questions asked
• Community: messages, discussion posts and bio page edits

Read on to find out where you’ll see the changes.

Bio pages: more transparency

Visit your bio page to see your current stats. Check out the new features:

• If you’re in this month’s top 100 for a specific contribution type, you’ll see a little starburst next to it. Click on the starburst to see the top 100 list.
• Hover over a contribution title (e.g., “Organization”) to see what type of action is included in that group.
• Click “Total” to see all of the user’s contributions.

Category pages: getting to the heart of matters

It takes a lot to keep a category clean, organized and full of good answers. And it takes a lot of curious people to fill it with the questions that keep our minds buzzing.

We now recognize all types of category contributions on a monthly basis, so whether you’re an intrepid new contributor rising through the ranks or a community leader watching from the sidelines hoping to recruit a supervisor, this page has it all.

Missing the forest for the trees? Click the Hall of Fame link to return to the sitewide leaderboards…

Check it out by visiting your favorite category homepage, or see Animal Life for an example.

Leaderboards: being #1 never looked so good

It seemed like a shame to upgrade the contribution system and then send it down the red carpet on the arm of an old leaderboard. A little like being presented at the Inaugural Ball in an Armani suit… and ratty Converse All-Stars from 1977. So we gave the leaderboards a makeover, and there are oh, so many sweet new ways to be #1. See for yourself:

• This month’s top 10s by action type and top 100 overall
• Statistical blasts from the past
• All-time top contributors by action type, by category and overall

Click the arrows to see the top 100.

You’re probably wondering…

• What will happen to my old contributions?
  Old contributions will not be affected. All of the points from old contributions have migrated to the new system. That’s how loyal they are. (Even if they’re wearing ratty old shoes. That’s how loyal we are.)
• What are Historical points?
  Historical points are a record of some very old contributions that didn’t fit into the new system (it was a bit like putting a video cassette into a DVD player). We didn’t want you to lose them, so we created a special category for them. The number won’t change. You can view it as a little contribution nest egg.
• Yesterday I was #1 in answers. Today I’m not even on the list. What happened?
  Monthly leaderboards start fresh on the 1st of every month. This gives all great contributors a chance to shine!
• What about the all-time leaderboards? I’ve been on WikiAnswers a long time.
  They’re still around. We gave them a makeover. Winter colors.
• Where are the new leaderboards? Take me there!
  This is the URL: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Special:Tops. Bookmark it, favorite it, share it with your friends. Hug it like you’ll never let it go.

Testimonials

“This feature ROCKS!” – Ganderton

“I want to cuddle it.” – Eliesheva

“It will make me want to answer more, and that’s a good thing.” – Kmac

“I don’t know how I lived without it before.” – Brave3

“That’s hawt.” – Anonymous

“Split contributions makes me want to be a cheerleader again! Go SCs!” – Crystal

“It looks so pretty and shiny that I could stare at it all day!” – Stupid Little Genius

“The engineers have surpassed themselves… Possibly the best feature I have seen with my time on site.” – Mike 2

“I’m so excited about split contribs that my OCD is going to go into hyperdrive!” – An8thg

What do you think of the new contributions system? Add your own testimonial in the comments section below!

A big thanks goes out to everyone who flexed their fingers and maxed out their minds in name of knowledge this past weekend! This was the fourth AnswerThon we’ve had at WikiAnswers but only the second one without the bells and whistles for you purists out there. Since the original AnswerThon we’ve had Charity and How-To editions of this answering extravaganza…

Without further ado, the April 2009 WikiAnswers AnswerThon champions are Steven Keyman (supervisor division) and Jordang123 (standard division). Steven smoked the competition with an amazing 1,231 answers!  Second-place finishers included Aggie80, Rimshakr27, Iluvcake94, and Ananddave. Check out the full list of prize winners.

First, second and third-place winners are receiving Amazon.com gift certificates worth $500, $200 and $100 respectively. Additionally, second-place winners will take home WikiAnswers laptop bags while third-place finishers will walk away with WikiAnswers blankets. Fifty runners-up will receive WikiAnswers t-shirts.

Congratulations to all the winners, both first-time contributors and seasoned veterans!  When’s the next AnswerThon? I’m glad you asked. Sign up for WikiAnswers e-mail announcements and follow us on Twitter to be notified when the next WikiAnswers challenge is launched!

Social Media Marketing (SSM) Blog did a quick comparison of WikiAnswers and Yahoo! Answers, the two leading Q&A sites on the market right now.

Let’s see what their perspective was, shall we?

On Q&A format:

In Yahoo! Answers, different users can reply with answer to a question, then the asker can select the best answer for that question. In WikiAnswers there is a wiki format which allows users to provide a single answer for each question, and that single answer can be edited and improved by any user.

On contributor personalization:

Users can personalize your profile in WikiAnswers. It gives you more flexibility, such as creating a personal message board, a watch list, a personal community and a personal io page. In Yahoo! Answers, users do not have access to personal networks or other personalizations.

Continue reading the article for statistical comparisons as well. It’s a little strange that they didn’t highlight the fact that while Yahoo! Answers leads the market by a vast majority, WikiAnswers is the fastest growing Q&A site and gaining on their top competitor constantly.

Reported side effects of participating in the AnswerThon, as recorded by several Supervisors:

Numb-bum.

The need to change their focal distance.

Mush for brain with mild blindness kicking in.

Not being able to remember the last time you ate something that required a fork (and a bit of basic attention).

Having a rather large pup lick the keyboard a time or two trying to get your attention.

A lot of Coke-drinking.

The feeling your eyes are crossing.

Falling asleep with head on keyboard resulting in FGHJVBN being repeated for several minutes as an answer.

Not noticing the chickens being released from the yard and herded around and around the house by a well meaning but otherwise bored puppy. (no loss of livestock).

Failure to multitask and leave supper burning on the BBQ while submitting “just one more answer.”

Hey, we said it would be an intense challenge. You still have a few hours left to contribute: Get going!

Folks, this is last call for signing up to participate in the second WikiAnswers AnswerThon, which starts tonight at 12:00 am EDT.

It’s the charity-edition AnswerThon, where your answers are actually sponsoring the charity you choose from the available list. The charity with the most answers at the end of 48 hours will receive a $5,000 donation from WikiAnswers.

Of course, the top answerers will receive a small token of their own, so make sure you have your favorite category set up and dig in!