no.stupid.answers

I love the ‘R’ word. That’s right: release. There’s just nothing like waking up in the morning, stretching, opening a browser to WikiAnswers and noticing that the WikiAnswers team has put out a release of new features and site updates while I was sleeping.

• The WikiAnswers homepage got a minor face lift with this new release, including a listing of recent questions with their category and time of asking.
• Check out the holiday-themed tag cloud on the homepage and Browse Categories.
• More reasons to log in! The blue Tools Menu has been completely revamped in a more organized style.
• Think you’ve reached the limit of contributor-level badges? They no longer top out at Platinum: start working towards becoming a Ruby contributor.



• There is now a spell checker in the answer form; before you post your answer, click the ABC button at the end of the menu and make your answer even more perfect.
• Feel the love, share the love: Join the Community Outreach program and reach a whole new level of participation.
• Cleaning up clearly: A new warning feature for Supervisors allows for organized and effective vandal patrol.

A whole bunch of new features and pretty touches went live on WikiAnswers today, but one that I am particularly fond of is the new layout for the Browse Categories page. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

You may or may not have hung out in that part of wiki-town before, but you should definitely stop by for the tag cloud, the Newest Categories list, the detailed categories tree, but most of all, the Find As You Type-supported Find a Category feature.

That baby comes equipped with all the categories on WikiAnswers. All you need to do is start typing the first letters of the category you seek and it pops right up in a suggested list below the box. Much like the Answers.com version on the homepage and beyond. Works great if you’re not sure what you’re looking for and you want to find obscure categories you’ve never come across before.

Here are some other great features that just went live today:

• You can now view Recent Site Changes based on all users’ contributions, only registered users’ contributions, or only guest users’ contributions.
• Fancy shmancy new message board design. Ooooh yeah.
• There is now an animated New Message icon when you receive - you guessed it - a new message on your message board. As one product manager said, “Its mouth opens and closes. It’s like a man-eating envelope.” Just be careful not to stick your finger inside that little guy…

As you know, WikiAnswers is based on the wiki concept (anyone from anywhere can add to or edit answers) and answers are grown collaboratively over time by the community. This is the cool new world of user-generated content – where you are the writer, editor and publisher!

But we’re all human – at least most of us – and we do make mistakes. Come on, you know what I’m talking about. When was the last time you spelled definitely as definately or used their instead of they’re? It happens.

There are also those lurking among us who enjoy nothing better than having a good time at the expense of others. On WikiAnswers, that often comes in the form of posting useless, offensive or inflammatory answers or remarks.

So what happens when you come across a question whose answer leaves little to be desired?

You can edit it directly or Flag for Improvement! This handy new link located on the left in the menu area allows you to mark a Q&A as one that could use some TLC. This is especially useful when you are in a hurry or simply don’t have the knowledge required to improve an answer.

When you click on the link, you are presented with the following pop-up:

You can choose one or more of the options listed and even place a detailed comment as to why you are marking an answer as needing improvement. These flagged Q&As (little outlaws!) can be accessed here or you can Browse by Category and see only those Q&As in a particular topic area.

See something you want to clean up?Simply click on the Q&A, select Improve Answer and make your improvements. When you are done editing, remove the flags and comments related to the changes you made by clicking off the little checked boxes or selecting Edit Flags.

So the next time you come across something questionable or in need of some help, don’t turn a blind eye - remember to Flag for Improvement.

Every edit goes a looooong way…