How do you define "helpful answer"?
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M$17 Answers
As far as helpful, they should simply answer the question concisely and leave no further questions. Long answers that "miss the point," as mentioned above, are of little use.
I look at Mahalo as I look at my own career - I give the best answer I can possibly give within time and budgetary constraints, and if I see someone else put forth the same type of effort, I want to reward them for doing so.
However, if I see an answer that answers the question in a really clever or original fashion, I may be inclined to consider that a helpful answer.
QUALITY, PEOPLE!
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M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$merriamwebster
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
If the answer gives the question-er a warm fuzzy in their belly and they don't have to look any further to find the knowledge they are seeking... then the answer is helpful.
personal experience
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Also, a related complaint... because we can't vote our own answers as helpful or not, we are unable to see feedback. For all I know, 8 people could mark my answer as unhelpful, and I'm not going to know.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Personally, I just look for the answer that is most helpful to my personal understanding of the question. I don't think you can look any further than that without ascribing bad motivations to the other people voting.
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M$
It sucks, but given the formula of the site, until traffic grows, I think most people aren't even trying to specialize, and are just answering questions from the answers homepage. I think that's another reason why answers tend to be bad.
As for what I define as helpful, if I ask a question and people answer it to the best of their ability, and completely relative to how I asked it, then I consider it helpful.
If people are just speculating, or just copied and pasted the same thing I just found in google before asking my question (which is what many seem to do) then I consider it unhelpful.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Regarding the competitiveness, that is what I'm wondering. Do people think that by labeling an answer as unhelpful, there will be less chance it will be chosen as best answer? Are they simply doing it because they don't like the person who posted?
I don't know if this is regarded as a violation of rules, but if I am thinking of answering a question and then I see an answer that is off the charts, I generally mark as helpful and then also reply to the comment with something like, "This is the best answer."
I think ONLY the question poster should be able to rate whether or not the questions are helpful.
Take this scenario:
Someone posts a LONG and original answer, but totally misses the point of the question. Then, someone posts a brief answer but it totally answers the posters question. The long poster jumps on and marks the short answer as not helpful simply because he is bitter that someone else might get the tip without spending the time that he spent on a reply.
Scenario 2:
Someone posts a silly question that clearly is meant to get silly answers. Other posters see the sarcastic answers and miss the sarcasm of the question. They mark the answers as "not helpful". Doh!
The system still needs o be ironed out.
my own experience
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M$
The only time I'll mark something as "unhelpful" is if it is not answering the question that is asked, or if it is too short to completely answer the question. Also, excessively "jokey" answers that don't also answer the question, or rude answers, I mark as unhelpful.
I'm fine if there is duplicate information. Even if two people who answer say the same thing, they can both be helpful. I don't like to dock people for thinking alike. Only one person gets the "best answer" so I figure those who provide "good" answers should be rewarded, not penalized.
Looking specifically at Jason's movie question, there's something screwy going on there. It is an outlier. Most answers to questions I've seen have either been unrated or rated as helpful.
There is no reason that many of those questions should have been tagged as "unhelpful." Most of them are, in fact, helpful, and a few are not terribly helpful because they don't give details.
Just speculating, but maybe the "big money" on the line on the question is causing people to be more cuthroat? Either they are rating as "unhelpful" to benefit their own question, or putting the answers under more scrutiny? It has the most "unhelpful answer" tags marked on the most questions of any other question on Mahalo Answers so far.
I have seen other answers with more "unhelpful" tags, but usually it's just one answer on a question that is, obviously, unhelpful. But nearly every single answer on that movie question has at least one unhelpful answer.
That 'aint right and it 'aint fair.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$The problem is... when people are giving answers, others are as well, and duplication can occur. So, I have to look at the times as well...
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M$
If that's your definition, then you should look at the time. If two answers are the same a few minutes apart, then it is possible they were typing at the same time. If they are a few hours apart, then it is more likely that the second person did not read the answers before posting (which is not a crime but not always helpful).
Darcy? Didn't I say that? *sigh* ;-)
Um, yeah. But consider the irony of my comment....
That's it. I was going for irony.
