Do Yahoo! Answers users realise the internet is international?

Question

Hi. While I have been using Yahoo Answers I have noticed that many users (mostly from the USA) answer questions as if the asker is in their own country, when in fact they could be anywhere in the world. There is often reference to 'us' and 'we'. I've also seen people give out toll free phone numbers that obviously can only be used within one country, without first verifying the asker's country of origin.

Have you experienced this kind of ethnocentric behaviour and if so, how do you feel about it?

Answer 1

No offense intended to the sane and rational american users of Yahoo answers or the internet .. BUT I have been in so many .. ummmm DISCUSSIONS re the internet and SO many americans were convinced that the Internet ...WWW was American Territory ...

the thing is if anybody gets THINGY re the net .. you just should  ;) and move on .. they're the dellusional ones not you  :)

Answer 2

Isn't this one of the best aspects of Y/A?  It's opening all our minds to different ways of looking at things and helping us understand 'that' other people have a different cultural take on something even if we don't completely understand 'why'.  And if we don't understand why, we get the chance to ask the question.

Answer 3

It's true that sometimes speech (or, rather, writing) patterns can give clues to the origin of the writer.  However, while nmyankee's assumption that reasonably good spelling and grammar indicate the likelihood of someone's not being from the United States,  you probably realize that there are exceptions.   I suppose that is part of the difficulty, yes?

Framing an answer that is suitable for anyone, anywhere, is a rather tall order, given the diversity of cultural norms throughout the world.  I think people answer from their own frames of reference, which is to be expected, don't you think?  That's one of the things that makes YA interesting:  the different points of view.  I spent the first part of my life in southern Ohio, and shortly after getting married, moved to upstate New York.  So I'm transplanted, and though I've visited a few countries in Europe, I've always lived in the U.S.A.

  I agree with anonymous that there does seem to be a general tendency for people to write as though the readers were from similar backgrounds.  I don't believe it is intentional.  I'm sorry if you feel left out.

Answer 4

Yeah, I've noticed it too.  However, in my experience, it really isn't done by one group of people more than the other, IMO.  I think many people just assume their questions are posting to their own country's Y!A section or that everyone knows what their talking about.  For example, I answer a lot of questions in the business section and people are always asking about sss contributions, which I didn't figure out was some kind of system in the Philippines until much later.  Or some people from the U.S. ask about toll free numbers like you said in your question, but I'll also see the same type questions but for foreign phone numbers that I have no idea where they are.  

Answer 5

Well, most of the people on Answers are from the US.  It's like if the country of origin is not specified, it's almost safe to assume where they're from, like if otherwise noted, you can usually assume that a person is heterosexual.  Because statistically, most are, as it is a US based thing.  It may not be politically correct to assume such, but that's just what people do.

Also, when given insufficient details, people tend to assume that other people are like them, same race, ethnicity, even gender if not too obvious.  It's just human nature, and I don't think it's something that's offensive or anything, and if someone wants to cut down on it, then specify what country the question is for, if it specific to any.

Answer 6

I place the blame on Yahoo for not posting the country of origin of the questioner.  I try to be observant when answering and notice that, if the spelling is perfect it, usually, means it didn't originate here in USA.  Formal grammar and, of course, the name of the person posting are other clues that Americanized English isn't the person's native language. And, then, terminology:  using mum, for mother, indicates native English-speaking but not American - one doesn't, however, always have time to check for every clue!  I can't imagine it would be, incredibly, difficult for the country flag to be posted below the avatar --  the disadvantage to this, unforunately, is that few would look at the bottom of the page in an attempt to determine which country the flag represents so, country of origin should be posted at the top of the avatar (I guess).  

Your opinion is?  

Answer 7

I know that Y!A is international, but most of the users are form the USA soooooo.

GO USA!!

Did you know we have a new president? His name is Barack Obama. lol

Answer 8

You are correct in that Yahoo Answers is international.  However, the questions ARE divided up. Look at the bottom of your YA page for all the different "areas".   Often times like languages are shown together (USA, UK, Canada for example) - but if you want only the country of origin you should be able to select this option by looking at the bottom left hand side of your YA page.

Answer 9

Yahoo! is based in the USA.  The majority of English-speaking users live in the USA.  When I began using Answers in the USA, I noticed that there were separate sites specific to Canada and the UK, and I was given no notice that all questions in English appeared on the USA site, so I don't it was overly presumptuous of me to think that most of the users I saw were in the USA.  Only time and experience taught me otherwise.  It would be best if people who weren't in the USA would mention so on pertinent questions.  It's not difficult to add a few words such as "I'm in the UK" and I see many people do that.  If they are asking a question about how to fix a Windows bug or solve a math problem then their location doesn't really matter.  However, if someone asks a question about an issue that may have different impact in another country (as in legal matters), I try to customize my answers accordingly, such as "That's a felony in the USA but a misdemeanor in Canada."  If the reader is neither in the USA or Canada, so be it; I can't be responsible for reading their mind and I probably wouldn't know the answer anyway.  If I notice someone's English is not very good, I can usually tell the difference between a foreigner or a sloppy American, but it wastes both our time if they don't specify their location.  I also get tired of typing "It depends; where do you live?" as the first line to every answer.  Many times, even Americans have asked questions about issues that depend which STATE they live in and they also fail to specify, so I just give the best answer I can, based on the assumptions that I must otherwise make.

I'm also a member of sites that are based in other countries, and when it's relevant, I ALWAYS specify that I'm in the USA.

Answer 10

Yes..l do..

l am an Aussie...but love seeing answers from different countries and cultures.

Answer 11

I've noticed this, as well.

I figure that Yahoo Answers started up in the U.S.  I don't think that it is "ethnocentric behavior" to answer a question relative to the U.S.

Sometimes, because of the vernacular of the asker; or because the asker mentions his/her country, we know that we are talking to someone outside the U.S.

When I ask a question, I include where I live if that is relevant to the answer.  (Like a legal question)

We answer questions using our "frame of reference" which includes where we live.

Answer 12

yes i am always aware of this,but i have also become aware a lot of americans believe the world starts and ends in their home town