Does this ever actually happen???

Question

From Yahoo! Answers employee Brian, 4 months ago

"We do identify & suspend users who keep reporting clean content deliberately (i.e. content that does not violate the Community Guidelines)".

http://suggestions.yahoo.com/detail/?prop=answers&fid=76953

If this is true why haven there been so many false reports/deletions flying around G&WS recently?

Answer 1

I even went as far as to email Yahoo about my question regarding a computer virus being deleted.  That was 3 weeks ago..still no response.  I just wanted to see what would happen, but it is very annoying to have good intelligent questions deleted falsely.

Answer 2

If you ask me yahoo needs to take actions into there own hands and screen all reported questions&answers and do the deletions them selves. This automated system they have is not working well and a lot of folks are abusing it. as for those who are report happy yahoo if they was going over them would find these individuals and should suspend them if they are infact doing it out of spite to lagit questions&answers.

Answer 3

yep it's true, a certain "scientific" (lol, riiiiight) poster still has, oh what? another 2 months left before his report credibility is restored?

2nd q: probably because most people don't  bother with appeals

Answer 4

You just don't get it ; that is clear..

Answer 5

I think Brian might be a bit of a Big Brother.  Does he actually exist, and is 'his' purpose th engineer what is correct and not correct on Y!A?  he is there as a salve to a faulty system.

Seriously, there is no consistency, especially in GW&S and Cultures and Groups.  I also believe that criticism is disallowed, whether even when it is just.  I also believe that some of the "unjust deletions" did violate the terms, but certainly not all.

Colnel Reb (I satlute you), and gadgit as indeed correct: Y!A is afraid of any possible negative legal action if someone challenges the disclosure statement that says Y!A is not responsible for posts on here.  They are guided by PC, in my opinion, and they will act far more quickly on certain topics.

Excellent question, but it will bring out those who, through ignorance, believe this system has the acountability it claims.

Answer 6

It seems that it is the yahoo staff itself that are falsely deleting intelligent questions & answers.

Answer 7

Gadgit got it right.  I don't believe a thing they tell me in e-mails about their rules.  They aren't consistent enough to be believed.

Answer 8

he could be a crackpot just waiting to pounce...................

Answer 9

I wouldn't say they were all false. Just that we're not allowed to get our points across the way we want. Some delicate pansies out there take offence to anything and report us for insulting. And we can never win the appeals, because it does seem to offend someone. The fact that I do win a few appeals shows that some of them are false.

If we don't keep professional, politically correct language like top brass CEO's, of course some stalkers will find some excuse to report us. And since none of us are close to grammar experts, we all get reported.

I believe this section does have as many violations as most other sections, but they are far more noticeable here because of the war zone GWS is.

I don't think they actually do this, because so many level 7 users have disappeared, and they can't all be wrong when they claim they were wrongly reported.

We may feel we're innocent but Y!A not, because some rules are so ambiguous, like insulting (you can report when someone breathes on you) and chatting (isn't that sharing knowledge and opinions which Y!A actually encourages?). Anything Yahoo! is not sure of is clubbed in 'Not a question or answer'

Short answer: Maybe it does, because we'll never know if it does. Reports and deletions have been flying around, but they may not be mostly false. They are legit violations mostly, but they're just breathing on someone, giving a chance to report for the slightest deviation from professional, politically correct language.

EDIT: I think tehabwa is right to an extent, but wouldn't it help if the reports were screened by humans too? Only the appeals are, and the email you get after your first appeal doesn't encourage a second appeal all that much. It discoursges it if anything.

Answer 10

Yes.

First, are you SURE that the reports are bogus? Have you actually read the Guidelines?

For the bogus reporters to get caught, people have to appeal the violations (twice, the first time, they don't even read your appeal at all).

If a particular user files a lot of reports that get overturned on appeal, then, yes, staff will investigate and suspend them.

IF there have been false reports lately, and IF the violated users appeal, then Yahoo probably will investigate and off the people filing bogus reports.

Answer 11

Because Brian is full of BS and is just using soothing words.

Answer 12

They're usually pretty fast to reply to my inquiry's but they have never overturned a violation.

Answer 13

As if! They're just telling you what's on paper and not what they actually do.