Have you ever answered a question on GW, and knew your were right, but didn't get the award?

Question

Just a generalization, what was your best answer?

Answer 1

Dude - I thought you had the best answer to my questions and I did give you credit for them.

These are not much more than a popularity contest.  I know Dana will never select my answer as best no matter how on it is.

If believers embellish their fact, I figure I can as well.  The Earth isn't going to end, we have more than 18 months, the number of hurricanes isn't going to change, it isn't going to rain sulfuric acid or reach 450 degrees, we will not turn into cannibals, and beer will always be with us.

Believers embellish because it gives them the attention they seek.  So do I, and it works.  People are gullible and tend to follow others.  How many times do we have to hear that since Gavin Schmit, Newt Gingrich, or the CEO of Wal-Mart believe, so we should as well?

Man made global warming is a hoax.  No one can say if it will be warmer or colder in the future unless they guess.  

We're here to have fun.  I doubt anyone takes us seriously.  Keep the good answers coming to my questions, and I'll give you credit when due.  I would love to see your avatar on the top 10 board.  You deserve it more than others.

Answer 2

You know the answer to that one, for me.  I answer many questions with facts and references, well organized and explained, and KNOW that I have no prayer of best answer.

It doesn't bother me.  Goes with the territory here.  This isn't Harvard.

Answer 3

So many of mine go unnoticed. Sometimes I feel like I am all alone. Well, not really. I like to have answers which not only answer the question, but entertain. I find the ones I spend the most time and research on go unnoticed (probably because they are way to long and who really ever reads the links?)

Thus must I toil along, day in and day out in anonymity.

Answer 4

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

My answer here may not have been the "best answer", but the chosen answer was by a person who hadn't even read the paper, didn't know anything about it, and was just speculating!

And Ken gives me this dumb response:

"Bob - I know McIntyre's discussing it, but I prefer reading the scientific literature rather than non-peer reviewed personal blogs (especially by non-scientists from the mining industry). Without the peer review process numerous false opinions, misunderstandings, and unchecked assertions get intermingled with valid evidence and logic."

Let me go through this piece by piece (Ken chose best answer so quickly I didn't have a chance to respond, so I will do it here):

"Bob - I know McIntyre's discussing it, but I prefer reading the scientific literature rather than non-peer reviewed personal blogs "

I said McIntyre blogged about it *some time ago*, just to mention that the issue had been brought up before, but was ignored (Hansen even mentioned it some 20 years ago).

"(especially by non-scientists from the mining industry)"

Non-scientist? Steve McIntyre certainly is a scientist, and a very knowledgeable one at that. What constitutes a scientist to you, ken? Probably only someone who agrees with you.

"Without the peer review process numerous false opinions, misunderstandings, and unchecked assertions get intermingled with valid evidence and logic."

I agree with this, but "numerous false opinions, misunderstandings, and unchecked assertions get intermingled with valid evidence and logic" even within the peer review process. Does Ken read RealClimate or Tamino? Anyhow, this is irrelevant to anything in my post, as I only linked to ClimateAudit to show that the issue had been brought up before.

Sorry for the rant...

Edit:

I agree with others--good question.

Answer 5

Most of the time

Best answers very often do not get the vote.

Many people vote for those who think like they do

that is for them far more important that the truth

companions in their delusions .

It goes with the territory if you cannot accept this fact Yahoo will destroy you.

Answer 6

Disagree with Global Warming and your lucky not to get reported

Answer 7

Every day on many different subjects.  I don't mind if another correct answer is chosen ('best answer' is subjective), but it really bugs me when a completely wrong answer is chosen over one or many right answers.  Especially when the right answers have supporting evidence and the wrong answer doesn't (as is almost always the case).

As one recent example - the greenhouse effect on Mars.  Almost every "fact" in the best answer (the same chosen by both) is completely wrong, and in both cases several correct answers were provided.

*edit* I honestly have no clue what you're trying to say in your additional details.  However, facts are facts.  Maybe you have a soft sport for Jello for some reason, but I merely provided this example because he got all the facts wrong (twice) and yet the answer was chosen as best (twice).  That the answerer was Jello is irrelevant.  You asked for examples, and I provided them.

It bugs me that my answer is based on facts and you call me biased because of the person who was getting the facts wrong.  I don't think I'm the one being biased here.

This site is called Yahoo Answers.  It's not called Yahoo Opinions.  You can have the opinion that Mars is purple or its atmosphere is 60% as dense as the Earth's, but your opinion is wrong, and you shouldn't be spreading that misinformation here.  If you don't know what you're talking about on a scientific question, then don't answer it.  Science is based on facts, not opinion.

Answer 8

Now that's the thing.  I could pick and chose my questions to try to skew the odds of my winning the grand prize, the 10 points.  But I'd rather give a short answer, in most cases, and check my list of links and sources to see which ones, if any, I think I should share.

What was my best answer?  No clue.  There's not a lot of questions that really give you the opportunity to pour yourself into an answer with your heart and soul.  I have, a few times, and those are the times, if any, when I think, 'I bared my soul and didn't even get the points.'  And to be honest, there have been a few times when I've gotten an inordinate amount of thumbs down to a perfectly reasonable answer, and I feel a tinge of false pride.

Cool question.  Very refreshing, thanks.

Answer 9

Yes I have had this happen to me several times. I can't remember all of them, since I took along break from answering questions YA Answers and it got frustrating to do all the research and give a well rounded thought out answer with research to back it up and be stomped on and shoved aside by people picking the best answer from a pool of people that believe the same way they do, even if the question wasn't just (Tell me about Global Warming? - Which you read a variation of that question everyday on this question and answer board.)

Answer 10

Best answers are not base on anything related to accuracy or scientifically correct information.  It is based on opinion and the asker can choose the one they like.  So "best" means only that the asker agrees (usually) or sometimes is selected by the popular vote.

If you ask a question about should aI get an operation to remove a malignant tumor (you WILL die if you don't), the best answer could be "No, take a herbal remedy and dance around the fire."

Answer 11

No I have never felt I was right on any of the issues, just gave my opinion based upon my limited knowledge of the subject. I have received some best answers, of which I was humbled and honored.

I have always enjoyed your questions and answers direct and to the point.

Answer 12

Best answers are usually awarded to people who agree with the asker.

Answer 13

I generally start with the assumption that the asker is genuinely looking for an answer, so I make my best effort to provide an accurate answer with credible evidence and links to more detail.  In spite of that, 7 times out of 8 my answer is not chosen.  Baccheus is right; many askers are looking for confirmation that someone agrees with them, not an answer.  Some people may simply be here to soothe the discomfort of their cognitive dissonance, not to genuinely inquire into what is known on the topic of global warming:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

As for an example where I thought I had a great answer but it was not chosen, one example that is in my face at the moment was my answer regarding sea levels yesterday.  I thought it was pretty concise and well supported, but it was reported as not being an answer!  

That tactic will backfire on whoever reported it when Yahoo Answers staff recognizes that someone was seriously abusing the reporting system and restores the answer, since the abusing user will probably get their account dinged and be a step closer to account deletion.

Update -

3 of my answers reported so far today (LOL)!  I will appeal all of them and specifically ask that the member misusing the reporting system be deleted.