How can you differentiate a question from an answer?

Question

My whatever: "Has Yahoo become a purveyor of newspaper headlines?" was deleted. Reason: Not a question or an answer. Do you have any hints to help me determine what a question or answer really is?

Answer 1

I wish I knew the answer to this and other questions.  Yesterday, I posted a villanelle and when it had received no answers after several hours I scrolled through several pages of poetry questions and found it had never been publicly posted, though it was on my profile page.  I deleted it and re-posted.  More nothing.  I e-mailed two frequent respondents, they both graciously read my villanelle (and spared my feelings I suspect), and then, after several hours more, I chose best answer just to have the whole bloody mess over with.  If we are to be chastised for our occasional fallibility, let us add the great wits at central casting to our membership rolls so that they too can suffer their fair share.

Answer 2

If you invoke the name of the Ya in your question header they find it easily and take offense. That is possibly why that q was removed.

Have a look to see if there is any clue in the community guidelines.

Answer 3

I think its spooked these days.

Answer 4

That looks like a perfectly valid question to me.  Sounds like somebody at Yahoo was over-sensitive, and deleted it for no reason.

Answer 5

My question "Who did you play with today?" was deleted after the resolution...for chatting!  Shut up, punk chick...spell chick, too!

Answer 6

I've stopped trying to understand.  I can't imagine why it was deleted since it sounds like a question to me.  It even has a question mark.  What else could it possibly need to make it a question?  The question is not flawed...Y!A is.

  

Answer 7

If it is not a question or an answer - then it must be a fact.  Evidently - it has been determined  - that the "statement" was too close to fact - and was re-classified on a  "need to know" basis.  It was deleted to protect public security ♥  

Answer 8

I agree that your question was sensitive material. Also guidelines state that we can not ask any question regarding anything that pertains to chatting. IM'S are for that purpose. Ya Q/A 's are only for information. Many topics or questions (that may seem off color to some) are permitted if the posting is done in the correct section. However, I do think we are encountering some problems while Ya is in the process of change, working with over 90,000 contacts.

Answer 9

My response to this latest yayhoo debacle is for the person behind all the bot programming should grasp his/her left ear firmly with the right hand and the right ear similarly with the left hand,  Once in this position, pull sharply in order to get their head from their anal retention cavity.  Maybe then they could see that everything really doesn't stink.  

Answer 10

Who knows weird things are certainly going on, and I'm finding posting

a Q or A, is a very slow thing to do. patience wears thin at moments.

I do think the other spell check system was the better as well.

Answer 11

That is absolutely a question....what's the matter with these people??

I would think that Y would want that one answered, too!

Answer 12

Perhaps we all ought to return to school!

(I do believe they're failing us...yes, intended.)