Why is it that Yahoo Answers is full of opinions and short on facts?

Question

It seems that everyone has an opinion on everything, and those that speak most strongly about the important issues of the day (politics, economy, environment, energy, etc) are also the least informed. Where are the intelligent people out there that deal in facts, information, and intelligent discussion? Are we doomed to become a nation of helpless victims which just complain about everything, brainwashing those that follow by repeating the same old lies, half-truths, and mis-information?

Answer 1

Short-of-a-revolution;

Yes:We-are-doomed-to-

helpless-victimization,

brainwashing,and-

complaining-about-it

with-other-uneducated-

unemployed-and-un-insured

Americans.

Intelligent-people-who

deal-facts-are-around-colleges,

and--professional-industries,

where-they-talk-to-other-fortunate

people-for-free;-or-they-charge-us

money-to-be-in-their-presence.

Y!A-is-a-place-where-we-can

correspond-with-human-beings-at

no-cost.

Many-of-us-are-angry-poor-

and-opinionated

human-beings-who-are

not-allowed-to-complain

anywhere-but-this-anonymous

environment-provided-by-Y!A.

Answer 2

In the sections where any idiot may speak and not get booed like in Politics, you're low on facts. If you go to an intellectual section such as history, there's facts.

Answer 3

Isn't that the nature of the beast?

Answer 4

It is an open forum

When i joined i expected this that there will be opinions and opinions.If I want facts i research myself. I dont rely on yahoo

answers for this.

Answer 5

are you asking for my opinion?

Answer 6

If people want facts, they go to wikipedia.

An answer doesn't need to be fact, it can be opinion.

heres the first 2 new questions:

I'm looking for a cute pair of flipflops.?

Does anyone have an Ebaby pram/stroller?

how are we suppose to answer these 2 questions with FACTS?

Answer 7

The Irony. The Irony.

Answer 8

What did you expect with an open forum?

Answer 9

Because people would rather have answers from people they dont know or trust, than have to confront someone they trust and look stupid for asking a silly or embarrassing question.

Answer 10

I'll bite!!!!!!!Why is it????????????

Answer 11

Because like this question, it calls for an opinion.

Questions that are looking for a specific answer ie. factual answer backed up with a provable link usually get one.

Answer 12

Too many 9 year olds, chronologically and/or mentally individuals seeking to provide warmth and compassion where specific information, experience and expertise are sought. Too many questions being asked by the same and unable to distinguish the difference in responses.

Unless the questioners become more sophisticated and ask for qualifications for respondents, we are doomed.

Answer 13

learning facts takes a lot of work which the average person is not willing to do.  I'm not sure this has changes much compared to the past.  I think it's harder now then in the past to spread propaganda because there is so much more access to information.  But at the same time there is a lot of c**p going around.  I think in the future it going to get harder and harder to weed out facts because they will be hidden in a ocean of information.  Sorry just an opinion no facts to back it up :)

Answer 14

Umm this is a forum and "an Internet forum is a web application for holding discussions and posting user-generated content".

So what you are going to get is lots of people voicing their opinions on a range of topics, without always providing any concrete evidence or facts. That is just the way it is...

If you want intelligent discussion, facts and information you need to access a variety of sources. Even the print and television media is biased and you are in many cases just getting someone's opinion.

Anyway, if you don't like what you read you can just disregard it or you can disagree and write a response.