5 Tips for Using Online Answer Search Engines Effectively

From Yahoo to Wikipedia, a variety of major websites are now offering their own open question and answer systems. Some are knowledge-based and steeped in research, having been designed to assist users with technical questions and problem solving. Others are decidedly more amateur, battling the occasional bizarre question about reproduction, popular music, and never-ending urban legends.

Whether your question is silly or specific, it's important that you ask it properly to get a useful set of responses. Answers search engines aren't private and user-based, instead open for the entire internet to use. This makes every question a public reference – one that can be accessed hundreds of times a day. These five tips will help you post great questions, get great answers, and add to the internet.

1. Ask specific, clear, yes-or-no questions.

There's nothing more frustrating than a vague, unspecific question. From poorly defined terms to bizarrely described events, there are hundreds of ways to make a potentially great question vague, confusing, and difficult to answer. Before you post a question, check that you haven't left any poor wording, potential points of confusion, or bizarre phrases intact.

2. Got a simple question? Google it first.

The vast majority of public questions have already been answered, either as part of a similar query or in response to a completely identical question. Before you post any questions on an answer site such as Yahoo or WikiAnswers, check that it hasn't been answered already by Googling. If it hasn't been answered, consider looking through the search results for a reference of Wikipedia article.

3. Don't ask hypothetical questions.

Asking a hypothetical question online is an invitation to start a large, frustrating, and seemingly endless argument. The internet is an open book – one that's filled with passionate, driven people ready to argue for hours at a time. From conspiracy theories to philosophical questions, when a hypothetical question is posed on a public answer service, it always results in silly conjecture.

4. See a bad answer? Report or mark it.

Most online question and answer systems include a 'report spam' or voting feature, designed to help the greater community respond to spam links and inaccurate answers. If you spot an answer that's a lie, fabrication, or marketing message, it's important that you mark it for moderators to remove. The majority of spam links are removed fairly quickly, although controversial answers can last for days.

5. Avoid overly commercial topics.

Posting a question about an exercise machine, online product, or subscription service is akin to flat out asking for someone to market to you. From shill posters to robotic responses, it's very unlikely that you'll receive anything of value in response to a commercial question. Avoid specific products when asking questions online, as many spammers use keyword-based search tools to answer them.