Answerbag
Encyclopedia
Answerbag is a collaborative online database of FAQ
s, where questions are asked and answered by users. Instead of the one question—one answer model, multiple answers to a given question are presented, in descending order of user ratings. As of December 2006, Answerbag was the second largest social Q&A site next to Yahoo! Answers
. In a comparison with Yahoo! Answers and MSN Live QnA, Cnet declared that Answerbag was neck and neck with Yahoo! Answers.
A user who has created an account can ask and answer questions, comment on answers, rate questions and answers, and suggest new categories. Users have profile pages where their points and submissions are reviewable by other users, and 'leaderboards' show current and all-time contributors in categories such as "Most questions asked" and "Most positive ratings received."
. Although there is not a real document for the history of Answerbag ever since its creation in 2003, one of the oldest users has answered some questions by including certain parts of Answerbag 1.0 and 2.0.
In late 2006, Answerbag received press attention by announcing that it would release a read/write API for their Q&A database. Answerbag has changed its format and completely overhauled the design of its site recently.
When a user receives points, the user levels up, but it takes more points for the user to level up the next time.
The levels are as follows in order.
Level 1-2 Beginner
Level 3-4 Novice
Level 5-9 Contributor
Level 10-14 Wiz
Level 15-19 Authority
Level 20-29 Expert
Level 30-39 Professor
Level 40-49 Brain
Level 50-59 Sage
Level 60-69 Maestro
Level 70-79 Guru
Level 80-89 Swami
Level 90-99 Genius
Level 100- Illuminati
----
Top ten contributors of the week.
As a user also receives points, as it adds together, the user may also qualify in the ranking system, ranking from 1-100. The more points a user receives, the higher rank they will be.
After a short time, several users have adopted these guidelines as the official structure of Answerbag. It is still uncertain whether Project Answerbag has officially been declared as the official document on Answerbag, since no official authority has been issued at this time.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
s, where questions are asked and answered by users. Instead of the one question—one answer model, multiple answers to a given question are presented, in descending order of user ratings. As of December 2006, Answerbag was the second largest social Q&A site next to Yahoo! Answers
Yahoo! Answers
Yahoo! Answers is a community-driven question-and-answer site or a knowledge market launched by Yahoo! on June 28, 2005 that allows users to both submit questions to be answered and answer questions asked by other users...
. In a comparison with Yahoo! Answers and MSN Live QnA, Cnet declared that Answerbag was neck and neck with Yahoo! Answers.
A user who has created an account can ask and answer questions, comment on answers, rate questions and answers, and suggest new categories. Users have profile pages where their points and submissions are reviewable by other users, and 'leaderboards' show current and all-time contributors in categories such as "Most questions asked" and "Most positive ratings received."
History
Answerbag was founded in July 2003, by Joel Downs and acquired in early 2006 by Infosearch Media. However, on October 3, 2006, Answerbag announced it would join with Demand MediaDemand Media
Demand Media, Inc. is an online media company and content farm that operates online brands such as eHow, and Cracked, and is known for creating online content through its Demand Media Studios division based on a combination of measured consumer demand and predicted ROI...
. Although there is not a real document for the history of Answerbag ever since its creation in 2003, one of the oldest users has answered some questions by including certain parts of Answerbag 1.0 and 2.0.
In late 2006, Answerbag received press attention by announcing that it would release a read/write API for their Q&A database. Answerbag has changed its format and completely overhauled the design of its site recently.
Comparison with Yahoo Answers
Answerbag has a smaller user community than Yahoo Answers. The time taken to receive an answer to a question is also relatively slower than that of Yahoo Answers. All the questions in Yahoo Answers are time based which means that a question will be removed when the time frame ends. Answerbag allows unlimited answer time in comparison to Yahoo Answers. Flagging a question is yet to be seen on Yahoo Answers. A distinctive feature of Answerbag is that it allows users to post pictures and video.API
Answerbag released the first Social Q&A API in February 2007, allowing other sites to read Q&A and contribute new Q&A from their users into the shared Answerbag database.Community leaders
On August 1, 2007 Answerbag publicly announced the creation of community leader roles, who are chosen by site staff to help moderate the site and manage content.Levels and ranks
Answerbag recognizes the most prolific members by awarding them points and medals, along with ranks.When a user receives points, the user levels up, but it takes more points for the user to level up the next time.
The levels are as follows in order.
Level 1-2 Beginner
Level 3-4 Novice
Level 5-9 Contributor
Level 10-14 Wiz
Level 15-19 Authority
Level 20-29 Expert
Level 30-39 Professor
Level 40-49 Brain
Level 50-59 Sage
Level 60-69 Maestro
Level 70-79 Guru
Level 80-89 Swami
Level 90-99 Genius
Level 100- Illuminati
----
Top ten contributors of the week.
As a user also receives points, as it adds together, the user may also qualify in the ranking system, ranking from 1-100. The more points a user receives, the higher rank they will be.
Project Answerbag
On December 2007, member Kyogre-Stataen presented a special document known as Project Answerbag. This document consisted of a complete series of descriptions of the structure of Answerbag, moderations, and points systems.After a short time, several users have adopted these guidelines as the official structure of Answerbag. It is still uncertain whether Project Answerbag has officially been declared as the official document on Answerbag, since no official authority has been issued at this time.
2009 Redesign
In late 2009, Answerbag was made over with a new design and features, including a private message system. The redesign did not go over well with many veteran members, as some have voiced their displeasure on the website.See also
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External links
- Answerbag
- TechCrunch: Read/Write API Coverage
- Socaltech.com: Demand Media Buys Answerbag.com
- Cnet Review: Answerbag vs. Yahoo Answers and MSN Live QnA
- Hitwise: Traffic comparison for Social Q&A Sites
- Cnet: Answerbag offers video answers
- O'Reilly: Web 2.0 Conference Live Q&A via Answerbag.com
- MIT Tech Review: Social Q&A Roundup
- Press release: InfoSearch Acquired Answerbag.com
- Socaltech.com: Interview with Joel Downs, Answerbag founder
- API Documentation