Windows Live QnA
Encyclopedia
MSN QnA was a question and answer service, part of Microsoft
's MSN
group of services. It is somewhat similar to Google Answers
, but closer in function to Yahoo! Answers
. Users could ask questions, tag them according to topic, and gain points and reputation for answering other users' questions.
The service was community based; questions are posed to the whole community, rather than just one researcher. At this point there are apparently no plans for any monetary compensation of any kind for answering questions; rather, like with Yahoo! Answers, the only rewards are having high point counts and good reputation. In order to open an account a user needs a Windows Live ID
, and abide by the Code of Conduct and Terms of Service.
All questions on MSN QnA were "tagged" by the poster to allow easy searching and navigation.
The MSN QnA beta ended and the website closed on May 21st, 2009.
QnA users also have a reputation system
under their profile that allows other users to know how likely their answer is a good one, based on the user's past performance. This is shown by the number of stars under their username. This is a lifetime rating, so all users begins with zero stars and as time passes, their reputation will change. The reputation system is based on the number of best answers given over time as a percentage of total answers given. It is also possible to affect a reputation negatively by violating the code of conduct. The account that caused the violation receives moderation and removal of content. Participants that repeatedly violate the code of conduct are moderated to a "Former Member" status and to continue in the forum are required to start a new account and lose all reputation and points from the previous account.
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Level System
-branded service. On 29 April 2008, QnA was rebranded as part of the Live Search family, named Live Search QnA, as part of Microsoft's effort to separate its Live Search developments from the Windows Live services family. On 18 February 2009, the QnA team officially announced that Live Search QnA would soon be rebranded as part of the MSN
family of services, focusing on content and community. On 13 March 2009, MSN QnA Beta version was officially released.
On 11 May 2009, the QnA team officially announced the closure of the QnA service, to take place on May 21st.
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
group of services. It is somewhat similar to Google Answers
Google Answers
Google Answers was an online knowledge market offered by Google that allowed users to post bounties for well researched answers to their queries. Asker-accepted answers cost $2 to $200. Google retained 25% of the researcher's reward and a 50 cent fee per question. In addition to the researcher's...
, but closer in function 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...
. Users could ask questions, tag them according to topic, and gain points and reputation for answering other users' questions.
The service was community based; questions are posed to the whole community, rather than just one researcher. At this point there are apparently no plans for any monetary compensation of any kind for answering questions; rather, like with Yahoo! Answers, the only rewards are having high point counts and good reputation. In order to open an account a user needs a Windows Live ID
Windows Live ID
Windows Live ID is a single sign-on web service developed and provided by Microsoft that allows users to log in to many websites using one account...
, and abide by the Code of Conduct and Terms of Service.
All questions on MSN QnA were "tagged" by the poster to allow easy searching and navigation.
The MSN QnA beta ended and the website closed on May 21st, 2009.
Levels, Scoring and Reputation System
Users are given four days to answer a question. Questions can be rated for their usefulness once a best answer has been selected. The scoring system is weighted to encourage users to participate and answer questions. Scores are awarded by answering questions and voting for answers. Bonus scores are awarded for creating the best answer or voting for the best answer. Generally, the user's QnA score will rise more quickly if their votes are for quality answers. A user is limited to 100 votes per day.QnA users also have a reputation system
Reputation system
A reputation system computes and publishes reputation scores for a set of objects within a community or domain, based on a collection of opinions that other entities hold about the objects...
under their profile that allows other users to know how likely their answer is a good one, based on the user's past performance. This is shown by the number of stars under their username. This is a lifetime rating, so all users begins with zero stars and as time passes, their reputation will change. The reputation system is based on the number of best answers given over time as a percentage of total answers given. It is also possible to affect a reputation negatively by violating the code of conduct. The account that caused the violation receives moderation and removal of content. Participants that repeatedly violate the code of conduct are moderated to a "Former Member" status and to continue in the forum are required to start a new account and lose all reputation and points from the previous account.
| Action | Scores |
|---|---|
| Sign in to QnA | 1 |
| Vote | 1 |
| Vote for winning best answer | 4 |
| Rate completed question | 1 |
| Answer a question | 5 |
| Give best answer to a question | 20 |
| Violate code of conduct | -50 |
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Level System
- 20-499 scores
- 500-999 scores
- 1,000-1,999 scores
- 2,000-3,999 scores
- 4,000-7,999 scores
- 8,000-14,999 scores
- 15,000-29,999 scores
- 30,000-49,999 scores
- 50,000-99,999 scores
- 100,000+ scores
History
MSN QnA originally started as a Windows LiveWindows Live
Windows Live is the collective brand name for a set of services and software products from Microsoft, part of their software plus services platform. A majority of these services are Web applications, accessible from a browser, but there are also client-side binary applications that require...
-branded service. On 29 April 2008, QnA was rebranded as part of the Live Search family, named Live Search QnA, as part of Microsoft's effort to separate its Live Search developments from the Windows Live services family. On 18 February 2009, the QnA team officially announced that Live Search QnA would soon be rebranded as part of the MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
family of services, focusing on content and community. On 13 March 2009, MSN QnA Beta version was officially released.
On 11 May 2009, the QnA team officially announced the closure of the QnA service, to take place on May 21st.