Sunday, December 26, 2010

Yahoo Answers Unfair Practice: Account Suspension

Yahoo Answers is one of the biggest question and answers communities out there which makes it a valuable resource, but unfortunately they seem to have some kind of bias when it comes to which users they allow to post certain content.

I use Yahoo Answers as a promotional tool for a product I help sell with affiliate links.  This may go against Yahoo's policy about posting links to external commercial websites, I won't deny that, however my answers are helpful and are relevant to the asker even if they contain commercial links.  Many times people ask about which product to buy online.  In cases like these, providing a link to an online store is helpful, yet Yahoo will still find your account in violation for something like this.

Ok, you may ask, if I admit that posting commercial links, why is it unfair that they banned my account?  For the simple fact that other users on Yahoo Answers have posted the exact same links repeatedly and have not had their accounts suspended.  I have reported similar posts to see what happens.  I have written emails to Yahoo asking why my account has been suspended while others are still active.  Yahoo ironically, has never given me an answer.  They just tell me to report answers that are in violation, which I have already done and it had no effect.

So how about it Yahoo?  Why do you favor some users over others?  You ban some people but you let others remain active who post the exact same kinds of answers with commercial links.

And you can register again after they suspend your account, it is just an annoyance.  Suspending accounts will not stop people from re-registering. 

Yahoo services continue to go downhill.  If you have had your account suspended in a similar fashion, leave a reply below.

2 comments:

  1. My account wasn't suspended, my IP address on one of my devices was blocked after responding to a customer satisfaction survey. I had rated a few areas low and had a narrative regarding some of the poor customer service I recieved. A few hours later, I was unable to log into my account using my IPAd, however I can log on using any other computer. Yahoo Answers had deleted my emails and didn't allow access to my email account for a day. Fortunately, that is not my primary email -- for that very reason. Yahoo Answers are a dictatorship of sadistic power hungry radicals who enjoy abusing the people who keep them in business. Every day, I see racist, inappropriate sexual content and all manner of bad behavior. Report this and the questions stay up. Give a helpful answer and it's a vioation. They violate their own community guidelines and don't even have the common decency to respond to an appeal. Why do they have so much power? Why do the members have this oult mentality that Yahoo does no wrong? I know of other people on Yahoo who feel the same by posing such questions and immediately, there are answers from these members who defend Yahoo Answers moderators stating they are 100% correct. I am certain these people either work on the inside or work for those on the inside. They patrol the sites and its there job to promote Yahoo. They quote these unbelievable statitics. If they weren't on the inside, how could they quote their violations and suspensions are 94% correct. I am so very frustrated with them and want to really take this to the outside, but have no idea who to appeal to. The general public needs to know the content that Yahoo allows on their website. I think if people who are still on Yahoo and disagree with their poliies actually printed out various posts and leaked it to the media - those not controlled by Yahoo -- perhaps they would be scrambling for damage oontrol.

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    1. Connected IsolationApril 9, 2012 at 5:56 PM

      I have noticed them being more easy going as of late. Before I was getting banned for posting commercial links, even though they were relevant. Now they seem to be letting it slide. You are right that there is a lot of inappropriate content on there, but I'm sure they are trying to moderate it, perhaps there is just too much. Sorry to hear they blocked your IP. If you want to get some support and discussion about it, I would suggest posting something on Reddit. They have a good community and they are good at fighting injustice.

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