It was while I was looking at preseason scores on Yahoo's NHL page that I was attracted to the Answers feature. In a box along the side of the page, there was group of featured questions, one of which was: “Do you think I can slip the hockey players my phone number through the glass?” My attention was grabbed, and I needed to find out the answers.
The idea behind Yahoo! Answers is that users will submit a question, other users will submit a response, and the answer that receives the most votes from the users is deemed the best answer. For incentive, every time a user's answer was selected as the best, that user would receive points. However, I'm uncertain whether the points serve as something more than just a status indicator (the more points you get, the more levels you move up).
Upon further review of this online feature, it seemed as though Wallace's idea of the Leviathan (a symbolic representation of law and conduct in an online space) applied well in a few situations. For example, in terms of the feature which represents which behaviors are and are not acceptable, users have the option of “reporting” any answer. Since I did not want to erroneously report an answer just to see what the feature did, I actually searched the site to see what happens when questions are reported. Interestingly enough, quite a few questions/answers came up involving reporting answers. From what I could gather, a reported answer is investigated and, if it's found to go against the terms of conduct (which I couldn't find, so I just assumed they were the general Yahoo terms of conduct), the answer is deleted. The person who posted the answer risks losing ten points and, if it's a more offensive post, can be banned and lose all of their privileges. It seems as though a similar situation applies to those who are referred to as “abusers”--people who haphazardly report other answers.
Aside from reporting answers, users can also participate in what Wallace refers to as a “raised eyebrow”--a subtle indication that something is not normal. When a user does not agree with an answer, or finds it to be a bit strange, that user can decide to give the post a literal “thumbs down” by clicking on an icon that looks like a thumbs down. On the flip side, if a user agrees with the post, that user may reward the answer a similar “thumbs up.”
In general, it's evident that Wallace's idea of the online Leviathan was in use in Yahoo's Answer page via a reporting feature, as well the virtual raised eyebrow.
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2 comments:
That’s really great thinking of the thumbs up and thumbs down response as a “raising the eyebrow” and it’s very true. There are lots of web sites on the internet that provide this type of screening option. One that comes immediately to my mind is the web site called http://www.urbandictionary.com . This website allows users to post their definitions for words that are not common knowledge. The people who know what the word means, then vote on the best definitions. They have an editor system in place that, “…see the newest defs before they hit the streets, and decide what gets published” which acts as a code of conduct like the yahoo answers.
It is very interesting how the Yahoo community is able to effectively maintain order through the “sign on the door” approach and the use of reproaches. The “thumbs down” is a great example of how one can virtually raise an eyebrow. It shows that even though CMC lacks the physical presence of others, virtual groups have been able to develop new ways to replace such cues. The development of such tactics shows that internet users are willing to conform and are eager to pressure others to for orderliness. Also, the presence and emergence of the Leviathan on Yahoo further proves that norms not only exist but are taken quite seriously on the internet. While deleting an answer and taking away points is not really a huge a devastating punishment, it seems to be enough to prevent newbies and those who ignore standards from posting inappropriate answers. Your analysis clearly shows how powerful the Leviathan can be. I give you a virtual “thumbs up.”
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