Ignoring them is one option.

yes..you can "goof" back or ignore it. *shrugs*

flag em

u can push that button thing below the question that flags it, and tag it as nonsense or something

Down rate them and they will automatically keep quiet.Otherwise we Have to flag them. '''''Try to insult in 2/3 words''' Is this a question? SHIT

Something shall be done about it soon enough. For now you no-nonsense types may simply ignore them.

Its disgusting, I left yahoo for that reason, now it has been here since November last year. Starting to get pretty thick and I'm about to leave here.

I have given up on flagging nonsense questions after I had a flag rejected. The question was "Whaaazuuup?" and I flagged it as nonsense. I guess someone on staff felt that was a valid question in keeping with Answerbag's standards.

Most definatly, I find it most annoying. Anymore I just browse through and if I find something that warrants a serious answer I will respond otherwise I just blow right on past them.

Nothing since everyone is entitled to ask what they don´t know.Probably,AB should also include a link "how to make a good question".

I think it's getting better. It was a little unsettling for a while but things seem to be getting back to normal now.

Yes, I have -- little difference between "social" and "experts" -- but I think we need to do two things: (a) actively avoid those questions and any answers they get to ignore the irritants and let them drop off into the zero point abyss ; and (b) ask AB for a clear distinction between "social" ('what's your t-shirt say?') and "expert" ('how does X beget Y?') in the questions. Just adding a check box of those two arenas at the end of the "ask it" filed would sort it. So the kids could poll with their tribe or adults can enjoy some downtime, and others can use it as an informational resource. BUT-- I've only been here a week, so what do I know?

If everyone is so serious and wants to make a difference in someones life, try donating some of this wasted time on something more significant, like get off the computer and volunteer at the foodbank, give greenpeace a call, dunno, relax, chill out or something, its AB, informative but fun

Nothing when there is complete freedom to propose any question. Probably in the long run AB could implement some guidelines for the participants.

What can be done? Well nothing really. This is the internet. Possibly the most free place in the history of the world, where you can pull a lot of stuff without a lot of back lash. You have the freedom to be insight or a total douche bag, and there isn't a lot people can do to stop you.

Yes. Talk to management about it. I flag things and then they say they are OK. I am getting fed up trying to make this a place where nonsense questions and answers are OK. I came here to help people and learn, not sort through alot of fluff and silly questions and answers before I find one that is worth taking time to reply to with a serious response.

Ok, this answer is ONLY for msFortunate, nobody else is allowed to read it... technically, I'm still on my Answerbag vacation, so breaking radio silence to answer this one question is a violation of everything I hold dear... whatever that might be. So if you're NOT msFortunate, be respectful and stop reading now! Ok, now that we're alone: yes, of course I've noticed the extreme fluffiness of AB.... it smells badly... in fact, I can pick up the smell anytime I access any URL that starts with A or B! What to do about it? I don't think there's anything that can change that unless Joel changes the rating system to factor in quality and de-emphasize quantity. But I've given up fighting that fight... basically, AB has no incentive to make such a change, because the game is to make money, and page hits are the driving input for that game, and the existing points system works well for creating lots of page hits. So, that doesn't mean it's hopeless, though... I still like AB, I still like quite a few of the people, and I still find some value in participating. But I'm planning to change the way I participate when my vacation ends (4/30/07). I'm going to experiment with what I'm calling "Monk mode". Monk mode involves choosing one question (a good one), and spending a fair amount of time with that question until I've had time to really study it from different angles, reflect on it, sit with it, etc., and then do my best to answer it well. So a single question might be simmering in the pot for several days... a week... maybe even more for a really great question, and then I'll post my answer and choose another question. The game is to really do my best to answer the question and hopefully learn something in the process. Another goal of this approach is to reduce the overall amount of time I spend on AB. So between Monk-mode and commenting on my friend's postings, I think my total amount of AB time will drop and I hope it will become more valuable for me in the process. We'll see.

well i certainly hope that no one is taking any of this information to heart. unless this site is staffed by phd.s or md.s