What Is AnswerBank?

[AB Editor]

Dear All,

We at AB Towers have recently been wondering how we can make the site better for you all. We thought one of the best ways to start this would be to open a debate about what you believe The AnswerBank is. Is it a Is it a place to get answers? A Place to Ask Questions? local village pub? A support group? A place to check you did "the right thing,"? or maybe somewhere to put the world to rights?

What do you consider the main purpose of The Answerbank?

How do you use The Answerbank?

Any theories are welcome! Throw your ideas into The AnswerBank Blender (Is it a blender or a pestel and mortar?) and we'll see what the answer is!

All the best,

Spare Ed

[wendilla]

I didn't know anything about computers 3 years ago when I started after I retired.But with the help from very knowledgeable people on here I have learned loads and even surprised my 2 children with some of the things I can tell them. I was a bit apprehensive at first with some of the stupid replies that I got sometimes but learned just to ignore that.There will always be that sad few.I found on line dominoes 3 years ago and found a few good friends from there that I am still in contact with. Long live the Answerbank.

[ummmm]

I came to ask a question and the housework hasn't been done since...!!!!

[mccfluff]

ditto vibra

[AB Editor]

Mallam, you will get a trickle - because the techies will be too excited with their work to let it sit unused for more than ten minutes! This is what I meant by "Seeing what the techies want to do." If anyone is in charge of what they actually DO it is you lot!

Hi Yogi, so it is the informal knowledge exchange which you think is at the centre of it all?

Hi Vibra, Again, you came for the Answer and stayed because it was fun?

Spare Ed

[tamborine]

Oooooh - luv this "....AnswerBank is a university populated by either auto-didactic academics or common-sense lecturers?..." makes me feel quite edicated?

Degrees, robes with presentation ceremony? Where - at 02 (lots of cancelled concert dates there).

Called AB 'This is It!' ..... ooooh wow - am reeeelly excited ;c)

[mallam]

Thanx ed. While Ive got your attention, I was asking on another thread what's the point of the Subscribed Threads sidebar:

"It's never updated by time of last answer, which is the only thing that would be any use, and either only very erratically updated by time of last subscription or has actually been fixed in that respect since I last looked."

Is this the first trickle? It still seems a bit erratic, but I do get the impression somethig is happening.

[TheEqualizer]

Hi again Ed

That seems to be the way sometimes that the abusers go about making their comments.
Certainly has been done to me many many months ago, but never allow it to hit you personally, as those who abuse are just scum that hide behind their computers, and think they can antagonise people, even the elderly and those who may have a disability.This, you'd agree, is not on.

Proove to them that they CANT, Ed.......... and you wont allow it, or them, to ruin you're site.

As said earlier, this has decreased apparently, so maybe you are on the case, so well done to you
and all your team for that.

Cheers

yogi

[mallam]

But of course on that sidebar too the only thing of any real use would be to have the threads updated by last posting. And there and everywhere to link to that, so that one can get straight to it, instead of having to go to the first page of that thread.

Listings like that.on some sites even have individual page links if there is more than one on the thread.

[China Doll]

It's all those things. I mainly come for the banter but I have been known to answer sensibly on occasion. Sometimes I'm even helpful...

[mallam]

And tamborine, having spent all my life in universities I can say this is too much like one by half!

[AB Editor]

We're trying Yogi/=izerer!

We've got a new technical editor for the weekend who looks after the G.NOME stuff - he is mainly testing it at the moment (I think he wanted to pretend to be it over the weekend HAL style but wussed out!)

Hi Tamborine, have a look at this: http://bit.ly/N91dg

That was from well before we took over, or even those before us! A historical artefact for you all.

All the best,

Spare Ed

[pericat]

It's the local village pub where you have a laugh a joke a quiz where you set the world to rights. It's always nice to see a friendly face even the odd grumpy one. Everyone can come in and have a drink unless they overstep the mark. There are lots of quirky characters which is also fun.

[TheEqualizer]

Nice One, Ed

New tech editor probably looking for raise........................lol

[ainitatyb]

I have found the Answerbank incredibly useful for answering all those irritating questions that pop up and you know someone somewhere must know the answer but which you cant get the right word search combinations for Google to generate the right response. I have been impressed by the speed of responses to questions that I may have considered obscure and am very grateful to many of the contributors.

Movie plots when you know the story, but can't remember the name. Songs for which you can only remember one line. Recipes and cooking ideas. Simple facts and tips and interesting details.

I have found it less useful for opening up discussion on interesting philosophical points because it usually engenders sarcastic or negative responses

Biggest criticisms of the site, not as easy to navigate around as it could be, and more thought could be given to question categories perhaps.

Biggest praise for the site, when I am researching I go to Google, Wickipedia, then my next stop is Answerbank, as I know I will always get an answer or guidance. Keep the site running please.

[DEN53]

Morning Ed - I stumbled onto Answerbank by looking for something else on google - have been here since March 2009 after asking a question in Motoring about my son's car.

It is like a club, have a friendly chat and a joke, a bit of banter but like all clubs there are always people that spoil it.

The only other club I have ever been a member of was when I was 5 - it was called The Tufftey Club and you got a hankie and a badge - ha ha

[AB Editor]

ainitatyb - I believe you have hit something quite important there; AnswerBank is a service for remembering that thing on the tip of your tongue.

Do you think a category shuffle would upset anyone particularly? I wonder if it would be very damaging?

All the best,

Spare Ed

[ummmm]

Lol Ed....you know they don't like change..!!

[albaqwerty]

don't you dare do a category shuffle. I have enough problems when my supermarket rearranges itself :D

[VINNY100_2]

Good moaning ED.
Can you say a happy birthday to netibiza(netti) please...cheers medear..(:O)

[ainitatyb]

Hi Ed

Thanks for your response. The tip of your tongue thing is important, but can also usually be solved in time in other ways, but often things come to mind from years past and need answers, as an example I knew the opening lines from TV infomercial from when I was a child and for nearly 30 years I could find no one of my generation who knew it or had heard of it. It was a major irritation to me like those tunes that just go around in your head for no real reason. On the same day I found Answerbank I posted the question, and had an answer within minutes (literally) from someone who sent to me the complete wording of the poem. Answerbank answered in 5 mins what 30 years of asking people had not.

I also hear a tune on an answer phone recorded message which I loved, but could only remember the vague theme of the song, not even any of the words or artist. Within minutes of posting a query on Answerbank I not only had the song identified, but had downloaded the music from another site.

What I would like to see improve is the attitude of a few contributors who seem to take more delight in 'knocking' a posting, or being unnecessarily sarcastic when questions open up the possibility for good discussion, but I do not know how you could control this. If these contributors could exercise more self control there is a much greater range of benefits that could be obtained from this site.

As for changing the categories, I only mention it because I have had difficulty finding questions that I know I have previously seen flash up in the Latest Postings box and recently had some difficulty myself trying to work out which would be the best section in which to post a specific question. I would be interested to know how many contributors actively search through questions as I sometimes do, or do most people simply browse or look at only the latest postings?

All in all, even if you didn't change the site at all,