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Visualizing "Answer People" In Online Discussions

Posted by kdawson on from the gratuitously-helpful dept.

Marc Smith writes "'Answer people,' the folks who contribute much of the value in the Internet, are a small minority of all online users. According to a recent paper my co-authors and I have published in the Journal of Social Structure, less than 2% of authors in Usenet newsgroups are likely to be the helpful 'answer person' type — authors who reply to many other people with brief replies. The paper Visualizing the Signatures of Social Roles in Online Discussion Groups contains social network visualizations of the ties created when authors reply to one another. These images highlight the difference between these helpful folks and other types of contributors. The findings may apply to other threaded discussions, maybe even here at Slashdot."

5 of 123 comments (clear)

  1. is... by cosmocain · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... RTFM a helpful answer? if so, i'm one of the 2%!

  2. Re:Yahoo makes money off these people. by Colin+Smith · · Score: 5, Funny

    And yet, Yahoo and other online corporations are (imho) exploiting these people by establishing "Answer" areas that reward people for answering questions with useless points. Do they get compensation or a cut of the advertising profits that yahoo is making on them? No. They get honor points. I'd mod you insightful if I had any points.

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  3. Re:And yet ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    You "answer people" exist for one purpose and one purpose only: to tell me what I want to know when I want to know it.

    Of course I am not an "answer person." I have more important things to do.

    I paid for my access to the Internet, which means I paid for my access to you. Dont expect any gratitude from me.

  4. Re:And yet ... by Aladrin · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Mod this insightful!

    No, not because it's insightful on purpose, but because it's an accurate representation of how most of that 98% think. For some reason, they honestly believe that they -deserve- an answer just because they post a question.

    I'm talking about the people that post things like 'What, 98 views and nobody answers my damn question!?' and 'Doesn't anyone know the answer?' and 'HEY I NEED HELP HERE AND HURRY UP'.

    I'm an answer person. I actively enjoy helping other people. I'm not a selfless do-gooder, though. I do it because I'm happy when I make others happy. A selfless do-gooder would take all the abuse on forums without losing his top. They'd answer the question, even if the person was ignorant and rude. That's not me, because rude jerks don't give me that feeling of pride and happiness, but instead make me feel used and unappreciated.

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    "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
  5. Re:And yet ... by digitalsushi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    you can tell an answer person for real when an answer person asks a question, gets no reply, and then answers their own post with the solution a few days later.

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    slashdot: where everyone yells sarcastic metaphors to themselves to understand the issue