Yahoo! Answers Blog Malaysia

Being the “Biggest Loser’ in Asia is certainly not a bad thing.

After all’s been said and done, the stars of Asia’s very own ‘Biggest Loser” series are beside themselves with joy. Though only one of them took the crown, there is no question that all of them feel like winners.

Aaron

‘I feel great! I’m really happy for David (Gurnani) for winning it,” Malaysia’s Aaron Mokhtar told Yahoo! Southeast Asia in a phone interview.

Aaron, who took third place in the show after losing to the Philippines’ Carlos Miguel by a single point, is just happy to have lost the 60 kilograms that threatened his health just a few months back.

Carlos

‘From the moment I first saw him (David), I knew there was no way I would win,“ Carlos admitted. “The amount of weight David lost was just staggering,” Carlos admitted.

Staggering is right. David lost 83 kg and now weighs only 78 kg.

But despite the suspected rift between the two, Carlos and David were happy to pat each other’s backs at the end of the day.

David

“I just thank God for this opportunity,” David says. “Carlos is one of those who pushed me to work hard, and I’m sure I pushed him too. But after the competition, we will always be friends. We got to know each other a little but later.”

Now that the show is over though, David plans to take a holiday, buy a house and plan his wedding. On the other hand, Carlos will return to his job as a less-diet-worried chef, while Aaron plans to teach his friends and family to cook and eat healthy.

So what’s next for our biggest winners? To live a fuller, healthier life. Sounds like a good plan

What about you? Can we lose weight like the Biggest Loser Asia contestants without help from a coach? How?

Actually, this is the previous blog post by “Vera”, one of our team since 2006. However, I think it’s worth to share with you again!

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If you’re still agonising over whether you should ask those burning questions, my advice to you is: just ask it already. I’ll even tell you the secret to getting good responses. It’s CONS.

It stands for Categorise well, seek Opinions, reduce Noise, and be Specific.

Categorise Well
It’s like choosing the right co-curricular activity (CCA) in school. If you’re really into chess, you probably won’t join the swim team to seek a worthy chess opponent.

Similarly, you want to put your questions in the category where people with the right experience or interests will naturally hang out. Asking for information on what diet your cat should be on in Computers & Internet > Programming & Design section will probably leave you none the wiser. Post it in the Pets > Cats section – other pet owners there will be happy to share their experiences.

Seek Opinions
You’ll be surprised at the creativity and resourcefulness of the collective community – if only you ask their opinion. A question like, “Do you like fish curry?” would likely only yield a bunch of “Yes” and “No”. But if the question was “How do I make fish curry delicious?” then you’ll not only find that people like fish curry, you’ll also discover how they prepare it to make it special.

Reduce Noise
There are several kinds of noise:

* Duplication: We heard you the first time, don’t go on and on like my secondary school Chemistry teacher. Asking the same question in different categories doesn’t get you better or more answers either.
* Junk: You know junk when you see it. The ones that go “What did John cook for dinner tonight?” or “What are you doing right now?”. If you see questions like that you should not answer them. Questions with no answers will automatically get deleted after seven days. You can also report these questions by clicking on the “Report Abuse” link and we’ll delete those questions if necessary.
* Chatting: Yahoo! Answers isn’t meant to be used as a chat site or personals message board. Asking things like “Does anyone out there want to exchange emails” or “Could someone please be my Yahoo! 360 friend?” is just uncool on Yahoo! Answers. There’s a place for that, it’s called Yahoo! Chat.

Be a sport, read the Community Guidelines for a clearer picture of what Yahoo! Answers is about.

Be Specific
Remember, you reap what you sow. Being specific will help others give you a relevant answer. A vague question like “Good recipes?” might contain a large number of meat recipes, but it won’t be very relevant if you were looking for a good chocolate cake recipe. Help others help you – give them as much information or as many clues as you can to get yourself a good answer.

Here are examples of questions which follow the CONS rule:

* How do I keep my socks from going missing in the laundry?
* If ‘dry-cleaning’ involves petrol, is it really ‘dry’?

Consequently, they earn a big “thumbs up” from me! Good job, folks!

I’m sure you get the picture by now. So go ahead. Shoot that question. There’s an answer out there waiting for you.

As a part of the recent changes to Yahoo! Answers, we will also be rolling out a few changes to the search experience over the next few days.

We’ve taken the feedback you’ve provided and have incorporated your comments to improve the current search experience. Through the new search experience, you’ll notice a new, re-designed layout on your search results page, making it easier to refine your search without having to leave the page.

1- We’ve taken all of the options which were previously available in Advanced Search and moved them to the left-hand-side of this page to make it easier to customize your search queries.

2 – The category dropdown has been re-structured to fit this new design.

3- For those of you who perform the same search regularly, we’ve also thought of you: we’ve replaced the `Make this my default search option` with the `My Saved Search` feature. `My Saved Search` allows you to save your favourite search so you can easily access the results from anywhere on Yahoo! Answers. By checking this box Answers will store your most frequent searches. You can then click on the `My Saved Search` link next to the `Search Answers` button to access your saved search from wherever you are on the site.

You can find out more about making the most of `My Saved Search` by checking out this help article: http://help.yahoo.com/l/mye/yahoo/answers/overview/overview-7163231.html

As with all of the changes we’re making at the moment we’d love to hear your feedback. Leave us a comment here on the blog or on the feedback thread on the Suggestion board

As the only Malaysian on the final leg of The Biggest Loser Asia, Aaron Mokhtar has changed a lot – but in good ways.

For starters, he’s shed weight. Okay. A lot of weight.

Initially weighing 159 kg, 30-year-old Aaron has already lost as much as 46 kg overall (as of the last weigh-in) in about three months time.

Second, he now knows more about food than the average Joe – and he’s not hesitant to share his new-found knowledge to fellow weight-watchers.

“It’s not how much you eat but what you eat,” Aaron explains.

When in the past, he used to eat anything, Aaron says this has changed. “I’ve learned about calories…I am eating healthier now.  And because I am eating healthier, my family is eating healthier too.”

Of course, losing weight isn’t an easy task, even for someone like Aaron who used to have an active lifestyle.

So what keeps Aaron going? One word. Family.

‘I have been blessed. I have a lot of weight to lose. (Although) I was never faced with a brick wall…it is hard to be away from my family, but that is also what motivates me.”

But for Aaron, being on the show has changed him in other ways as well.

“My weight used to dictate my way of life,” Aaron shares. “I used to wear black all the time – not because it was my favourite colour, but because it made me feel better. I don’t want to get to that point ever again. “

“The show has definitely changed the people in the show but it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about winning and getting a bonus. “

Bonus, indeed. But is Aaron going to win the show? We’ll soon find out. But even then, it’s clear that he’s already a winner.

PS. We also have Sarimah Ibrahim here. She has been asking questions about health on Yahoo! Answers Malaysia in the last few weeks. This is her seventh question. What are other cooking methods that will make tasty chicken breasts without the guilt?

Hi everyone! Apa khabar?

I’ve noticed more questions from local users in Malaysia in the last few weeks. Some of you have come across questions on the front page of Yahoo! Malaysia or were sent here through search engines or by friends. Anyway, it doesn’t matter how you got here — I’m just happy to see you!

As a community manager for Yahoo! Answers, and the interface between you and the Answers team, I’ve noticed that users here often click on English-language questions from other countries.

For example, if you’re finding out more about the recent budget, you’ll get answers about the Malaysian economy mixed in with those from the U.S., U.K. and Australia as well.

Are you wondering how you can get more locally relevant answers? I have a few tips for you:

1. Add the “Malaysia element” to your question if you want to get answers from other Malaysians, put in local terms like “Bangsar Village”, “KWSP”, Kuching Waterfront”, or just add the word ” Malaysia” to your question. For example, “How do you organise a grand birth celebration kenduri in Malaysia?”

2. Look at the leaderboard
You will see many people asking and answering interesting questions. Add them as contacts and stay connected through Yahoo! Profiles. Then you will know when they ask a question or answer one. You will also find out if they just shared a Tweet or video. Find out more about Profiles here.

3. Filter the content
Use the content filter and select “Malaysia questions only.” Find out how over here.

That’s all! I hope you guys are enjoying Yahoo! Answers Malaysia. If you have any questions, post them here today!

The next time you log into Yahoo! Answers Malaysia you may notice things look a little bit different. We’re rolling out a new homepage and navigation over the next few days. Don’t worry: if you don’t see the new changes just yet, you will soon.

We’ve made quite a few changes to the homepage, so to make navigation a bit easier, we’ve broken things down for you by section, so let’s get started.

New Yahoo! Answers Malaysia Homepage

1- New Navigation
You may have noticed that atop the Answers banner, there are four new, navigation tabs: Home, Browse Categories, My Activity, and About. Each of these tabs (as well as the green Answers banner) will stay with you throughout your experience on the site, making it easier for you to get to the places on Answers you care about most.

New Navigation

Home: This brings you back to the main page of Answers, where you can see the Best of Answers rotating module, the link to the Answers Blog (which is now on the right hand side, as well as the most recent questions posted on the site.

Browse categories: more about this below

My activity: From here, you can go directly to your Answers profile, view your network, your network activity, and even edit your preferences.

About: Learn all about Answers, revisit the Community Guidelines, check out the leaderboard, Suggestion Board, and visit the Answers Blog.

2 – Browsing categories

New Category Browse

On the old Answers homepage all of the categories were permanently displayed on the left hand column, hogging up homepage space that could have been used for valuable questions. We’ve decided to tuck the categories away under the top hide-away menu where you can easily access them any time, or, if you want to view them all at once, just click on the browse category tab to be taken to the “All Categories” page. From here, you’ll be able to peruse all of the questions that are: open, resolved or in voting on the site.

3- An updated look and feel
Over the past few years we’ve heard from quite a few of you that you love the Answers green but it’s just a little too green. So we’ve taken your feedback to heart and have toned down the green just a bit and have replaced the white background with a light blue that is a little easier on the eyes. Our smilies (4) have also received a facelift and look a bit more polished throughout the site.

Additionally, you’ll notice that the page feels a bit wider—one thing we heard from you when we introduced the new category pages several months back was that you liked the extra space. This extra space allows us to display even more questions on the homepage, making it easier for you to jump right in.

But wait, there’s more!

This release doesn’t just include cosmetic changes—we also included quite a few backend bug fixes, as well as a few feature requests, like updating the category leaderboards much more regularly. Starting today, category leaderboards will update on a daily basis instead of weekly.

Please note they will NOT be real-time, but will update at the end of each day. This means at 6am on Friday, your points total will show as it was at 5.59am on Thursday.

Tell us what you think

Once you’ve given the new homepage a test drive, tell us what you think! We’ve started two threads on the Suggestion Board for the new homepage—one for questions and one for comments – and we’ll be checking them regularly. Additionally, you’re always welcome to use the “Tell us what you think” link found at the bottom of every Yahoo! Answers page.

You’re also welcome to leave your comments here, on the blog.

Thanks, and we hope you like it!

When visiting Answers, there are three main ways to engage with the members of the community: you can ask a question, answer a question, or vote.

By now, you’ve figured out that asking a question costs you points, and answering a question awards you points. But did you know that you can also earn a point by voting on a question?

How do I earn (or lose) points?

• Give a best answer: earn 10 points
• Answer a question: earn 2 points
• Vote for an answer: earn 1 point
• Ask a question: lose 5 points
• Violate the community guidelines: lose 10 points

When participating on the site, a few tips will help you move from level to level in no time—they are:

• Provide Best Answers—be sure your answers are quality, don’t violate the Community Guidelines (http://malaysia.answers.yahoo.com/info/community_guidelines) and answer the question!

• Search for your question before you ask it: while your question may seem unique, you may be shocked just how many people before you have come to Answers to ask “Why is the sky blue?” – Save your 5 points and use the Advanced Search feature (http://www.yanswersblogmy.com/b4/2010/02/19/answers-how-to-advanced-search/) to check the site for similar questions before asking your own.

• Use the “Sort” feature to find questions with the fewest answers—by filtering by the fewest answers you’re naturally “upping your odds” of earning a “Best Answer” as you’ll have fewer other answers to compete against, and, may be providing someone with the perfect answer!

With these tips under your belt, you’ll be at level 7 in no time! Happy answering!

We know that when visiting Yahoo! Answers you’re here either to ask a question or answer a question. For many of you, your main objective is to lend a hand and answer as many questions about your area of expertise as possible, but oftentimes, you’re unable to easily find the right types of questions.

While a basic search (using the top search bar) will produce quick search results, the advanced search function will help you pinpoint specific terms within targeted categories.

Answers community member, Calimecita who is well known across the community for her expertise in Biology/Zoology, is also a savvy Answers member and has worked with us to provide useful Answers tips from Answers users.

Using Advanced Search you can:

* Find questions that match specific words or phrases, and/or exclude specific terms.
* Search questions or best answers only
* Search by category or subcategory
* Choose to search among all English vs only your home portal questions
* Filter by question status (open, resolved, undecided)
* Restrict by question time frame

You also have the option of saving this search and making it your default “advanced search” for the future by checking the “Make this my default search” box.

“With Advanced Search, I can locate open questions about specific topics quickly and efficiently, without restricting myself to a single category. I’ve even set up a few Yahoo! Alerts based on the RSS feeds from these Search results, so that I receive those questions as emails.”

Cali also says, “when I need an Answer, I restrict my search to Resolved Questions only and use some of the other options, such as “search for exact phrase” and “none of these words”, to find very specific content (for example, information about turkeys that doesn’t involve Thanksgiving recipes, or a question about vampires – not the Twilight kind ).

I see lots of comments and requests in the Suggestion Board for ways to do these things – and many users don’t know that Advanced Search is the answer,”

For an even more in-depth look at what the advanced search feature can do for you, stop by Calimecita’s Unofficial Answers Tutorial, found here

One of the things the Team is trying to improve this year is getting the Answers community involved earlier when we make improvements to the site. As part of that, we’d love for you to fill out a short survey on the notifications. Please find it here.

We need your opinion on what you love and where there is room for improvement, which notifications we send and how often we send them. Want to receive notifications via something else than email?

The survey is completely anonymous and the results will be used only by the Answers Team to help us with this project.

You can take the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YQZZBJB

Thanks so much for your help on this!

Hi guys, actually, I copy this post from my colleague in Philippines and adapt it with Malaysia. But I do believe it works with all of us. Check it out now.

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We receive a lot of feedback each day through the blog, Suggestion Board, and other channels of communication. One of the community’s most heatedly discussed topics centers around the quality of questions or answers.

As you probably know, our Community Guidelines exist to explain our daily moderation on the site, and also to help you form better questions and answers on Yahoo! Answers. Let’s look at some golden rules that will help improve your experience by increasing your chances of getting even better results:

1. Start your question with “who,” “why,” “how,” etc.: Formulate your question in a clear, straightforward way. This will help your question stand out to visitors who can share their knowledge and answer some questions. Make it easier for them to find yours! Example: How can I solve a Rubik’s cube?

2. Use correct spelling (avoid text lingo) in your questions: Correct spelling and grammar help people understand your questions. You’ll get better answers when others can clearly make out what you’re asking. Example: “Who da actress dat plays Monica’s BFF…” should be “Who is the actress that plays Monica’s best friend…”

3. Open the debate (politely!): Remember, we’re a diverse community of people with differing opinions. Feel free to introduce your point of view with constructive thoughts or examples, or compare your vision with another’s personal experiences. And by citing sources, using quotation marks, and including hyperlinks, you make the community stronger and better informed.

4. Categorize your question in the proper place: Placing your question in the right category helps make it more visible to the people who can give you the best information and most accurate answers.

5. Respect other members and the opinions they post—do not target specific users: With a community this large, expect to find opinions that are different from yours. Everyone wants to be treated with dignity. Showing respect to others makes the community better for all of us. Don’t ask or answer questions about another member—let’s not engage in gossip. We’re here to share knowledge!

And remember, it’s always a good idea to search first to check if the question that’s on your mind has already been asked.

For more information, check our Community Guidelines or Help pages. Feel free to share other helpful hints with the community by leaving a comment below.