Yahoo Answers, one of the first public Q&A digital platforms, is finally shutting down.
Yahoo Answers, a digital forum where users posted public questions on different topics, is shutting down on May 4.
Starting April 20, the Yahoo Answers website will be available in read-only mode. It means users will not be allowed to post new Yahoo Answers questions or answer others’ questions. After May 4, Yahoo Answers will redirect to Yahoo’s homepage.
Yahoo is also allowing users to download their Answers data. Subscribers can do so before June 30.
“Your Yahoo Answers data download will return all user-generated content including your Questions list, Questions, Answers list, Answers, and any images. You won't be able to download other users' content, questions, or answers,” according to a FAQs page.
Yahoo has also sent a note to its active Yahoo Answers members to explain why the company is pulling the plug. In the note, Yahoo admits that the platform had become less popular over the years, prompting the company to shift its resources to other growth products.
“We launched Yahoo Answers sixteen years ago to help people around the world connect and share information. With you and millions of other users, we built the best place on the web to ask and answer questions on a variety of topics, creating a community of global knowledge sharing. While we could not have been prouder of what we accomplished together, we are reaching out today to let you know that we have decided to shut down Yahoo Answers on May 4th, 2021,” the company said in the note.
Yahoo Answers, one of the oldest public Q&A forums, is known for its longtail queries. For instance, users asked -- “Should I stop giving my daughter lunch money? and Is it possible to lose weight when I drink a pint of cheap whiskey every night?
Interestingly, these queries were posted in the last seven days. You can check them out on Yahoo Answers’ “Food & Drink” category. There are more such hidden gems on the platform.
Yahoo Answers and Yahoo, in general, was quite popular in the early days of the internet. Google and its products like Search, Gmail, however, changed how we used the internet. Still, the concept of forums for public Q&As has not faded. Platforms such as Reddit and Quora are still serving a similar purpose and enjoy a large user base. As far as Yahoo goes, the company is already re-aligning its focus on products and services such as Yahoo+.
So long Yahoo Answers.