Yahoo! Philippines Answers blog

Following our changes to the Search experience on Answers last week we received a lot of feedback from you, the community, around the changes we made.

Advanced search changes

We’ve reacted to your feedback to make a few additional changes that now allow you to add parameters to the URL, to allow you to better sort your search result. In order to do this, here are the bits of code you’ll need to add to the end of your URL to sort your results:

&orderby=+date (to sort by most recent)

&orderby=-date (to sort by oldest)

For example a search for “dogs” produces this URL: http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/search/search_result?p=dogs

If you want to sort by the most recent results, simply add “&orderby=+date” to the end of the URL:  http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/search/search_result?p=dogs&orderby=+date

We will look to add these filters within the page itself over the coming months.

In addition, we have noticed that search terms within quotation marks (“ and “) were returning no results.  A few code tweaks later and hey presto – results have now returned!

Further changes

Last but not least, we’ve also taken this opportunity to fix some other bugs on the site:

• For Internet Explorer users we’ve fixed the layout issue on the Ask/Answer/Discover banner.
• We have also made changes to content deletion.  Previously, when you deleted your question or answer, it was still showing in the public view of your profile page.  From now on when you delete a question or answer, it will be entirely removed from your public profile page

Thanks for your continued feedback on our latest release, it’s definitely helping to improve Yahoo! Answers!

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(David Gurnani)

David Gurnani was an extremely out-of-shape, 25-year-old salesman in Indonesia when he tipped the scales at 157 kg.

Despite his love for eating and finding himself a beautiful fiancée, he was disappointed that his weight got in the way of his love for sports. That’s when he decided to enter the unscripted Hallmark Channel show, “The Biggest Loser Asia” in November, and his weight went downhill from there.

“King David” as he was fondly called by the trainers and other contestants, was given “The Biggest Loser” title four times during the season’s 13 weeks. He had lost the most weight among the contestants. He lost a total of 55 kg in the last episode.

“I want the next 40 to 50 years of my life to be my best,” he said before heading back home to continue his training before the finale.

By the final round, King David lost another 28 kg. to round out his total weight loss to 83 kg, which is more than half of his original weight, and enough to beat his fellow competitors, 32-year-old Filipino Carlo Miguel, 30-year-old Malaysian Aaron Mokhtar and 20-year-old Hong Konger Martha Lai to claim the first-ever title of “The Biggest Loser Asia.”

“It was hell on Earth,” David told Yahoo! Southeast Asia. “But not for a single moment do I regret anything–my loyalty to the Blue Team, and my strategy throughout the show. I’m thankful to God that I was able to lose that weight. It was the strength of God that carried me through everything.”

Despite being crowned Asia’s Biggest Loser, David had his own fair share of drama on the show, most notably with Red Team member Carlo Miguel. “I saw him as a top competitor in the competition,” David explained. “We both wanted to win just as much. But apart from that, we have no problem at all and I can say that we’re friends, and always will be friends.”

(Carlo Miguel)

After all is said and done, Carlo is all praises for David. “I knew David would win, when we all came back for the finale.  His weight loss was staggering, I knew I didn’t have enough of a chance when I saw him.”

So how did David manage to beat out the other contestants?

“My boss was very kind, he let me take three months of work in order for me to concentrate on training before the finale.  Training time is all that matters. I managed to work out six days a week, for eight to ten hours a day, and on Sundays I would work out for three or four hours.”

David’s rigorous training regimen paid off, as he’s now $100,000 richer, and has a new Renault SUV to boot.

So what’s a changed man to do?

“Apart from getting married, I’m going to go on a nice holiday, and we’ll see from there,” he said.

(Aaron Mokhtar)

Runner-up Carlo and second-placer Aaron feel equally blessed about being part of this amazing transformative journey.

“There’s no more excuses for me anymore,” Aaron said.  “With The Biggest Loser Asia I’ve won my health back, and my life.  I’m taking responsibility for myself, and I have to keep up the process of having a healthy lifestyle.  Now that I’m home I have to teach my wife about cooking healthy, and keep my family healthy.”

The show saw Carlo, who had one of the most dramatic transformations, take a leadership role throughout the competition–he defended and motivated his fellow Red teammates against the Blues, and stood up for fan favorite and fellow Pinoy, Kevin Yue.

Carlo shared his experience: “I feel fantastic, I’ve achieved everything I set out to do on this journey and I too have no regrets.  I’m going to continue living a healthy lifestyle for me, my wife, and my family.”  As for Kevin, Carlo says “He’s doing great. He’s continuing on with his weight loss, and doing it steadily.”

It’s especially hard for this Executive Chef, who earns a living by being surrounded by food. “I’ve devised a procedure where I would taste the food, and spit it out, as a sommelier or wine maker would. I really have to control my calorie intake now that the competition is over.”

Do we see Carlo incorporating healthy menu options to his restaurants’ menus?  “Well, if the market goes for it, I’ll do what the market dictates,” he replied.

To his fellow Pinoys who want to lose weight, Carlo shared some advice, “Get with the program.  Never give up.  And don’t make excuses.”

What you just read is a guest post from Charley Braga, Yahoo! Southeast Asia Front Page Producer.  I’m sure all Pinoys are happy and proud for Carlo Miguel, even though he didn’t get the top prize, he definitely represented our country well and his transformation is equally amazing.  We congratulate Carlo and the rest of the winners of “The Biggest Loser Asia!”  Because of your inspiring efforts, we would like the community to answer this question: Have you ever been successful in losing weight? If so, how did you accomplish it?

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As a part of the changes to the Answers homepage, we’re also rolling out a few changes to the search experience on Answers over the next few days. We’ve taken the feedback you’ve provided through the blogs, email accounts, Customer Care, as well as through the feedback links and the Suggestion Board 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.
The new answers search page

(The new Answers search 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 favorite 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.

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.

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The next time you log into Yahoo! Answers 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 Answers 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 (PST).  This means at 2pm PST on Thursday (or 6am Manila time, Friday), your points total will show as it was at 23:59 PST on Wednesday (that is 3:59pm, Manila time, 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!

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Today marks the 24th anniversary of the first EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted former President Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the country after years of dictatorship.

For many of you who might be too young to remember this, Wikipedia defines this momentous event in our country’s history as “a series of nonviolent and prayerful mass street demonstrations,” majority of which taking place in EDSA and involving more than 2 million Filipinos composed of civilians as well as political, military and religious figures.

Reading about what happened that time, it’s amazing how word-of-mouth and the radio (Radio Veritas to be precise) played a very important part in organizing and connecting people who wanted to be freed from authoritarian rule and desired change.  In a time before mobile phones and the internet, the people managed to get the word out, they were able to rally behind a common cause and what was achieved in EDSA was both historic and unprecedented.

Twenty-four years later, People Power lives on, in more ways than one if I may say so.  Every day we witness the essence of People Power whenever we go online to connect, communicate or collaborate with friends through social media.  By going to Yahoo! Answers, which is a people-powered knowledge sharing community, we are in fact participating in People Power.  I just hope that the lessons of EDSA will be something that we will take to heart in both our offline and online activities.  Remember, we have the power to be agents for change but only if we are united.

To mark this historic event, share your thoughts to the community by answering this question in Answers, “What was your most memorable experience about the 1986 People Power Revolution?”

Another thing you can do is if you’re wearing yellow to commemorate the event, take a photo of yourself and share it by uploading it in Flickr and tagging it with the keyword YellowEDSA and using the #YellowEDSA hashtag.

Finally, you can also post your thoughts on the first People Power Revolution and share your EDSA-related photos and videos via the hashtag #YellowEDSA on Meme and Twitter (check out my Meme and Twitter accounts to get the idea)from February 22-25.

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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 an answer?

How do I earn (or lose) points on Answers?

• 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

More details on points and levels can be found here.

How can I get to the next level on Answers?

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 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 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!

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Photo by Stitch

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I’m sure many of you have been busy preparing for this annual event.  Definitely preparation is a factor to have a memorable and meaningful day of hearts.

The classic bouquet of red roses, box of sweet chocolates and romantic dinner definitely still works.  But if you think outside the box, celebrating the day of hearts can be inexpensive but still be sweet and maybe even more memorable.  Here are some creative romantic ideas:

• Early morning jog. Start V-day early by going on a running date with your loved one, probably in a park or somewhere near nature.  Welcoming the sunrise together while having breakfast after jogging can be both healthy and romantic.
• A date “up” in the air. The Philippine Hot Air Balloon Festival is currently on-going in Clark Field, Pampanga.  If you can find a way to do this (not sure if it’s even possible, still), why not have a date on a hot air balloon?  Bring a picnic basket and enjoy the view and the feeling that it’s just the two of you on top of the world.
• Pamper yourselves. Why not treat yourself and your lover with some tender love and care from a spa?  Instead of spending a lot on a resto, use it instead to get some spa service (massage, foot spa, etc.).  It will definitely be a relaxing and romantic time together for both of you.
• A “rosy” time together. They say that Valentines will always be about roses.  If that’s the case, why not bring your partner to a rose farm?  Spend an afternoon in one of the rose farms in Tagaytay. You’ll certainly have a great time together when you’re surrounded with so many roses, and you can cap this date with a romantic dinner in one of the restaurants there.
• An “Amazing” date. This needs a bit of planning but if executed well, it’s both adventurous and sweet.  Think of the different places that’s special to your partner (a café, shop, park, etc), then plot an “Amazing Race” kind of date where your loved one solves clues and accomplishes “challenges” in each of those places and the race culminates in a romantic dinner somewhere secluded and romantic.

If you have more suggestions for creative ways to celebrate Valentines, please click on this link and share it to the rest of the community. Thanks everyone and advance happy hearts day!

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At the start of the year, many people often think about getting things in shape: their homes, their bodies, but they don’t stop to think about getting their computers in shape. While online safety and virus protection should be thought about year round, this is a great time to take a quick refresher course on some of the common online threats that you may (or may not) encounter while surfing the net.

Online and within the news you’ve likely heard of some of the most common terms (malware, spam, viruses, and Trojans), but may not have known what they are, or, how to protect yourself or your computer from them. We’ve pulled together a quick resource guide outlining the who’s who, and where to go for more information. But when online, some of the most important things to remember are:

• Don’t trust pop-ups; things pretending to be virus checkers may actually be viruses (more on that later)
• You don’t have to understand a lot about online security to protect against the most common online threats. Keep your computer up to date and be suspicious about the sites you visit—employ the same skills you do in real life as you do online: don’t give out your personal information to strangers, and don’t trust something because it “sort of” looks official. And remember to trust your instincts: if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

What’s malware?
Malware is software that does something you don’t want done, usually installed without your permission. It includes viruses, worms and Trojans.

What is spam?
Spam is/can be: the repeated postings of the same content; off topic banter/answers/comments; links to commercial sites or merchandise; in general, unsolicited, unwanted or irrelevant messages, links or postings. You may run into it in your inbox, on message boards, in comments sections, etc. Basically, anywhere that someone can enter or submit text is susceptible to spam.

What is phishing?
This is any attempt to steal your account information. Phishers set up fake web sites that look like those of trusted companies to trick you into disclosing your account information. These pages can look nearly identical to the real thing, so it can be hard to tell that you are on a phony site.

Most commonly, you’ll see these as emails asking for the password to your bank account, your Yahoo! email account (urging you to send your account information or else your account will be terminated), or your credit card information.  If you run into a phishing email on Yahoo!, please do report it to us!

Remember to never click on links in emails, no matter how official they look. Use bookmarks or physically type the site name in.
To protect yourself further, set a sign-in seal and don’t give out your Yahoo! password on your computer unless you see your sign-in seal (for more information on this, go here: https://protect.login.yahoo.com/) This helps you know when you’re on a phishing page, or when you’re on a legitimate Yahoo! login page.

Yahoo! Security Center

At http://security.yahoo.com/ you can assess your PC’s exposure to online threats, including malware, viruses, and an assortment of other online risks. Additionally, you can also learn about:

• Protecting your PC (http://security.yahoo.com/article_pc.html)
• Protecting your online privacy (http://security.yahoo.com/article_privacy.html)
• Protecting your children online at Yahoo! Safely (http://safely.yahoo.com)
• Getting rid of pop-ups, viruses, adware, or spyware (read the article here)
• And much more! (http://security.yahoo.com/all_topics.html)

How to help protect your machine
Be sure that your computer has antivirus software installed and that its virus definitions are up-to-date—many computers do not, and this leaves them open to many malware attacks. Programs like Norton Anti-Virus or http://www.malwarebytes.org/ will help protect and prevent future attacks.

If you see a pop-up, close it promptly, without clicking on anything inside the window (buttons inside the window may download software, no matter what the label on them says, even if it’s “No”, or “Cancel”). Click the close button on the window frame (the “x” in the upper right on a Windows machine, the red button in the upper left on  a Mac).

If  that doesn’t work  use “Ctrl + F4″  on Windows or  “Shift + Cmd + W” on an Apple machine to close the window.  Worst case, kill the browser with the Task Manager on Windows or Force Quit on a Mac, and if you can’t do that, reboot the machine. (Be sure to save your work in other programs!)

Then run a virus-scan using an anti-virus program to check for any malware remnants.

At  the end of the day, it’s up to YOU to help keep your online experience safe—keep your software up-to-date and be cautious about giving out information, including passwords.

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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.

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Flickr photo by Globovisión

On Tuesday, January 12, Haiti was struck by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, centered 10 miles west of Port-au-Prince. The quake has caused widespread damage and casualties and structural damage. At this point, authorities are unsure as to just how much damage the quake has caused but know that its impact was vast and intense.

In times like these, it is important for communities to band together to provide support.

On Answers, we form a community of collective knowledge- but in the real world, together, we create a collective bound together by one thing: humanity, and the ability to endure. And in times like these, it’s important to remember that, and to help others persevere.  As Filipinos, we’ve recently gone through a similar experience and we were blessed to receive an overflowing support from the international community.  Now it’s our turn to help.

According to the Associated Press, “it was clear from a tour of the capital that tens of thousands of people had lost their homes and that many had perished. Many buildings in Haiti are flimsy and dangerous even under normal conditions.”

To learn more about how you can send your support to help the victims of the earthquake in Haiti please follow the links below.

Unicef – Efforts in Haiti – Donate

American Red Cross – Blog – Donate

View more photos of the quake through Flickr. WARNING: photos contain images that may not be suitable for children.

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