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No. We use your birthday information to ensure that you are at least 13 years old and thus eligible to participate in the Q&A, but we do not store or display this information, so there's no need to edit it.
When asking a question you should be as straightforward as possible. Provide any necessary background information in the description of your question. Inappropriate questions (including, but not limited to illicit, pornographic or illegal material) will be removed at our discretion.
In order to ask a question you must be registered and logged in. You must also have a minimum of 5 points in your account, since it costs 5 points to ask a question. You can earn more points by answering questions and voting on questions. Once you're logged in, just visit the Q&A homepage, type your question into the box provided and click "Ask Question."
After you have posted a question or answer, it cannot be edited or deleted. You have the option to review your question before posting it, so take advantage of this feature to make sure your question is correct before you post it.
BookRags users are teachers and students looking for information about a variety of research topics. You can ask questions and request advice about any of the topics on BookRags. The more specific your question is, the more likely you are to get a good response. Questions that are vulgar, inane or pornographic and any spam messages will be deleted immediately. We reserve the right to delete any questions or answers that are deemed inappropriate.
In order for your question to be seen by the members who are most qualified to answer it, you need to categorize your question appropriately. Click through the category tree until you find the sub-category that best fits your question's subject matter. If you don't see a category that directly relates to your question, please select the most relevant category that is available.
Offering extra points is an incentive for other members to answer your question. If there's a question you've been dying to have answered or you're in a real time crunch, offering more points will help get your question answered more quickly and thoroughly.
We add five points to each question that you ask. These additional points will be awarded, along with the points you offer, to the member with the best answer. We do this to encourage members to answer your questions in a detailed, useful way and to work a little harder to be awarded best answer.
As soon as a question that you've asked has closed to answers, you can vote for the best answer. Determine which answer you feel is the most relevant and useful response to your question. Vote for that answer by clicking on the "Vote as Best Answer" button.
Best answers are selected by a community vote. As the Asker, your vote has more influence than that of a regular community member. However, if enough community members vote for a different best answer, that answer will be awarded "Best Answer" and get the corresponding points. This also applies to “No Best Answer” votes – the majority vote wins.
If nobody answers your question within the open period, your points will be refunded.
If you receive two good answers to your question, you'll need to decide which answer is indeed the best. Is one answer more thorough or succinct than the other? Does one go into more detail than the other? Ultimately you (and the community) must decide which single answer deserves to be awarded the "Best Answer" title.
There is an option to vote for "No Best Answer." When you read through all the answers, you'll see the "No Best Answer" button at the bottom of the list. Voting for "No Best Answer" works like any other vote, so if the majority of voters choose this option, then the question Asker will have his/her points refunded and the question will be automatically removed from Q&A.
When answering a question, you should be as detailed as possible. Stick to the subject matter of the question and ensure that your answer is complete and thorough. Best answers will be chosen based on a combination of the community vote and the answer that the Asker selects as the best answer. We reserve the right to remove any answers that are irrelevant to the question, obscene, pornographic or otherwise inappropriate.
A “Best Answer” is the response selected by the Asker and/or the BookRags community as the most relevant (or "best") answer to any given question. Since questions are only open for a limited amount of time, “Best Answers” represent the best response given in a set period of time as selected by BookRags Q&A members.
A “Best Answer” will not be selected until the question has closed to answers and the community has voted on the answers. Voting will remain open for a minimum of seven days. It will remain open until a “majority” vote (as determined by BookRags) has been reached. This ensures that the Asker and the community get an opportunity to cast their votes. If your answer is selected as best answer, the points will be awarded to you at the time the community voting officially closes.
The “Best Answer” to a question is selected by a combination of community votes and the answer chosen by the member who asked the question. Although the Asker's vote has more weight than that of an individual community member, it is possible for community votes to overturn the “Best Answer” chosen by the Asker.
Questions are open to answers for 7 days.
A question closes to answers after 7 days. If this time period has expired, you will not be able to answer the question. You are also not able to answer a question that you asked, or to answer a question multiple times. You may have also hit your daily limit for answers. See the Member Levels for more information.
Are you logged in? You can contribute an answer to any question by viewing the question and clicking the "Answer" button. Make sure you "Review" and "Post" each answer you give. You must click "Post" in order for your answer to be submitted.
No, you may only post one answer to each question.
No, after you post a question or answer it cannot be edited or deleted.
Members can vote on the "Best Answer" to a question for a minimum of one week (7 days) after the answering period closes. The voting period will close after seven days if one answer has received a majority vote. However, the voting period is flexible, so it will stay open longer if none of the answers have received a majority vote after seven days.
You must be logged in and answer at least one question in order to vote on the best answer to a question. You will accrue the ability to vote by answering questions (see answer: vote ratio below). To vote, simply click on the "Vote as Best Answer" button next to the answer you think provides the most useful response to the question.
The answer to vote ratio lets you vote a certain number of times for each question you answer. A 1:2 ratio means that every time you submit an answer, you earn the ability to vote two more times. If your answer is selected as the best answer, the number of votes you earn doubles. So if you answer a question as a Level 1 member (with a 1:2 answer: vote ratio) you get to cast two more votes; then if your answer is selected as "Best Answer," you’ll be able to cast two additional votes (for a total of four).
Have you registered for BookRags Q&A and are you logged in? Have you answered any questions? You have to earn the ability to vote by answering questions. For each question you answer as a Level 1 Member, you earn the ability to vote twice. If your answer (as a Level 1 member) is selected as the best answer, you'll earn the ability to vote four times. These votes continue to build up as you continue to answer questions. However, based on your member status, you're also limited by how many times you can vote each day. See the Member Levels for more details.
There is a daily limit on how many votes you can cast, based on your member level. Please review the Member Levels chart for more details. The number of votes you can cast will also be accrued based on your member level and the number of questions you have answered.
The voting period begins when the answering period closes. Voting is open for a minimum of 7 days and stays open until one question receives a majority of votes.
If the majority of voters determine a question has "No Best Answer", the points will be returned to the Asker and the question will be removed from the system.
Yes. You can vote on the best answer to any question that you asked, regardless of your member level or status.
Sometimes. If you vote for a best answer to a question that you asked and the community selects that answer as the best answer, you will receive 1/3 of your points back. So, if you offered the minimum 5 points, you will receive 2 points back. If you offered 15 points, you will receive 5 points back. If the community disagrees with your choice and selects a different best answer, you will not be awarded points.
Yes. The "No Best Answer" option counts as a regular vote.
No. Once your vote has been cast you cannot change it.
If you feel someone has posted inappropriate content in BookRags Q&A, you can click on the "Report Abuse" link to alert us to the problem. Posts with enough "abuse" votes will be automatically removed. You can only report abuse on a post once.
No. The only way to communicate with other BookRags members is via the public Q&A system or Forums.
The Q&A homepage automatically shows you questions that are open to answers. You can use the drop down box to sort by the most recent questions, questions that are worth the most points, questions that are open the longest and questions with the most or fewest answers. You can also click through the category tree to find questions in a certain category.
Navigate to the "Public Profile" tab of the "My Account" page. You can edit your personal information here. If you want the information to be displayed publicly, make sure to click on the check box to the right of each field.
You can change your avatar at any time by clicking on "My Account," then "Public Profile." From here you can "change" or "remove" your avatar. Don't forget to save your changes.
You advance through the member levels by earning points. You can earn points by answering questions, voting on answers and inviting friends to join BookRags Q&A.
The easiest way to earn points is by answering questions well. If your answer is selected by the BookRags community as the best answer, you will be awarded at least 10 points. You can also earn points by voting and by inviting friends who ultimately register.
You can redeem your points for discounts on individual study guides, study packs or other material (other than subscriptions) at the time of purchase. On the credit card information page you'll see an option to apply your Q&A credit. Simply check the box next to your Q&A credit and the discount will be applied to your order.
The red box to the right of each question tells you how many total points the best answer to that question will receive.
The clock icon indicates that a question was asked less than an hour ago, and that you will receive one additional point if you answer the question within that first hour.
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Ask: (-5) |
It costs at least 5 points to ask a question. |
|
Ask: (-) |
You have the option to offer any additional points that you have accrued in order to entice others to answer your question more thoroughly or sooner. |
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Ask: (+) |
If you select a best answer and the community agrees with your choice, you will be refunded 1/3 of the points you offered. If you offered 15 points, you will get 5 points back for voting on a best answer. |
|
Answer: (+1) |
You get one point for answering a question. |
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Answer: (+1) |
You get one point for answering a question within one hour of it being posted. |
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Answer: (+10) |
If your answer is voted as “Best Answer,” you get at least 10 points: the points the asker offered (at least 5), plus another 5 points from us. |
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Vote: (+1) |
You get one point for voting on the answers to a question. |
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Register: (+25) |
Everyone gets 25 points upon registering. (NOTE: You can use these starter points to ask questions, but they won’t count towards discounts on products.) |
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Invite a Friend: (+5) |
You’ll earn 5 points for every person you invite who registers with BookRags. |
|
Level |
Points |
Questions/Day |
Answers/Day |
Votes/Day |
Votes/Answer |
Add’l Bonus |
|
1 |
0-149 |
2 |
5 |
10 |
2 |
None |
|
2 |
150-499 |
5 |
25 |
15 |
3 |
Redeem Points |
|
3 |
500-999 |
10 |
50 |
20 |
4 |
Redeem Points |
|
4 |
1,000-2,499 |
25 |
75 |
30 |
5 |
Redeem Points & each vote cast counts as 2 votes |
|
5 |
2,500+ |
50 |
100 |
50 |
10 |
Redeem Coupons & each vote cast counts as 3 votes |
