Yahoo Answers, a Longtime Place for the Internet's Weirdest Questions, Will Be Shut Down in May

Yahoo Answers, a Longtime Place for the Internet's Weirdest Questions, Will Be Shut Down in May

04/06/2021

Yahoo Answers, a popular destination for some of the web's weirdest and funniest questions, will be shutting down for good.

The Q&A platform will be closing its doors in May, Yahoo announced with a banner posted to the top of the website this week. The forum will enter a "read-only" mode on April 20, which will prevent users from submitting new questions or replying to threads.

Then, on May 4, anyone trying to access Yahoo Answers will be redirected to the Yahoo homepage, which apparently means users will be locked out of the vast reservoir of content that has been posted to the site since its launch in 2005.

Users will have until June 30 to request their data, including any "user-generated content including your Questions list, Questions, Answers list, Answers, and any images." Other users' info won't be available for download.

Over the last 15 years, Yahoo Answers has become known for its wild and humorous questions, which are often met with equally entertaining replies.

These inquiries often involve a variety of topics, such as astronomy (Do you think humans will ever walk on the sun?), relationships (Did I turn my boyfriend into a vampire?) or the mythical (Is there a spell to become a mermaid that actually works?).

Even with its peculiarity — or perhaps, because of it — Yahoo Answers developed a loyal following over the years. One prolific user, Lord Bearclaw of Gryphon Woods, has answered more than 10,600 questions. Now, it seems, all of that will be erased.

As The Verge points out, many of the top questions being asked on Yahoo Answers are now political in nature.

According to a memo sent to Yahoo Answers users, which was obtained by The Verge, the company said one of the primary factors that influenced its decision to shut down the site was that it simply became "less popular."

"While Yahoo Answers war once a key part of Yahoo's products and services, it has become less popular over the years as the needs of our members have changed," the letter reads. "To that end, we have decided to shift our resources away from Yahoo Answers to focus on products that better serve our members and deliver on Yahoo's promise of providing premium trusted content."

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