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Why did FAQ Farm change its name to WikiAnswers?

Updated: 8/16/2019
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Getacar

Lvl 1
17y ago

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At the beginning of 2007 we officially changed our name from FAQ Farm to WikiAnswers. We did this for a variety of reasons: * FAQ Farm has great meaning but it is subtle. Most people don't understand it right away. * FAQ Farm can easily be confused with similar sounding or similar looking names such as Fact Farm, Fat Farm, or worse (try replacing the "q" with a "g"). * We have been a wiki since 2004. Many people didn't understand wikis three years ago but more and more people are coming to understand the term. * In November 2006 we became part of Answers.com. WikiAnswers connects with the Answers name better. For more of the background debate on whether to make the change, see this discussion from the summer of 2006: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Discuss:Should_FAQ_Farm_change_its_name_to_WikiAnswers.com

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17y ago
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Related questions

What was WikiAnswers originally called?

FAQ Farm was the original name.


When was WikiAnswers begun?

WikiAnswers began around 2002 under the name "FAQ Farm".


What is the first and last name of the person who invented WikiAnswers?

Chris Whitten started FAQ Farm, which is now WikiAnswers.


Should FAQ Farm change its name to WikiAnswers.com?

Included within these discussion pages is part of WikiAnswers' history. I split the question in order to preserve it.


What was the publisher of WikiAnswers last name?

The original person who started FAQ Farm, which later became WikiAnswers, was Chris Whitten. His last name is Whitten.


Who is the designer of WikiAnswers?

WikiAnswers was began as FAQ Farm by Chris Whitten in 2002.


Who originally created WikiAnswers when it was know as FAQ Farm?

FAQ Farm was created in 2002 by Chris Whitten. In 2004 the site changed to a "wiki" style page. In 2006 the site merged with the answers website and in 2007 adopted the name wikianswers.


Was WikiAnswers made by a teenager?

Nope. WikiAnswers was created by Chris Whitten in 2002 under the name FAQ Farm. At the time, Chris was not a teenager.


How did WikiAnswers website start?

WikiAnswers started as a Q&A site called FAQ Farm.


How long has the answers website been active for?

WikiAnswers was originally started as "FAQ Farm" in 2002. It was called a FAQ farm because FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) were grown organically through people's questions and answers. It 2004 it became a wiki, and was informally known as Wiki FAQs. In 2006 FAQ Farm became part of Answers.com. In January 2007, the site officially changed its name to WikiAnswers.


Why did the founder of WikiAnswers leave WikiAnswers?

Chris Whitten, the founder of WikiAnswers (then FAQ Farm), still contributes on WikiAnswers. He sold the name WikiAnswers to focus on Answers. He is still the founder and still works day to day on this site.


How did the name WikiAnswers come to be?

WikiAnswers was originally started by Chris Whitten in 2002 as FAQ Farm. The name "FAQ Farm" was beloved by some users. It describes what's done here in a fun and creative way. FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) are grown. In 2004 the Mediawiki software used by Wikipedia was adapted for FAQ Farm in order to make it easier for answers to be improved over time. At this time, the name "WikiFAQs" was considered and used interchangeably with FAQ Farm. When Yahoo Answers was opened in 2005 and they did their advertising blitz, the Q&A format became much more well-known. At this time, FAQ Farm started playing with the name WikiAnswers. This made a connection with the now-common "answers site" format while distinguishing itself as a wiki. In 2006 users debated whether to officially change the name to WikiAnswers. Click here to see the discussion. The disadvantages of using WikiAnswers name were: * Not everyone understands what a wiki is. This was especially true in 2006. * Putting only "Answers" in the name emphasizes the answers and not the questions. The questions here are also wiki. * Many of the current users loved the FAQ Farm name and were attached to it. The disadvantages of keeping the FAQ Farm name were: * Not everyone understand was a FAQ is. As the years go by, "FAQs" are disappearing from the internet in favor of more efficient Q&A methods, such as what we innovated here. * It was easily confused with "fat farm," which is not a positive association. * "Farming" questions and answers doesn't initially make sense to most peope. When Chris Whitten sold FAQ Farm to Answers.com in late 2006, the decision to change the name was finally made. Among other reasons, WikiAnswers.com connects more logically with the name Answers.com. It was officially changed early in 2007.