WikiAnswers Community: Decoded

Without the wonderful, diverse and knowledgeable members of WikiAnswers, we couldn't have one of the fastest-growing Q&A communities around! That includes our Contributors, Community Assistants, Supervisors and more. Learn more about the different types of community members below.

Interested in becoming a member of the WikiAnswers community? Join now!

Dare to take on more? Learn about expanding your role on WikiAnswers; contact WikiAnswers @ Answers.com.

A contributor supports the overall mission of WikiAnswers: to foster the exchange of information and grow collaborative Q&As into a permanent information resource. This includes asking and answering questions, improving existing answers and collaborating with others. Contributors have an opportunity to reach additional milestones for their ongoing participation. Special contributor levels include:

These dedicated contributors — recommended by Supervisors for their outstanding and consistent posts — spend the bulk of their time researching and answering questions. Typically, they are experts in a certain field or on a particular topic and possess the knowledge to answer complex or detailed questions.

Bug Catchers are our most active contributors in reporting bugs or irregularities in the behavior of the website. Basically, they help to keep the site running in tip-top shape. They also suggest new features and assist in testing new WikiAnswers functionality.

Green Thumbs play an important role in developing our category tree. They write a great deal of category descriptions. Category descriptions provide assistance to askers of new questions who are unsure where to categorize their inquiry. You can e-mail new category descriptions to categories @ wikianswers.com (no spaces). In the subject line please specify your username and the number of category descriptions included in your e-mail.

Special Project Assistants perform tasks such as seeding new questions, recategorizing Q&As, cleaning up vandalism and spam and other critical daily activities that lend to a better overall user experience for all members of our community. They believe in giving for the greater good and are recognized by Supervisors for their time and effort.

These members help the community, including Supervisors, to be more efficient with the wiki aspects of Q&A (asking and answering questions, editing and so on). A CA performs the less exciting tasks, which in turn makes the time that others spend on WikiAnswers more enjoyable and productive.

A Category Supervisor oversees one or more categories of interest. Often, those employed (or hobbyists) in a certain field will choose to supervise their category of expertise.

Similar to the Category Supervisor, the Floaters are without the responsibilities of overseeing a certain area of the site. Floaters can be activity-specific (i.e. recategorization, question-editing, etc.) or non-specific.

A Senior Supervisor — or 'seasoned' Supervisor — is responsible for a top-level category and working/coordinating with all Category Supervisors within that area.

A Mentor is a highly-experienced Supervisor (typically Senior Supers), who provides support and guidance to newly promoted Supervisors; garnered from their own hands-on experiences working as a Supervisor within the WikiAnswers community.

The Vandal Patrol is a group of Supervisors who combat vandal attacks, aid in the maintenance of question alternates and improve the overall quality of the site. There are several kinds of Vandal Patrol individuals: Vandal Patrol Generalists, Site Guardians, Alternates Specialists, and Site Investigators. Learn more about Vandal Patrol tasks and positions.

WikiGuides, or WikiAnswers Community Outreach members, are folks who perform a number of activities geared toward fostering a positive community experience. They welcome new contributors, invite them to participate in special events, offer guidance, and help where they are needed. Learn more about the Community Outreach program.

Wiki Influential Teens (WIT) exists to build the feeling of community among WikiAnswers' teen contributors and empowers teens to assist in running the site through group projects. WIT helps teens embrace their leadership skills by teaching younger contributors how to correctly use WikiAnswers and its features. Read more about the WIT program.

WikiReviewers are dedicated to increasing the quality of Q&A's. Members clarify questions, correct spelling and grammar, balance answers, and do other tasks to make WikiAnswers an even better place to ask and answer questions. There are several divisions: Literary Editors, Copy Editors, Archive Researchers, and Editors at Large. Learn more about the WikiReviewers Program.