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Askville
Type of site
Collaboration
Available inEnglish
OwnerAmazon.com
URLhttp://askville.amazon.com
Commercialyes
RegistrationRequired

Askville was a user-driven research site founded by Amazon.com. It was opened to the public on December 8, 2006,[1] and shut down on October 25, 2013.[2]

History

Askville was the co-founded by Korean-American former investment banker Joseph Park, previously co-founder of Kozmo.com (closed in 2001),[3] which was funded by Amazon.com.

Unlike Google Answers (2002–2006), Askville were designed to run much like a computer game. Users would gain or lose "experience points" in particular topics if their answers were good.[4] Users also received "quest gold" by asking and answering questions, and by voting on the worth of other people's answers.[4] Those coins could be redeemed for items in an Askville store.

Also unlike other question-answer sites, Askville evolved into a social community as well as an information site.[5] This was primarily due to the discussion boards, where "Askvillians" entered into long discussions sparked by individual questions. Though sparked by the questions, discussions often took on a personality of their own. No "experience points" or "quest gold" were awarded for discussions, but many Askvillians came to value the give-and-take, the bickering, and especially the supportive friendships made there.[citation needed]

There were a variety of topics for questions, many user created. Besides answering factual and opinion questions, members could help others identify a book remembered from childhood or find a special recipe.

In August 2008, members of the Askville community complained of a lack of moderation and participation from the Askville administrators. In response, Askville appointed a community manager to track and handle user feedback, and the site management made a commitment to more effectively enforce their policies.[6] The voting system underwent a major revision, including the addition of anonymous voting.

In December 2008, Amazon announced that work on Questville, a planned addition to Askville, would be postponed indefinitely.[7] In 2011, Amazon filed a new trademark application on Questville, and reactivated the Questville blog.[7]

On March 23, 2012, staff announced that after almost seven years, Askville Bonus questions would cease being offered to Amazon Mechanical Turk in early April 2012 due to a change in operating strategies.[8] On April 13, 2012, Askville staff posted a "Farewell from Askville Team".[9]

On October 25, 2013, the "askville.com" website was shut down.[10] The historic contents of Askiville were accessible at askville.amazon.com through early 2016.[11]

Askville Awards

Askville launched the Askville Awards in April 2009.[12] These awards were an attempt by Askville to reward its longstanding and active members and motivate the newer members. There were several different awards, including the Veteran Award and the Orientation Award. The former was for members who had been with Askville for a year or more, and the latter was for the members who were new to the site. Awards showed up on the public profiles of all members.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Welcome To Askville". Amazon.com, Inc. 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  2. ^ "Askville". Retrieved 2014-01-16.
  3. ^ Wahlgren, Eric (March 20, 2001). "Legacies of the Dot-Com Revolution". Business Week. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-17. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "Experience Points, Levels, and Quest Gold". Askville FAQ. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  5. ^ "What would you do at an Askville Dinner Party & Tshirt/Mug Update". Askville Blog. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-05. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Community Guideline Improvements" Archived December 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine AskvilleMayor, August 5, 2008. Askville Blog.
  7. ^ a b Sherman, Erik (April 6, 2011). "Is Amazon Resurrecting Questville, Its Q&A Online Game Concept?". CBS News. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  8. ^ "Important Message from the Askville Team". Askville.typepad.com. 2012-03-23. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  9. ^ "mturk: April 2012". Askville.typepad.com. 2012-04-13. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  10. ^ "Dear Askville Community". Final web site. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  11. ^ "Askville by Amazon Most Recent Activity". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Askville Awards". Askville Blog. 2009-04-20.
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