Askville is a user-driven research site founded by Amazon.com and opened to the public on December 8, 2006.^[1]

History[link]

Askville was co-founded by Korean-American former investment banker Joseph Park, previously co-founder of Kozmo.com (closed in 2001).^[2] The documentary film e-Dreams (2001) portrays the fate of the company. Amazon.com was an investor in Kozmo.com.

Unlike the Google Answers service (2002-2006), Askville is designed to run much like a computer game. Users gain or lose "experience points" in particular topics as they answer questions in those topics, depending on how good their answer is.^[3] Users also receive "quest gold" by asking and answering questions, and by voting on the worth of other people's answers.^[3] In the past, these coins could be redeemed for items in an Askville store. The store is out of stock at present and there is no indication when, or if, it will open again.

Also unlike other question-answer sites, Askville has evolved into a social community as well as an information site.^[4] This is primarily due to their discussion boards, where Askvillians can enter into long discussions sparked by individual questions. Though indeed sparked by the questions, discussions often take on a personality of their own. No "experience points" or "quest gold" are awarded for discussions, but many Askvillians have come to value the give-and-take, the bickering, and especially the supportive friendships made there.^{[citation needed]}

There are a variety of topics for questions, many user created. Besides answering factual and opinion questions, members can help others identify a book remembered from childhood or find a special recipe. There is a strong camaraderie among many of the members.^{[citation needed]}

As of 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.^[5] The voting system underwent a major revision, including the addition of anonymous voting.

In 2009, staff announced that work on Questville, a planned addition to Askville, had stopped.^{[citation needed]}

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 at Askville.^[6]

On April 13, 2012, staff announced the FAREWELL from Askville Team.^[7]

Askville Awards[link]

Askville launched the Askville Awards in April 2009.^[8] These awards are an attempt by Askville to reward its long-standing and active members and motivate the newer members. There are currently several different awards, including the Veteran Award and the Orientation Award. The former for members who have been with Askville for a year or more, and the latter for the members who are new to the site. Awards show up on the Public Profiles of all members.

See also[link]

• Answerbag
• Askalo
• FunAdvice
• Yahoo! Answers
• Answers.com

References[link]

1. ^ "Welcome To Askville". Amazon.com, Inc.. 2006-12-08. http://askville.typepad.com/askville_blog/2006/12/welcome-to-askv.html. Retrieved 2008-03-05. 
2. ^ Wahlgren, Eric (2001-03-20). "Legacies of the Dot-Com Revolution". Business Week. http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/mar2001/ca20010320_628.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-17. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Experience Points, Levels, and Quest Gold". Askville FAQ. http://askville.amazon.com/faq.html#_Toc144916238. Retrieved 2008-03-05. 
4. ^ "What would you do at an Askville Dinner Party & Tshirt/Mug Update". Askville Blog. http://askville.typepad.com/askville_blog/2008/03/what-would-you.html. Retrieved 2008-03-05. 
5. ^ http://askville.typepad.com/askville_blog/2008/08/index.html Community Guideline Improvements] "AsvilleMayor", August 05, 2008. Askville Blog.
6. ^ http://askville.typepad.com/mturk/2012/03/hello-askville-mturk-workers-we-would-like-to-thank-all-workers-who-have-contributed-to-askville-after-several-months-of.html
7. ^ http://askville.typepad.com/mturk/2012/04/index.html
8. ^ "Askville Awards". Askville Blog. 2009-04-20. http://askville.typepad.com/askville_blog/2009/04/askville-awards.html. 

External links[link]

• Askville
• Turker Nation - a forum created by workers to discuss requesters, HITs, and MTurk in general