Theanswerbank Reviews 5

Rubbish app now it used to be so easy now doesn't let you in. I have changed my password so many times to no avail.n

Very helpful people. It's my go-to place for help with cryptic crossword clues, if I'm totally stuck.
Usually they will give an explaination of the answer.
I've only used the crossword section, bur I really like it!
The site is really difficult to go onto now unfortunatelly. I do hope it gets easier in the near furture.

The answerers on this website are completely rude. I have shed many a tear from the responses I get. Not going to bother using this site any longer as clearly people don't want to help.

The company cant improve now. Its virtually gone to the dogs.

The three other reviews say it all. I left after many years, never to return, as have many others.

Its only good for quizzes and crosswords

So while my title might seem like an insulting rant, my opening description of the Answerbank website is actually based on around 12 months use and fact. I have no idea who is personally behind the site. While there is a list of "moderators" under an outdated interface, these could be random first names plucked out of a hat. At a guess I would say The Answerbank is likely run by less than a handful of people, the same individuals playing their part in daily moderation.

As mentioned, I used the site for a year. I am a professional athlete (one time Olympian), relied on it as a resource to chart dietary and nutritional needs. My posts would typically involved multiple images of self prepared food. A virtual record of vitamins and minerals. The kind of food content you come across on facebook. I had a little fun with some of these posts, asking about preparation etc but basically they followed the same formula. The point I am making is that my content was incredibly tame and inoffensive. I never ventured into any controversial territory because I was not interested in using Answerbank for such purposes.

After a few weeks use, I began to notice snarky remarks under my posts. When these failed to provoke any reaction from me they deteriorated into outright insults, criticism and general trolling. With such a low ratio of daily questions, barely any traffic and the same avatared accounts appearing on my content, (as well as distinctive posting styles), it became really obvious these were actually answerbank affiliates using sock puppet accounts. Admins behind the site were directly insulting me and enjoying doing so. There is a crude report system in place (for some reason it requires passwords each time to generate submissions), however it is entirely at the staffs discretion to take action. As they were the very same people insulting me, it was pointless attempting to use this feature.

The first time I tried to defend myself against insults on my threads, my access to the website was temporarily restricted. My replies were removed and I could not sign in. I was able to return after 24 hours but there was no warning or explanation. I generally ignored the taunts but after around 6 months of these continuous insults and jabs, I started to argue back.

They dropped the banhammer on my account on the 13th September 2023 after I addressed one insulting post. The official explanation published under their blog page: "Sarcasm" and being rude to a moderator. My account was suspended immediately and a years worth of content removed within minutes. I got the impression that my usage was not to their preference, not the type of content they needed to generate interest - long story short, they intentionally provoked me to infringe their own policies. It only took them 12 months to get a rise out of me. In accordance with their behaviour, I still do not understand why they even needed an excuse? It is afterall a private website, I agreed to TOS when signing up. I can only conclude they enjoy bullying their users, like someone pulling insects legs off.

In an agenda driven online world, where self-expression is rapidly being restricted by those seeking to capitalize off others efforts, I think The Answerbank is probably one of the worst examples of attempted exploitation online I have encountered yet. I have been surfing a long time. I still remember the wild west days, where our only defence against coders & scammers personal echo chambers or vanity projects was a little X on a browsers top right-hand corner. I just did not expect to return to those 'bulletin board style days' at The answerbank.

I am not just posting this negative review because I am disgruntled. The Answerbank is a useless clunky website, it is outdated and old fashioned. As we saw with the pointless 'Yahoo Answers' model, most conventional search engines are much less work and yield more accurate results quickly. The Answerbank seeks to elevate its status above past failed experiments by pretending to be a friendly 'community based' site. I found anything but that. In actual fact, it is frequented by a handful of bullying admins posting toxic remarks all day. People who can give it plenty ...but have zero tolerance in taking it back. In terms of providing useful responses - in the year I documented my diet. only two of my 77 questions were addressed with proper answers. All the other content was generally wise cracks, attempts at wit and insults from the "regulars" there. I say to whomever is reading, try the website for yourself just to see how shoddy it is. Experience the might of negativity from a small bunch of cowards who deny their users the ability to even defend themselves, or protest against personal attacks. Thanks for reading all that. Pathetic website.