Yahoo! Answers is unique in that the Asker or the Answers community can pick the best answer to a question. Think of it as something between a message board and a user-generated information repository like Wikipedia. When a question is asked, it remains open to receive answers for 7 days.

• If two or more answers are collected, the Asker can either pick the best answer or let the community vote to choose the best answer. If the Asker takes no action within the 7-day period, the answers are automatically put to a vote by the community.
• If a question receives just one answer, the Asker can designate that answer as the Best Answer or extend the open period 7 more days to allow more time for answers to be posted. If the Asker takes no action, the question expires and is deleted.
• If a question doesn't receive any answers, the question expires and is deleted.

A question becomes a Resolved Question when a Best Answer is chosen. After a question becomes Resolved it stays in Yahoo! Answers and is available for searching and browsing. The Best Answer remains open to receive comments and ratings from the community.

Because questions don't remain open for answers indefinitely, a Best Answer will represent only the “best” of those answers posted during the 7-day period as determined by the Asker or the community vote, and may not be a complete or accurate answer. It's important to remember that Resolved Questions are written by Yahoo! users, not experts hired by Yahoo!. (Please see our Answers disclaimer.)