I just started a weblog, also know as a blog, or, since it is for
lawyers, a blawg. The url is www.outoftheboxlawyering.com and it is
mainly devoted to how lawyers have come up with unusual solutions to
problems in their practices. There is a more complete description of
the site at www.outoftheboxlawyering.com/archives/000002.html.

I reported in one of my articles about how "AlexanderHilton,"
apparently a lawyer using a pseudonym, queried Answers and received
what appeared to be very helpful information.
http://www.outoftheboxlawyering.com/archives/000006.html.

I would like to post another article that details other ways that
lawyers have used Answers to find information for their cases. So, if
you have any examples (and, of course, everything on the site is
public), I would appreciate your placing them as a comment. SO PLEASE
DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTION. ONLY COMMENT ON IT. Thus, the query will
remain shown as open so that others will be more likely to comment.

I would like to hear not only from searchers, but from law-related
personnel who have used Answers to get information themselves.

Finally, I would like to refer the attorneys to articles, if they
exist, which discuss how other attorneys have benefitted from using
Answers.

Hopefully, the posting in my weblog will produce more queries to
Answers. Thus, this query will help not only the lawyers who use the
site after I report it, but it will help you who are searchers because
it will increase the number of queries that you receive.

I am placing a $30 price for the best comment. I guess I will be the
judge. And the decision of the judge is final. In the end, though, I
hope that all of you will be commenting for the benefit of all of the
searchers as well as for the potential users of the service.

Thanks for any help that you can give.

---

Request for Question Clarification by knowledge_seeker-ga on 12 Jun 2003 15:41 PDT

Hey outoftheboxer1-ga,

I'm going to take the reins here and go about this in a different way.
I've written most of your answer. I've gone through the questions and
compiled a list (with links) that includes, among other things –


---  Legal questions I've answered or been involved in

---  Questions posted by attorneys  (over 200 questions so far) 

---  Questions answered by attorneys  (around 100 questions) 
       (*only those who have publicly stated they are attorneys)

---  A breakdown of the major categories of legal questions posted

---- And a few other things ..


If you want my answer, just say so and I'll post it. Or, if you want
to hold out for comments, that's ok too. Either way is ok with me.

Thanks –

-K~

---

Clarification of Question by outoftheboxer1-ga on 20 Jun 2003 15:53 PDT

The prize goes to Palafal.ga who risked his time and gave some good
information after writing, "Oh. . . what the heck!"

I don't think I can tell Google to pay until you, Palafal answer the
question. So I would appreciate your doing so.

I would hope that others of you see that this was not a rip-off and
would add comments. I still intend to give Answers some publicity on
my weblog even though at times, referring to pinkfreud's comment, that
I was facing the Spanish Inquistion. This may have been a learning
experience for all of us.

Thanks a lot, outoftheboxer1.

I don't know if you're familiar with Fiddler on the Roof, when the
Papa finds himself agreeing with everyone and taking both sides of all
arguments..."Well...one the one hand..."
 
I'm sort of in the same position.  I agree with my fellow researchers
that some of these "post your comment" questions have been
problematic.  (Then again, a number of straightforward Q&A's have also
turned into problems).

On the other hand...a little publicity on your blog would be a good
thing.  Or  like Tevya would say, "it couldn't hurt!" (you have to
imagine a particular type of shrug going along with that).

An interesting experience all around.  Thanks for being one who keeps
their word.  It has a nice restorative feel to it.

Cheers.

pafalafa-ga

Greetings Outoftheboxer1:

While I feel certain that you are genuine in your offer, some
Researchers have cultivated an aversion to answering in the Comments
section for a promised fee.  While I understand your directions of
"...PLEASE DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTION. ONLY COMMENT ON IT" I wanted you
to be aware that income from Google Answers is the major supporter of
some Researchers and they may feel their time is best honored and
better spent when answering for a fee as opposed to participating in a
type of contest.

May I suggest you consider asking your question a few times over for a
lower fee per answer - for example, posting the query 5 times for a $6
fee per query would allow the multiple answers you seek while still
honoring the time a Researcher invests in her or his answer.

Best regards,
journalist-ga

You have a point about searchers (and others in other fields) just
wanting to get an immediate fee and therefore they won't answer unless
I offer, as you suggested, a $6 fee for each answer. However, what I
would really like -- and what would, in the long run, help you
searchers, is if I could just have one page that I could link to on my
weblog. Then, my lawyer readers on just that one page could see the
benefits of using Answers to find answers to a variety of different
type questions. Thus, they would see that they could ask a variety of
questions such as:

How can I find an expert witness who could testify as to. . . 
How can I find information on XYZ company. . .
How can I find out if there are reports in newspapers or otherwise
about claims or suits being filed involving this product ________. . .
How can I find safety standards involving. . .

In the long run, I think all of you researchers will get more
business. It's like taking some time now to plant a seed so that you
will be able to reap the benefits of the planting.

I may have to do what you suggest, but it will not be as beneficial to
you searchers as if these items are all one page.

Hi Outoftheboxer1,

I would have to agree with my colleague, journalist-ga. While your
upcoming article(s) may be of benefit to both lawyers and Answers,
time is of the essence for all involved and should be respected as
such.

answerguru-ga

"In the long run, I think all of you researchers will get more
business. It's like taking some time now to plant a seed so that you
will be able to reap the benefits of the planting."

...so therefore, you should all work for free because that's what I
want.

I'm sure it's not your intent to sound this way, but consider that
this is surely how it must look to many people.

The researchers here have planted many seeds for Google Answers - they
invest a great deal of time, effort and talent in the project.  It's
unfair to ask them to give of their time and talents for free, then
tell them that it's for their own benefit.

Belle

In response to one of the comments, I would like to point out I am not
trying to get something for free. I am offering the $30 for the best
answer, although that fee may be buried in the question. And I put the
$30 up so that it would not appear that I was trying to get something
for free.

Also, when lawyers do ask questions, they usually offer to pay
anywhere between $25 and $100 for answers to technical questions. And
this will be advertising to them for you. But it sounds from the
comments that that really does not matter.

This is really a learning experience for me. I just don't understand,
I guess, because I am looking at it from my viewpoint. I see that
searchers spend what looks like a lot of time for a $2 fee, and that
is great. And they add comments for free.

In my question, I am offering $30 and I am really not asking for
serious research, just a description and links to items that you as
searchers have worked on for lawyers.

Incidentally,I have used Answers in the past under another name, and
have paid for and been happy with the results.

Dear Outoftheboxer1:

You stated "This is really a learning experience for me. I just don't
understand, I guess, because I am looking at it from my viewpoint. I
see that searchers spend what looks like a lot of time for a $2 fee,
and that is great. And they add comments for free."

Some Researchers do add comments freely and many have done so on
questions asking thusly and then the customer has expired the question
and honored no one with the fee, taking *all* ideas for just the $.50
listing fee.  I don't believe it is your intent to do this however,
after a Researcher has been treated once (some of us multiple times)
in this manner, it's difficult to take the chance again.  Customer
behavior of that type has served to reduce the number of Researchers
willing to play the "contest" game.

Thank you for understanding and good luck with your project.

Best regards,
journalist-ga

Hello, outoftheboxer1.

I hope you aren't feeling as if we've brought on The Spanish
Inquisition here. Past experience has left many Researchers leery of
questions that require considerable labor only in order to have a
"chance" at collecting a fee.

In order to properly serve your needs, I would estimate that a
Researcher will spend at least an hour of work sifting through the
archives of Google Answers to locate relevant data. Although GA
Researchers sometimes give beautifully detailed answers for small
fees, most of us are not willing to donate an hour to a project unless
it is intrinsically fascinating, or adequate compensation is attached.
The "attachment" of the compensation here is very dicey, and I think
that's why you haven't gotten any takers yet.

If you'll excuse my horning in, I have an alternate method in mind.

I suggest that you browse through Google Answers to become familiar
with some of the Researchers and the quality of their work, then
choose a Researcher who impresses you, and direct your question to him
or her, by name. In this way you can be assured that you will be
served someone with a track record, someone whose work you trust.

Comments can be posted even after an answer has been given, so your
desire to get input from more than one source can still be fulfilled.

Here is a link that will show you only questions that have been
answered. It displays 100 at a time, so you can get a good overview of
things:

http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=search&q=-&qtype=answered&num=100&sort=qestartts:D:R:d1&start=0

Best regards,
pinkfreud-ga, Google Answers Researcher

Oh...what the heck!

I've actually done a fair number of legal-type questions, and your
question got me wondering what they were.  Here's a list of most of
them.  Hope it's of some interest:


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=161011
Key Client Program for Law Firm 


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=211726
Qui Tam....Whistleblower's Protection


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=211119
Copyright status of old publication


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=210485
Legal requirements for ocean buoys


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=189724
By-laws and articles of incorporation 


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=207212
Details of negligence lawsuit against evenflo 


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=204786
Military Leave of Absence USERRA rights 


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=199578
Fundamentals of legal research


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=198414
Insurance and regulatory requirements for gas stations in Californai


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=195320
Fundamentals of SEC filing research


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=192413
Legal cases of government liability for shark attacks


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=189475
Accenture lawsuits 



http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=186585
Forensic accountants with hedge funds experience


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=183773
Fundamentals of public records research in Virginia


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=178720
Oceanspray shareholders lawsuits


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=161543
Petitioning to form a grand jury


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=168078
Peterbilt Truck Lawsuits 


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=169584
Legal action filed by Federal Defenders in Baltimore in case US
vs.Canavan


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=168427
Confirmation on clause in my lawyer's medical release form 


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=166529
Insider trading


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=160483
Gross receipts tax in Berkeley 


http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=141366
Correlation of marine labeling standards for HAZMAT containers

Hello there,

Yet another option to consider.  Leave your question just as it is. 
The people who wish to partipate will do so.   I would ask that you
not to be invested in how _soon_ your question is answered nor how
_many_ researchers choose to reply.  The world of a GA researcher is a
very competitive one, so I hope you won't hold anything against the
folks not choosing to participate in an answer showdown.  Sometimes we
do that but typically it's only for the truly entertaining questions. 
;-)

Since you're not newcomer to GA, you might know a little of what's
gone before.  However, if you haven't read them already, there are
some links at the end pertaining to some GA "history."  Personally, I
only answer/comment when I feel like it.  That way, even if I have an
answer rejected, I won't be disappointed that I chose that path.

However, your type of question must be taken on faith and we've had a
few "faith" mishaps lately.  Sadly, there is no online trust-o-meter
and we have to take people on their word.  If GA is your primary
income that's trust with a capital "T."  As private contractors, we
have litte recourse when customers don't live up to their word.

Many, if not all, researchers offer free information in comments but
that is _their_ choice.  A number of our customers also realize the
time involved in preparing an elaborate comment.  If a comment is
especially helpful, they will post a separate question to that
researcher for time compensation, but that is _their_ choice.  None of
us can be too attached to any particular outcome either way.

While you're waiting/deciding, here are a few links that I can
remember.  It might help you understand some meaning behind the
message.
  
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=215628
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=183326
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=199525
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=172162
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=173534
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=206001
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=50626
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=76454

Hang in there with us, Mr. Boxer
V