In 30 characters or less, and within 30 minutes of reading this, what is pi?

For a $20 tip, correctly tell me (then tell your boss) what's the
point of me asking this and similar questions:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=709019
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=709020
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=709025

This portion of your response is not counted as part of the 30
characters.  Hint:  I am in fact a happy person; but alas,
not as happy as I would be if I worked for Google Answers and could
simply have them implement my suggestions directly.  If you're a
frequent answerer, this question is made for you.  Come on, pinkfreud.

Thanks for mentioning me. I am indeed a "frequent answerer" (though
not the most frequent: my friend and colleague bobbie7 has me beat by
a huge margin).

I'm stumped. I have no idea whatsoever regarding your point in asking
these questions. Hope someone else is more clueful than I am.

Doctor Chou,
There is no doubt that brevity has its virtues, and one of Pinkfreud's
frequent comments often is an adequate answer.  (Something like: 
"Perhaps this site/answer to this question could be of interest.)
But few questions here can be satisfactorily answered in 30 words. 
Maybe some of them can be, but the asker most probably would reply
with a request for clarification  - perhaps unnecessarily -  but
persons paying for an answer want to have confirmation that
alternatives have been ruled out   - or included, as in your question
here:
Pi is a number, but it is also the ratio of the circumference of a
circle to its diameter in Euclidian geometry.  A complete answer
requires both definitions and also the statement that it is a Greek
letter.  Just the number alone with 30 characters would not be
entirely accurate; the second and third definitions are also
necessary.

Yes, if people stated their questions precisely enough to allow the
reader to understand that a yes or no answer would be entirely
satisfactory, such an answer would be possible, but since questions to
G-A are seeking a researched answer, it needs to be supported and
circumscribed.
(We all are sloppy in formulating questions, asking: "Can you find
...?"  Answer "yes/no" is precisely correct but inadequate.  You
didn't specify which definition of Pi you wanted. :)
And, by the pricing parameters, more expensive questions deserve a
greater search effort, which needs to be justified.  Three or four
links to absolutely pertinent websites may be entirely sufficient, but
the human asker expects some demonstration of the effort expended to
earn his $100 or $200.

I think that Hammer-ga deserves at least five stars for answering your
question correctly and   - as Tutuzdad adds -  exceeding your
expectations.

Cheers, hoping you are still happy,  Myoarin

Well, I've read the lengthy explanation of the point behind the
question, and I'm still baffled. There is no requirement that an
official answer from a Google Answers Researcher needs to be of any
particular length. If a customer requests an answer of a certain
length, we try to oblige. It has been my experience that longer
answers with more links generally receive better ratings and higher
tips. Unless a customer specifies that brevity is essential, I think
GARs assume that more is better. You see many more complaints from
customers who think they've received an inadequate amount of
information than from customers who are peeved because they've been
given too much.

DoctorChou,

I answered your question because I was interested in what you were
looking at. I left the 30 word answer instead of amending to 30
characters in case you were specifically looking at something to do
with the effects of word/structure repetition. (It wouldn't be the
first one of those we've had here.)

Now that I see your premise, I see some issues. Using your priest example above:
The user would have no way of knowing how much brevity would still get
a  sufficent answer, unless they already know the answer. By
hamstringing the researcher to a one word Yes/No answer, they would be
unlikely to get any answer at all. The researcher would likely
discover that the answer is "Yes, but only under the following
circumstances and by following the following procedures" or "No,
unless the following circumstance exists". In the case of your
example, they would also have to ask clarification questions like
"Which country?" to determine even a Yes or No answer. As most of us
are unwilling to answer a question without answering it, we would feel
unable to post anything at all. In addition, for a person in a
time-sensitive emergency situation, a service like Google Answers
might not be the most appropriate choice in the first place.

Another issue is that, when a question includes that sort of
requirement, it often turns out to be a red flag that the Customer
will reject or poorly rate any answer that is attempted. You "favorite
pet" question is an example of this. You gave a poor rating. In your
comment, you said that you rated low because the researcher did not
specify *why* they chose a dog. Your question demanded brevity and
specifically did not ask the researcher to explain their reasons, only
to state their favorite animal for a pet. You asked for 30 words or
less. The meat of the answer was 9 words and answered your question
precisely. Yet, the researcher was censured for doing exactly as you
asked, rather than providing information you did not ask for. This is
not an uncommon occurence.

The questions are freeform, thereby allowing the Customer (as you did)
to add any content, time or length requirements they see fit. With
this freeform format, all options are available. The Asker simply
needs to tell us what they want, without being limited by whatever
options the Google Answers designers thought in advance to include.

- Hammer