Predictably, I have one already!

The feature is set up so that all users can vote any answer you receive as a "good answer". That could lead to a situation where either one answer is posted and no-one else bothers to answer because they think's the question has been addressed, or even more galling, an answer comes up as a "best answer" because other people have voted (for whatever reason) for a particular answer...all this without actually satisfactorily answering the original question!

That's regrettable, sure, but not really an etiquette issue (it's more of a feature that requires disciplined behavior on the part of users - whoops!). My etiquette question is related, though: how do you diplomatically tell another user "thank you for trying, but your answer is completely useless to me" without making them feel bad? How do you diplomatically and publicly call for more answers without calling undue negative attention to the idiotic responses received already?

to be honest at the moment im a little more worried aboot the actual question rather than the responses..its the most misused feature of all times :(
as for useless answers we can report them so thats what i do. i have given up- mostly- on actually telling people why i think something isnt right/is a repeat etc because im tired of the responses.
im also finding it hard to keep track with the answers because the updates are so unusual (you get alerts for spots rather than single questions you commented on)and the comments/answers dont show in your activity section. im a little unhappy with the way this feature is being handled

Well, I'm not talking about answers so useless that I feel justified in reporting them - spam or repeat answers - but answers that actually try to answer the question and fail. Answers that aren't specific, or presume knowledge on the part of the reader, or just point to another web site without providing any unqiue information...answers that other users, who aren't looking for the answer, often think were fine, and vote as "best answer". The site has more and more questions that, to the casual observer, appear to be answered (they show "best answers", don't they?) but which haven't actually been answered satisfactorily.

i guess thats democracy for you?
the problem is also that you wont really go back and change your vote (i pointed oot how hard it is to keep track atm) if someone provides a BETTER answer than the one you voted for because-at that time- it was the best one. i have to say i havent really voted all that much on the answer..doesnt yahoo let the creator of the question choose which response answered it best?
one can always leave a comment...but thats risky these days ;)

Ugh, just me complaining about this again, after getting a bunch of unbelievably dumb answers! "Best answer", my butt! I want a "this answer SUCKS" button!

No, I don't really, but it feels good to blow off some steam. I am really getting some dopey excuses for answers. It almost makes one want to give up on asking for them.

This answer thingy is pissing me off. On the Alexander Rybak spot there is tons of new fans, so they don't know how to use fanpop. So they ask/say everything on answers. Stuff that belongs on picks or quiz. And noone does anything about it when I ask them to delete the answer and rather add is as a pick...

Is reporting working for you? We should be reporting such things as "bad questions", but I've heard (and sometimes experienced) a bug where the report function doesn't work for certain answers. If that isn't blocking you, make sure to report the bad answer requests. If it is blocking you, make sure to add your bug report to everyone else's...