Answers that copy or paraphrase content from other sources should have at least one form of attribution and at least one acceptable form of formatting:
Acceptable forms of attribution:
If the source is online, the answer should include a link to the page where the content can be found
If the source is a physical source (like a book), the answer should include a citation. The only exception is when the question is about the book (“What does Harry Potter say about X?") for which the quotes should be assumed to be coming from the book even if not explicitly stated
If someone is quoting a person, then the name of the person should be sufficient as a source
Facebook and WhatApp are not acceptable sources of citation
The author or source can be explicitly credited in the answer in the form of a statement:
Attribution in the form of a statement is usually at the beginning of copied text / answer or at the very end of the copied text / answer
If before, there doesn't need to be any formatting to indicate where the copied text is from
If after, the answer should be clearly formatted to indicate exactly what has been copied
Note: When attribution is in the form of “source:[link]” and other similar ways of attributing content:
"Source: [link]” is an acceptable form of attribution if:
It is mentioned at the beginning of the answer, or
If mentioned at the end of the answer, the copied text is clearly formatted
Acceptable forms of formatting:
Format text within quotation marks
Format text using blockquotes
Have "[EXCERPT]" inline at the beginning and end of the quoted material
Other ways to visually indicate which portions are taken from elsewhere (e.g., bold or italics)
Sometimes, users will copy and paste their answer onto many questions in an attempt to get easy and fast distribution for their content. These are our main policies around that behavior:
It is OK to copy-paste the same content into different question pages as long as the content:
It is OK to copy work from your own website without providing any attribution or special formatting to indicate that the text has been copied.
Note: If authorship is unclear and the Quora content was posted after content on the external website, we will take the Quora content down for plagiarism.
Duplicate answers with promotional intent should be labeled as spam
This means that the user is copy-pasting the same answer into different question pages in order to make money.
Steps to follow to determine whether an answer should be flagged for plagiarism
At this time, we do not proactively take down images and videos that violate copyright laws.
Quora has built a translation tool for users to translate answers into other i18n silo. Consequently:
Answers translated using the translation tool are not considered plagiarism
All answers translated outside of the translation tool are considered plagiarism, even if the OP adds an attribution to the end of the answer stating that they translated it
Reviewers should not be translating answers to check for plagiarism
Click here to view the Platform Policies guidelines.
Users are allowed to post most kinds of images and videos in answers. Image and video-only answers are OK.
These are the 3 specific kinds of images/videos that are not allowed:
1. Gratuitously sexual images/video
We are more strict with nudity in videos than we are in images.
Videos
Pornographic videos are never allowed.
This includes videos of intercourse or sexual acts that involve nudity.
Nudity without pornographic elements is allowed to the extent that it serves an educational purpose.
Examples of nudity that we allow assuming the answer serves an educational purpose
A parent breastfeeding their child (links to clips of mothers breastfeeding after giving birth)
Videos of breasts with post-mastectomy scarring
Artwork that contains nudity - photos, paintings, sculptures (links to news video about naked Donald Trump statues)
Tribal nudity in Africa (links to a reportage of the Himba tribe)
Non-human animals mating (links to a video of mating giraffes)
Examples of policy violations
An answer with nudity answering a question about working at Quora
An answer with a video of people having sex in response to a question about what it's like to have sex
Images
Pornographic images are allowed if they serve an educational purpose.
This includes depictions of nudity and sexual intercourse
Example of a policy violation: an image of a naked man in response to the question "Should I buy an iPhone X?"
Example of an OK answer: an image of a naked man in response to the question "What does the male body look like?"
2. Gratuitously violent images/video
We do not allow images/videos that glorify violence and are not necessary to answer the question.
Images/videos should not be added with the intent to traumatize others or make them uncomfortable.
However, we do allow graphic images/videos if they raise awareness about particular issues, memorialize historical events, or are educational.
Examples of policy violations (warning: graphic content)
https://www.quora.com/log/revision/274090489
Includes a gratuitously violent image that was not necessary to answer the question.
Example: a video of someone torturing another human or animal
Example: a recruiting video for terrorism
Example: a compilation of gory car crashes intended to shock people
Example: gory or violent scenes from a TV show or movie
Example: an answer that includes acts of violence against animals when answering a question about images of cute puppies.
Examples of OK answers
https://www.quora.com/log/revision/33000093
These images answer the question and provide information about a historical event.
a video highlighting human rights abuse issues (links to footage of war crimes in Nigeria)
a compilation of car crashes intended to educate people about safe driving
3. Depictions of self-harm
We do not allow images/videos of people self-harming on Quora, whether or not they answer the questions.
Examples of policy violations
A video or image that depicts someone committing suicide
A video or image of someone cutting themselves
Additional kinds of images we don't allow
Answer footers
Answer footers that contain images are not allowed and should be marked as image policy violations. Answer footers that contain only text are OK.
An answer footer:
Is usually a customized image with text overlaid
Is added at the end of all or most of a user's answers to promote other content or give credibility to the author
Does not directly answer the question
Is sometimes referred to as a banner tag
We do not allow answer footers because topic bios and profile pages are the best ways to give credibility.
Example of a policy violation
Note: In other silos, this equates to "Not in Spanish, "Not in French," etc.
All non-English text should be translated either through:
A word-for-word translation
Examples of OK answers
Gareebi jab darwaze se andar ati hai tab pyar aur Mohabbat khirki se bahar chale jate hai. —-When poverty koncks your door then love leaves you through window.
'MANDIR WAHIN BANAYENGE!!' ['we will make temple right there!'
A direct explanation of the non-English text
This can be in the form of paraphrasing or summarizing the text.
If it is not clear whether the non-English text is explained, defer to labeling it as Not in English.
Examples of OK answers
"Friend 1: 我如何去商店?, Friend 2: 在树上左转. The first person is asking how to get to the store, and the second person is giving directions."
Examples of policy violations
https://www.quora.com/log/revision/258049486 (unclear whether the non-English text is explained)
There are two exceptions of non-English content that doesn't require translation and should be marked as OK:
Questions that explicitly request foreign language content
Examples of OK answers
Hindi song lyrics in response to a question asking for your favorite Hindi song lyrics.
Examples of policy violations
Hindi song lyrics in response to a question asking for your favorite English song lyrics.
Single words or phrases in a foreign language.
These often take the form of idioms or exclamations.
In context, these phrases should still make sense and be understandable.
Examples of OK answers
"There is famous sayings in Nepali “big fish eats small one”. India used to call Nepal brother before republic but now it openly claims itself as big brother and Nepal as small. And that ‘roti beti ’ relation as said by India generally irritates all Nepali people as it is not a diplomatic word in my view."
"I’m speaking historically, violence has been a powerful tool in removing oppression; this is not a justification for hitting people cart blanche, it’s simply an explanation of why it happens and that it isn’t always uncalled for."
"Ah! You should look at my smug face when I eat them while enjoying a lynching or two on youtube. Jai Hind!"
Examples of policy violations
"If all these (English, Hindi, Sanskrit) are easiest for you then French and Spanish would be बाएँ हाथ का खेल for you :D""
Similar to our rules for text, images that contain non-English content should be translated or explained. The answer should still be understandable.
Examples of OK images:
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-phrase-anti-Russian-propaganda-a-form-of-Russian-propaganda/answer/Roman-Podolyan (The images contain Russian, but the user explains the content)
Examples of policy violations:
https://www.quora.com/log/revision/128338364 (The non-English chats are not translated or explained. The whole answer is not understandable.)
We generally do not allow non-English videos to be posted on the English version of Quora.
However, we do allow videos in languages other than English if:
The video has English subtitles
The text accompanying the video gives an appropriate context of what the video is about and why it's relevant to answer the question
The question is a broad survey question (see examples below)
Examples of questions where we allow non-English videos with explanations and/or subtitles:
What made you smile today?
What is your favorite song in your native language?
What are some rare videos or documentaries that everyone should find and watch?
It is OK to include a link to a website with non-English content, as long as the body of the answer itself still answers the question.
The answer should not be entirely dependent on a link with non-English content.
An exception is if the question is explicitly asking for links to foreign language websites or resources.
Examples of OK answers:
https://www.quora.com/How-do-Pocket-Instapaper-Flipboard-etc-extract-articles-from-a-page/answer/John-Davi-2 (Link is to a Chinese website, but the body of the answer provides context and answers the question)
“I use this website for learning to code: https://www.codehindi.com/”
Examples of policy violations:
“You can find the answer here: https://money.bhaskar.com/news/MON-ECN-GST-infog-threshold-for-composition-scheme-in-gst-from-75-lakh-to-one-crore-5714050-PHO.html?ref=ht” (The body of the answer doesn’t answer the question and is overly dependent on the non-English link)
Answers should contain good grammar and proper formatting, but we are more lenient with answer formatting than we are with question formatting. “Very bad formatting” describes answers that are formatted badly enough to distract from the meaning of the answer. Errors should be spread throughout the answer and consist of >60% of the answer.
Label as “Bad Formatting” if >60% of the answer has any of the following formatting errors:
Examples of OK Formatting:
A paragraph break after every sentence
Emojis in answers are allowed
Twitter make me so 😠
Her behavior was confusing to all 🙄
Answers should generally be relevant and helpful.
Good answers:
Are on-topic and directly address the question
May challenge the premise of the question, but still make the page more helpful
Example: Q is "What are good ways to prepare my kids to be billionaires?", A is "Don't. Because you shouldn't give them billions of dollars. Instead donate that money to charity. Then provide for them enough money to go to college, invest in a house or two, and let them lead their own lives where they find struggle, success, failure, and ultimately happiness if they persevere. It's the journey not the destination that matters. And when you have all the money in the world then it's no longer a journey because there is no struggle."
May be short or long, as long as they answer the question
Example: Q is "Is America ready for a female president?", A is "No."
Bad answers are not allowed. They:
Are off-topic and/or don't address the question
Example: Q is "What are the best websites a programmer should visit?", A is "I am not sure."
Example: Q is "What is Dan Brown currently working on?", A is "How i wish he was on Quora and he would answer this question!!"
May be "Let me Google that for you" answers, where users tell the OP to check Google or look up the answer for themselves
Example: Q is "Which other characters has Peter Dinklage essayed?", A is "Go check IMDB dude."
Answers that are jokes make the page less helpful. However, humorous answers are allowed if they make the page more helpful.
Answers to survey questions should be treated as joke answers if they are not plausible given the conditions of the question or they appear to be primarily intended as a joke.
Examples of policy violations:
Question
I have 7 days to visit New York. What can't I miss?
What is behind Vine's backend server?
Answer
Your flight
Its power cords and ethernet cables.
Adult content on Quora is defined as sexually explicit or pornographic content and/or nudity without any educational purpose (i.e. shared instead for sexual gratification, humor, shock value, etc...).
Examples of content that is considered adult:
Videos of intercourse or sexual acts regardless of realism, including anime or cartoon videos
Visual depictions (images, gifs, etc...) of sexual intercourse or sexual acts regardless of realism, including anime or cartoon depictions
Bodily fluids in sexual context and without any educational purpose
Provocative humour, regardless of nudity being displayed. Examples:
Sexual/adult-themed jokes
Sexual/adult-themed memes/images
Sexually explicit content including sexual fetishes or graphic/lewd language that is not educational in nature. Examples:
Overly detailed descriptions of performing sexual acts
Lewd language without any educational purpose
Images of fetishes without nudity but shared for clear sexual gratification (e.g. picture of feet accompanied by clear sexual innuendo)
Graphic description of various sexually transmittable diseases (STDs) outside of a scientific framework
Nudity without an educational purpose such as images of nude celebrities, even if nudity is strategically covered (e.g. nude picture with hands covering nipples and genitals)
Images overly focusing on or displaying intimate parts, regardless of nudity being displayed. Examples:
Cropped/focused images almost only showing cleavage, covered buttocks, etc...
In order to qualify as “adult”, images should be focused/zoomed in on intimate areas (e.g., buttocks, breasts, or crotch)
An image zoomed in on the entire midsection (e.g. from shoulders to thighs) should not be labeled as adult unless it meets other criteria listed in the adult content guideline
Erections, bulges, nipples, pubic hair, etc... clearly visible through clothing
Images involving female nipples should only be labeled as “adult” if you can see the color of the nipple. Cases such as “cold”/slightly protruding nipples visible through clothing are allowed.
Pictures or videos of sexual intercourse or sexual acts, whether fictional or real, regardless of nudity being displayed
Unjustified promotion of adult/pornographic websites
Examples of content that is not considered adult:
Scientific explanation of how a woman could get pregnant
Mentions of performing sexual acts without explicitly describing the details (i.e. “We went back to my apartment and had sex” without describing the details of the sexual acts performed)
Videos of breasts with post-mastectomy scarring
A parent breastfeeding their child (links to clips of mothers breastfeeding after giving birth)
Artwork that contains nudity including such as paintings and sculptures that have artistic merit and whose primary purpose isn’t to create sexual arousal.
Uncontacted people of a specific region, for example, uncontacted people of the Amazon
Non-human animals mating (links to a video of mating giraffes)
Profanity if there is no sexual intent to it. Examples:
“Fuck this” to complain about something
“Cunt” to insult someone such as in “[Person X] is a cunt”
Educational answers about lewd words (e.g. academic answer about the origins of the word “dick”)
Educational/critical discussion about the adult entertainment industry
Nudity in educational context to the extent it is not excessive. Examples:
Picture of the inside of a Japanese bath-house with nude people visible at a distance within an answer about Japanese culture
Picture of a semi-nude artistic performance taken from the audience seats within an answer about the Moulin Rouge
Users are able to answer questions by posting links to videos.
Just like text answers, all videos must be reviewed.
Reviewers should read the video title, description, and image to get a sense of whether that video violates policy. They are not required to click on the video at all.
For the most part, videos should be reviewed using the same guidelines as text based content. See the specific policy violation labels above for details.
How to review videos:
If an answer contains both text and a video, you should review both the text and the video.
For instance, if the answer text is acceptable but the video contains BNBR, it should be marked as BNBR. Similarly, if the video is acceptable but the text contains BNBR, mark as BNBR.
Review fictional videos in the same way you review other videos.