Answer by Researcher davidsarokin on Tue 6 Mar 2007 - 4:18 pm UTC:

Thanks for your question, and I must say, it's very nice to see you here.

Let me start with something a bit intangible, but significant, nonetheless.
 Google Answers was a small piece of large international company with
multi-billion dollar assets.  uclue is a large piece of a small
international company with multi-thousands in assets (but the Big G better
watch out....we're gaining fast!)

While there are certainly advantages to having deep-pockets, I think users
and researchers both will find uclue to be a very nimble, very responsive
outfit.  Already, the suggestions that you have made regarding graphics and
button-placement are receiving attention from the top level of uclue
management, and I wouldn't be surprised if some changes to the site come
about as a result.  

Of course, there are some very concrete differences as well:


Listing fee:  GA charged 50 cents to post a question.  There is no listing
fee at uclue.

Price range:  uclue accepts questions ranging from $5 to $250, compared
with GA's $2-200 range.

Payment:  Payment at uclue is in advance, and can be made via Paypal or
with a credit card (as long as that feature is enabled...depends a bit on
the customer's country).  GA was credit card only, and payment was
processed when the answer was posted (NOTE -- the 'payment in advance'
feature is the result of our current software configuration, and may be
changed down the road).  

Scope:  uclue won't venture into anything that is patently illegal, and we
won't write student essays or do their tests for them.  Other than that,
though, pretty much every topic is fair game.  We'll even answer questions
about uclue itself (as this current answer demonstrates).  GA had some
built-in limits in this respect.

Languages:  GA was EO -- English only!  uclue can field questions in three
languages, English, German and Spanish, and might add more down the road. 


Hot Bot:  There is no autobot roaming the uclue site and automatically
locking questions that contain certain terms.  

Ratings:  Customer ratings can be revised at uclue, a feature that was not
available at GA.  

Identities:  I think you'll find uclue much more casual when it comes to
the true identities and/or whereabouts of individual researchers.


The differences shouldn't mask an important similarity, though, which is
the quality and commitment of the researchers.  For now, all the uclue
researchers were formerly contracted with GA, and so bring the same set of
dedication, skills and experience, not to mention their ineffable verve and
charm.  As additional researchers are added in the future (as I suspect
they will be), uclue will certainly keep to that same wonderfully-high
standard. 

And lastly, at uclue...as at GA...the customer is what it's all about. 
Answers to your questions are fully guaranteed, and if you're not
satisfied, we'll gladly continue working on it until it suits.  And if for
some reason it doesn't, you have 30 days to request a full, no-hassles
refund.  

So, if there's anything more I can do for you with this particular answer,
just hit the old "Clarify" button and let me know. 


Cheers,


David