What Are Acceptable "Outside Sources" For An Essay?

So, this is pretty funny:
http://thedailywh.at/post/1407391203/bu ... fessor-has

A student was trying to use Yahoo Answers to get the answer to an essay that was due the next day. But, his (or her?) professor found out.

At any rate, the comments section for the above has some pretty interesting discussion going on. Namely, is what the student did really cheating? Is it okay to use Yahoo Answers and other similar services as a way to help you write an essay?

By the way, keep in mind that plagiarism isn't just copying someone else's material verbatim. Plagiarism also means copying someone's ideas and claiming them as your own. That said, I think we have all turned to friends and family for help with an essay (whether it's just for proofreading or for bouncing ideas around). So I guess the question is, at what point do you cross the line from just getting help to plagiarizing?

We discussed this indepth recently in my English class, and the conclusion was this:

While Yahoo Answers and Wikipedia are acceptable starting sources (meaning you get basic information from them and use it to choose a direction for the essay) all facts should be backed up from authoritative sources that include at least one of the following: an author's name, an overseeing organization or university, citations from books, or an "official" source (like a government aide's blog or a scientist's personal site.)

I'll have to agree with MadameX. Wiki and all these answer sites are good starting points, so you have a basic understanding of the topic and can research further. The issue (despite the efforts of the wonderful wiki people) is the bias that may occur in the article. When writing an essay, you want to portray your own opinion and teachers don't want your opinion formed off another person's opinion. They want you to broaden your horizon.

But, I don't think it would be considered plagiarism to ask something on Yahoo. Though, the teacher made a marvelous catch