are we going to be able to search for questions that have been asked on Yahoo answers in the past after May 4th or will they all be erased ?

i guess for 14 days it will be an education session as people will simply be able to read questions and answers. and not ask and answer. And then after it will be no more. So who cares about points now. 

It sounds like they will cease to exist, based on what the message says. 

Yes we can but we cannot add to them or answer them. 

I'm not positive, but we should be able to view the content via the Google Search Engine.

No, after may 4th it will be gone for good

pretty sure erased also a word and hint to the wise...Make sure your profile is private do that nobody can copy and paste, nor use the save page capability in their browsers.

They will be gone according to their communication.

No, as stated above YA is "shutting down" on 4 May. Info at the help link in the banner states:

"May 4th - The website won't be accessible. If you try to access Yahoo Answers on May 4th you'll be redirected to the Yahoo homepage."

On my screen, it says that YAnswers goes to read-only on April 20th . . . . and shuts down on May 4th.  That seems clear to me . . . . . . no tours or sailings on the Titanic after it sank.

We don't know if they will keep everything online to look at, or if they will erase it. You have to wait and see.