Originally Posted by: zreynoldspYou shouldn't get different answers, but there is a difference between the terms 'Key' and 'Key Signature', so that could explain it.
When you do get different answers for what a key is, it's probably an issue of simple semantics. Either that or someone's wrong. There really isn't any other answer to what a key is, only several ways of saying it. It's like 1+1=2 vs. 1+1=2.0 vs 1+1=2*1 vs 1+1 = the square root of four.
and on and on. One of those is clearly the simplest way to say it, but they're all "right."