Return to Answer

1. Some users might misinterpret what I'm outlining here as allowing to post stuff that doesn't work as an answer. No, the answer has to work, and that's what I'm advocating here:

   • if an answer solves a problem at least half-way, then it deserves to be posted as answer.
   • If it doesn't work, that's not an answer.
   • Things that might seem useful probably should be posted as comments.

2. Muru has provided a related post on [unix.se] , namely this. From reading that post over several times, it seems that the issue is more about the author of that question posting what appears to be not an answer, rather than partial answer. As goldilocks pointed out that the post by the author of that question was more of an addendum and Giles pointed out that muru's answer was more of a partial answer. Again, the documentation for at least Ask Ubuntu site does not restrict in any shape or form the author of a question from posting partial answers which bridges closer the solution of the original problem.

1. Some users might misinterpret what I'm outlining here as allowing to post stuff that doesn't work as an answer. No, the answer has to work, and that's what I'm advocating here:

   • if an answer solves a problem at least half-way, then it deserves to be posted as answer.
   • If it doesn't work, that's not an answer.
   • Things that might seem useful probably should be posted as comments.

2. Muru has provided a related post on Unix & Linux site , namely this. From reading that post over several times, it seems that the issue is more about the author of that question posting what appears to be not an answer, rather than partial answer. As goldilocks pointed out that the post by the author of that question was more of an addendum and Giles pointed out that muru's answer was more of a partial answer. Again, the documentation for at least Ask Ubuntu site does not restrict in any shape or form the author of a question from posting partial answers which bridges closer the solution of the original problem.

NOTE: the emphasis is that solution has to work and to get at least some of the things that original question aims to achieve, if it doesn't - that's not an answer. See "Additional Comments", #1.

Additional comments

1. Some users might misinterpret what I'm outlining here as allowing to post stuff that doesn't work as an answer. No, the answer has to work, and that's what I'm advocating here:

   • if an answer solves a problem at least half-way, then it deserves to be posted as answer.
   • If it doesn't work, that's not an answer.
   • Things that might seem useful probably should be posted as comments.

2. Muru has provided a related post on [unix.se] , namely this. From reading that post over several times, it seems that the issue is more about the author of that question posting what appears to be not an answer, rather than partial answer. As goldilocks pointed out that the post by the author of that question was more of an addendum and Giles pointed out that muru's answer was more of a partial answer. Again, the documentation for at least Ask Ubuntu site does not restrict in any shape or form the author of a question from posting partial answers which bridges closer the solution of the original problem.

Addressing potential critique:

Addressing your concerns

Isn't posting such an answer likely to reduce attention to the question?

Not necessarily. Good and interesting title will always attract views. Those who intentionally seek questions with specific tags or specific content will find your question and address it if they can.

People will just edit my answer to fix it, thus won't be able to get any upvote/accepted answer reputation.

Good answerers, especially those who have been on the site for long time, will come to your question and assess what has been done, which issues have been resolved and which haven't, and if they can help you find a solution (especially if it's alternative and requires multiple steps), they'll likely post that as separate answer. If the fix is trivial, they'll probably edit your answer or comment. There's really nothing wrong with that. Don't think too much about reputation points. While it's nice to get them, providing proper answers and contributing to the community should be more important.

People will think that this question is already answered but just not accepted

Again, good answerers that intentionally seek your type of question will see whether what you posted actually answers the question, or will see where you've left off and if they can they will complete your solution.

In general your questions seem to be based more on perceived fear of not having your question answered. This is understandable, but I hope I've conveyed clearly enough that there are people who dig through posts based on tags or titles, and see what they can do about it. I personally do that a lot.

Addressing potential critique: