I'm not too sure if this question is appropriate for the site or not...if it isn't, please remove it so that it doesn't clog up the website.
I always consider an asker's Accept Rate before answering question. What should a user do, however, if their rate is lowered not because they do not accept an answer but because all answers that are given for those questions are not quite what are needed? Is there a way to tell the site that the answer is not what you were looking for?
Down-vote the answer and comment i.e.: "although this answer may work for some, it does not pertain to the issue" or something to that effect. Just looking at the asker's accept rate before answering a question really doesn't help. This is kind of a dual-edge sword. The unanswered questions also count against Ask Ubuntu.
Please, if you can answer the question, do so!
The answers posted hopefully help more folks than just the one asking. Some folks have several open, unanswered questions affecting there acceptance rate, others have questions answered but haven't got the correct answer.
First of all, if a question is interesting and you can provide a useful answer then you may as well do so. Even if the person who asked the question forgets to mark it accepted, your answer may help other people who read the question.
Further more you've outlined some valid reasons why an active user might have questions open without accepted answers, so having an accept rate lower than 100% shouldn't be a stigma.
As long as you provide enough information for people to answer your questions and accept correct answers, you are doing enough on the site as a questioner.
