23
votes
If an answer cannot possibly give you what you asked for, please consider accepting nevertheless
Please consider accepting a good answer, even if it does not (possibly) give you what you asked for
I have to say I completely disagree with this. Accepting an answer is saying that that answer ...
22
votes
Accepted
Is it OK if I call on a high reputation user on part of my answer if it seems difficult from that point?
As pointed out by Mark Kirby, you can't effectively call on a particular user from a post they haven't yet commented on or edited, because an @user will not send them a notification. See this Meta ...
ZannaMod
- 66.7k
19
votes
Accepted
What happens if I think that my answer is more valid than the accepted one?
It's up to the person who asked to determine the best answer, and many times the person never comes back to check to see if newer answers get better.
I wouldn't worry about it, the community will ...
- 68.7k
19
votes
What happens if I think that my answer is more valid than the accepted one?
Usually, nothing. If the other answer is flat out wrong, downvote it and leave a comment explaining why. You can also leave a comment for the OP informing them of why it's wrong.
If the other answer ...
- 93k
19
votes
Should we unpin the accepted answer from the top of the list?
Accepts are a way to indicate what worked best for the OP or which answer they personally liked. Sometimes the OP's choice isn't the best one - after all, many people ask questions because they don't ...
ZannaMod
- 66.7k
18
votes
Should I consider the timeline while accepting an answer?
Try to accept whatever has helped you the most. That's what it's supposed to mean but it's really down to your interpretation.
Timeliness could well be part of that utility and I know —from painful ...
OliMod
- 281k
17
votes
Accepted
Should I consider the timeline while accepting an answer?
If user A comes along and answers your question, and you accept it, he gets 15 reputation. If user B then adds an answer and you accept his answer instead, user A will lose 15 reputation and user B ...
- 54.3k
16
votes
How do you ask OP to reconsider accepted answer and award yours?
Honestly? Just don't do it.
The OP gets notified about every new answer to their question, so you can assume they've either seen it already or they have no interest in checking their notifications. ...
ZannaMod
- 66.7k
12
votes
Accepted
"Answer your own question" = accepted answer?
You can mark it as the accepted answer.
It's not automatic though. There are scenarios where you might have multiple options to accomplish the same thing. You might prefer somebody else's answer (and ...
OliMod
- 281k
12
votes
Which answer should you accept when both answers are correct but use different techniques?
The one you prefer, the one you end up using. It's completely up to you.
Acceptance is very personal, it's your question. Accept whichever answer you want.
- 93k
12
votes
Should we unpin the accepted answer from the top of the list?
Obsolete Answer Flag
In many cases the answer with the most upvotes is simply the one that has been here longest. Often these high vote answers are totally obsolete and no longer work.
It was much ...
- 16.6k
11
votes
Accepted
Which answer should you accept when both answers are correct but use different techniques?
If both answers are correct, you might also consider how the respondent approached the problem, how efficient the solution is, and how they presented it. Of course, this might be overthinking, but if ...
- 98.9k
11
votes
Should I accept my own answer even if it's inspired by another much detailed answer?
General answer
There are different "schools" on AU, and below is just my perception.
Personally, I would have mixed feelings to accept my own answer, if it is based on the good work and ...
- 79.8k
9
votes
Should I accept my own answer even if it's inspired by another much detailed answer?
The help page What should I do when someone answers my question? provides a single guideline for the selection of the accepted answer (emphasis by me):
Choose one answer that you believe is the ...
- 34.7k
8
votes
Should we unpin the accepted answer from the top of the list?
From my limited experience looking for solutions (especially programming related on Stack Overflow), I have noticed that the accepted answers are not generally useful for my case. This could be due to ...
jokerdinoMod
- 40.2k
7
votes
Accepted
How did I get 35 reputation from 2 votes?
You got another 15 rep because your answer was accepted. See https://askubuntu.com/help/whats-reputation for details about reputation. The relevant bit here is:
You gain reputation when:
[ . . . ]
...
- 93k
7
votes
Accepted
On meta: multiple answers with different opinions?
I think it should be clear by now that you should always accept my answers.
Seriously, Meta is mostly about discussion. That means it is to find, if possible, some kind of consensus, within the scope ...
- 79.8k
7
votes
What should I do for comment answer
Using Mitch's comment as an answer, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't ask the poster of the comment to post it as an answer. Only if he or she will not convert it into an answer in a reasonable ...
- 79.8k
7
votes
Accepted
Is it "not done" to (drastically) change an answer that is already accepted or upvoted?
If it's really early in the vetting process (not a lot of activity/voting around your post), it may be acceptable to retract and "fix" your original answer. But long after the fact (after the original ...
- 101
7
votes
How do you ask OP to reconsider accepted answer and award yours?
My answer would be that you shouldn't, and I must say both as the one who asks, as well as the author of the accepted answer, I'd consider it a kind of a contempt.
while anyone has the right to vote ...
- 79.8k
7
votes
Should we unpin the accepted answer from the top of the list on meta?
Accepts can have a different function on meta, highlighting a definitive statement from SE staff or indicating what line of action was actually taken at the conclusion of a discussion. I talked about ...
ZannaMod
- 66.7k
6
votes
What happens if I think that my answer is more valid than the accepted one?
Short answer: nothing. It's up to OP to choose which answer to mark as the accepted answer.
But this doesn't imply that such answer is the best.
First of all because being objective, the choice of ...
- 34.1k
5
votes
If an answer cannot possibly give you what you asked for, please consider accepting nevertheless
we have mixed fruit salad situation here.
I am a new user , I have a question about Ubuntu , I heard about AskUbuntu and I posted here. I dont give a s**t about terms&conditions. I got what I ...
5
votes
Should we unpin the accepted answer from the top of the list?
Neither system is perfect. The problem with vote totals deciding the "best answer" (by sort order, at least) is that they are momentum that is hard to overcome in the event that things ...
- 6,077
4
votes
Accepted
A user wrongly accepted my answer, what can I do?
Don't worry about it. :)
If your answer is wrong or misleading, you can - of course - delete it. But in this case, your answer is fine. Users are encouraged to accept an answer, and it's good when ...
- 82.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Not using accepted answer option
Nope, moderators cannot mark answers as accepted, only the person who asked the original question can do that...
However once an answer gets a net score of >= 1 the question is considered answered ...
- 54.3k
4
votes
Selecting one answer among many when all answer the question
As muru says, this is up to you.
If you're looking for criteria for accepting answers suggested in official resources, there's What should I do when someone answers my question?:
Choose one answer ...
- 113k
4
votes
Selecting one answer among many when all answer the question
Ultimately, accepting is your personal stamp of approval. It is something only you can do. Therefore, other things being equal, it should be the answer that you like the most. What criteria you use to ...
- 183k
4
votes
Accepted
Should I accept my own answer even if it's inspired by another much detailed answer?
As the author of the original answer you based yours on, I personally have no problem with you accepting your own if it better served your needs.
I will admit to a bit of confusion on my part when I ...
- 34.3k
3
votes
How did I get 35 reputation from 2 votes?
Also see https://askubuntu.com/reputation
It is a personal text based aggregated view of all your rep.
- 276k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible