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 ...
Community wiki
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
- 68.9k
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 ...
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 ...
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
- 68.9k
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
- 68.9k
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 ...
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
- 288k
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.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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
- 41k
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 ...
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
- 68.9k
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:
[ . . . ]
...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Community wiki
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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.
3
votes
When a user is deleted are their "accepts" removed?
You are not going to lose reputation if a user that has accepted your answer is deleted (assuming they have only accepted your answer).
After the user removal, the accept will be owned by the ...
2
votes
Why are the top voted answers on top of the accepted answer when it was answered by the asker?
From Meta Stack Exchange:
Can I accept my own self-answer?
Yes; if you've self-answered your own question, you can mark your answer as the accepted answer. There are some differences, though, that ...
2
votes
How do you ask OP to reconsider accepted answer and award yours?
My take on this particular link is I would never ask OP to change acceptance to my answer. I would point out that my comments made from "smartphone" were in error and I posted an answer still using ...
1
vote
Should we unpin the accepted answer from the top of the list?
I am late as usual. But, Nicolas Chabanovsky, a community manager, said "before the end of September 19th". It is still 18th September according to UTC 😜.
I am not gonna discuss about the ...
1
vote
How do you ask OP to reconsider accepted answer and award yours?
This in the question:
but I'd like to have the most recommended approach.
made me drop any interest in cut. Great command but it can't stand in the shadow of awk. Heck it even the command sounds ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
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