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Kev deleted an answer that I wrote here: How to add contacts from your application and save it in the addressbook?

I've tried to address his comment, though I still disagree with it. Please undelete the answer.

Putting version specific snippets of a manual into an answer is MORE likely to result in bit rot. While a link to the manual may suffer link rot, Google is still your friend and more likely to have the current best reference. Thus, the name of the manual is the best answer as an indirect reference.

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  • 2
    Just flag your answer for attention in case you have considerably updated it.
    – Bart
    Commented Jun 8, 2012 at 5:18
  • 4
    If you aren't going to try and format the quote properly, why bother?
    – BoltClock's a Unicorn Mod
    Commented Jun 8, 2012 at 5:22
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    I've just formatted the quoted part for you so the answer will have some semblance of tidiness if Kev undeletes it.
    – slugster
    Commented Jun 8, 2012 at 5:44
  • Tony, it's definitely better, but please put some work into formatting the quote. Deleted answers need to look perfect before being reconsidered to be reopened. See this editing guide for more assistance: stackoverflow.com/editing-help
    – jmort253
    Commented Jun 8, 2012 at 5:46
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    I cannot see the deleted answer, but given your statement about not agreeing about adding code fragments: Are answers that just contain links elsewhere really “good answers”?
    – Arjan
    Commented Jun 8, 2012 at 5:47
  • Tony, since you put effort into cleaning the answer up, and since @slugster helped finish the job, I flagged the answer for consideration for undeletion. Welcome to StackOverflow! Good luck!
    – jmort253
    Commented Jun 8, 2012 at 6:12
  • Thanks for all the flack. Goodbye.
    – user187571
    Commented Jun 8, 2012 at 6:26

2 Answers 2

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Answers that are nothing more than a sentence and a link are not wanted here. See:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/how-to-answer

Provide context for links

A link to a potential solution is always welcome, but please add context around the link so your fellow users will have some idea what it is and why it’s there . Always quote the most relevant part of an important link, in case the target site is unreachable or goes permanently offline.

(Notice how I provided context for the above link so you don't even have to click it to get the essential information? Pretty awesome, right?)

Others have edited your answer to include context from the link, so I undeleted it.

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Kev's quote:

Welcome to Stack Overflow! Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, we would like you to include the essential parts of the linked article in your answer, and provide the link for reference. Failing to do that leaves the answer at risk from link rot.

The guidelines on what constitutes a great answer were determined based on lots of trial, error, and growing pains that the StackOverflow community faced, as well as what the founders observed happening to other traditional forums on the Internet.

Posts with links might be valuable to the original poster, but that value is only temporary. StackOverflow's goal is to improve the Internet as a resource of knowledge and provide lasting value for years to come.

Have you ever spent time Googling for an answer, wading through noisy forum posts, only to discover that a link posted, filled with promises of holding the solution, ended up displaying nothing but 404 in your browser? What did you gain from that broken link?

We realize that the Internet, while a great resource, is constantly changing. Links break, and the community recognizes this fact and agreed on certain guidelines to prevent clutter.

We don't want you, or anyone, to spend valuable time searching for a solution, finding a question related to the topic, and then only find that it has rotten, broken links of no value. Instead, we want you to still benefit from our community, even if the rest of the Internet is inherently unstable.

In summary, this guideline exists just as much for your benefit as it does the benefit of the people who will read your answer 6 months, 1 year, or 5 years from now.

The goal of StackOverflow is to act as a resource not just for the original poster, but for others who have that same problem and seek answers. Spend some time on the site looking at questions and answers. Get to know the platform, and you may open your eyes.

In fact, many users on this platform started out with your same skepticism, and today, those same users are making comments very similar to the one Kev left for you, politely welcoming new users to our community while also keeping this site strictly focused on great, quality content.

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