14

I'd like to delete a question of mine that was downvoted and has close votes, so I flagged it and asked for a mod to delete it but they didn't. Why can it not be deleted? Here it is.

I can understand that users shouldn't be able to delete questions and answers that may be useful to others but in this case the community has decided it has no value. Also, following question edits, the answer with upvotes no longer answers it.

Improve this question
2
  • 7
    The answer has upvotes, so there is value in the answer.
    – vcsjones
    Jul 27, 2012 at 13:41
  • 2
    FWIW, if you want nothing more to do with your question, you can always have it removed from your account. If you do this more than once, you'll probably get funny looks, but the content license requires that this is done upon request. Also, it looks like the question in question is gone now anyway.
    – a cat
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:14

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
13

While the question isn't very strong, the answer given has been upvoted by at least 3 people. By design, you cannot delete your own post if any answer has been upvoted. You flagged for delete, but it was declined, so now your best bet would be to edit your question, make it stronger, and you could get some upvotes from it yourself, as well as making it easier to find and contributing to the community.

Improve this answer
10
  • 8
    It sounds nice in theory but I tried to edit it already and all I got was more downvotes, with no explanation. So I am asking the community to delete the question. The downvotes as it is are simply a discouragement to participation.
    – z7sg Ѫ
    Jul 27, 2012 at 14:07
  • Users who down-voted cannot know you edited the question, as there isn't actually any notification for who votes a question that is then edited.
    – apaderno
    Jul 27, 2012 at 14:23
  • One probable issue with the question is that you don't really go into anything you have tried to do. Demonstrate through your question that you've tried to answer it yourself but couldn't and people will stop downvoting/start upvoting.
    – saluce
    Jul 27, 2012 at 15:07
  • 4
    Upvotes != helpful Upvotes, at best, can only be considered an indicator of popularity. They are not indicators of quality, helpfulness, or anything otherwise.
    – casperOne
    Jul 27, 2012 at 15:13
  • @casperOne is that in reference to Answers, questions or both?
    – Some Helpful Commenter
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:09
  • @SomeHelpfulCommenter Both.
    – casperOne
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:10
  • 6
    @saluce I don't know where to begin with it, absolute beginner. I have nothing to prove here - I asked for some help, that's all. If people don't want to help for whatever reason fine, but why downvote and not explain why? The 'community' here is way less friendly and helpful than on some of the other SE sites.
    – z7sg Ѫ
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:12
  • @z7sgѪ Don't take it so personally. It's a few downvotes; we're not chopping off your arms here. Your first task should be to spend some time looking through the FAQ threads. They will help you understand what types of questions are acceptable on SO, how they should be asked, and how the community tends to respond to various ..things. If you would like to know more about some of the potential problems with your questions after that then you could consider making a meta question asking for help improving your question quality; we are all here to help after all.
    – Servy
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:15
  • 4
    @Servy I've read the FAQ, thanks and I can't see the problem. It's a bad experience to get lots of downvotes for no attributed reason and I'm far from the only person who feels that way.
    – z7sg Ѫ
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:19
  • 1
    @z7sgѪ It is suggested to leave a comment when downvoting, but it's not required. As the thread has apparently been deleted now I couldn't comment as to what reasons it may have been downvoted, but you have gotten comments in this meta thread indicating that the downvotes might have been because your question didn't demonstrate any (or enough) research into the question or indications as to what you had tried yourself. When a question feels "too needy" like people are just trying to use SO for free labor without putting in their due diligence they often downvote.
    – Servy
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:23
3

Normally, questions are eventually deleted once they are closed, except when they are spam, a random sequence of characters, or a they contain offensive, abusive, or hate speech without even asking a question (among other things).

There are many factors to consider when deleting a question, and the score of the existing answers could be one of them. I am not sure if the existing answer makes a difference, when the answer is for the first revision of the question, though.

Improve this answer
5
  • 4
    It seems wrong to me that I have no right to delete my own question however nicely I ask but if instead I fill my question with hate speech it will be deleted.
    – z7sg Ѫ
    Jul 27, 2012 at 15:49
  • Should you fill your question with hate speech now, then most likely your edit will be rolled back to its previous revision. If it was not a question but merely hate-speech or other offensive content from the start, then it would be removed.
    – Bart
    Jul 27, 2012 at 15:58
  • @z7sgѪ Consider that if you edit your question to be hate speech, you could risk of being suspended. Your questions on Stack Exchange sites are published under a CC-wiki license that cannot be revoked. When there are answers with a positive score, it is a matter of deciding whose rights come first.
    – apaderno
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:00
  • @z7sg - The problem is that if you delete your post to get rid of downvotes, the person answering will lose upvotes. Not really fair, right? And it doesn't help to vandalize your post, that will just be reverted. All edits are logged, and can be rolled back.
    – Bo Persson
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:03
  • Someone spent time and effort answering your question, and members of the community saw value in that answer. While you may arguably have reason to delete your question, you don't have the right to delete that answer. That answer is also attached to the question; it can't exist without it.
    – Servy
    Jul 27, 2012 at 16:13

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .