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When reviewing answers in the "low quality post" section, I sometimes come across posts that are actually answers, but that are -- in my opinion -- bad or wrong answers. Stack Overflow deals with bad answers by voting down, not deletion.

However, I have the following choices to select from:

  • Looks Good -- No it doesn't; it's just wrong.
  • Edit -- I cannot repair the answer without entirely changing it (i.e. providing a completely different answer).
  • Recommend Deletion -- I wouldn't recommend deleting it, as this is not what we (used to) do with posts we consider wrong or misleading.
  • Not Sure -- No, I am sure it qualifies as answer (e.g. not as comment or spam or such), just not as very good one.

So, neither of these options seems to fit. The closest thing would be to visit the post, downvote and say "Looks Good", but that seems to be contradictory.

How is this supposed to be done?

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  • 1
    Users with 20K+ rep can vote to delete downvoted answers. Something I certainly do on an answer with no value at all. You can now too.
    – Uphill Luge
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:13
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    @UphillLuge: Doesn't that kind of negate the system of regular votes as quality indicators? That's one of SO's biggest strengths, if you ask me.
    – bitmask
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:16
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    There's a similar discussion in regards to the low-quality flag here: "What does the “very low quality” flag mean in regards to answers?"
    – Brad Larson Mod
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:19
  • @bit - No argument from me, Review is not a substitute. Merely a clean-up option when everybody stopped voting long ago.
    – Uphill Luge
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:20

2 Answers 2

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If it answers the question...

... but it's wrong, down-vote it. In addition (or in alternative if the mistake is not so critical), add a comment as well so you help the answerer fix the answer.

... but it's low quality, you can down-vote it and/or vote to delete (if you are a trusted user), in case you don't have enough reputation, flag it for moderator attention and choose "very low quality".

Additionally, whenever it's possible, you can edit the answer. This is encouraged. Don't forget that editing shouldn't change the basic meaning of the post so if it's completely unsalvageable, just go with the hard way.

If it doesn't answer the question...

... vote to delete it. It should be a comment or deleted altogether.

Now, regarding your question, you should choose "looks good" in my opinion. Neither of the options look good because you're using the Review tool to evaluate whether the answer is right or not, while it should be used to evaluate the "Good quality/Bad quality" which is tied to the answer being written well, etc, and not whether it's correct or not.

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    I was talking specifically about the "new" review process, which forces me to pick one of the four options listed in the question text. So in your first two cases, which review-option would you suggest?
    – bitmask
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:23
  • @bitmask I just added it. :)
    – Alenanno
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:24
  • Ah, I see your point. Perhaps the wording "Looks Good if nothing is wrong with this answer" should be modified to reflect the meaning you propose.
    – bitmask
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:26
  • @bitmask I don't think I am proposing it. I think it already works that way, but I'd like some Team member or another mod to confirm it for you. :D
    – Alenanno
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:27
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    Don't forget that you can also edit low quality answers. Only delete if it's completely unsalvageable.
    – Adam Lear StaffMod
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 16:26
  • But you can't separate " answer being written well, etc" and it being correct as written well implies makes sense and you can't vote from the review page
    – mmmmmm
    Commented Aug 19, 2012 at 9:46
  • @Mark I don't understand what you said. But if I got what you mean, yes they are separable. An answer can be perfectly formatted, yet have wrong content. Or have correct content and yet be horribly written. They are completely separable and independent from each other.
    – Alenanno
    Commented Aug 19, 2012 at 10:32
  • @AnnaLear Thanks, included! :)
    – Alenanno
    Commented Aug 19, 2012 at 10:35
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To me, a "low-quality" post is one that is spam-ish in nature, or just a throw-away line like "heh, lolz". Ie, they generally don't address the actual question.

If an answer does address the question but is actually wrong, then either a downvote or (if the mistake is not too egregious) a comment stating what can make the answer better. I would not classify a wrong answer as a "low-quality" post given the above criteria.

So if an answer is wrong, I would choose "Looks Good" in the tool and then comment/downvote. A post should only be deleted if it can't be salvaged through editing.

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  • I agree with you. But would your say "Looks Good" or "Not Sure" in the review tool? I think both are wrong, in a way. The set of options implies that everything that wrong or slightly egregious answers should be deleted.
    – bitmask
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:20
  • @bitmask I'd probably say "looks good".
    – chrisaycock
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:21
  • For me, I consider answers that is written with so bad grammar/spelling that I cannot understand to rewrite as "low-quality".
    – nhahtdh
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:25
  • @nhahtdh Agreed. "Low-quality" means the post can't be salvaged.
    – chrisaycock
    Commented Aug 18, 2012 at 14:28

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