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What to do if you find the answer to your own question?
I found the answer with Google not long after posting my question. Do I still get the automatic downvote punishment if the question is self-deleted fast enough?
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5What "automatic downvote punishment"?– Aaron Bertrand StaffCommented Sep 6, 2012 at 14:45
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@AaronBertrand - I assume it's the down-vote you get when a question is closed as Off Topic or Not a Real Question.– ChrisF ModCommented Sep 6, 2012 at 14:45
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I heard this also happens if you delete your own question– Tina CG HoehrCommented Sep 6, 2012 at 14:46
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3@ChrisF I didn't know that closing a question results in a down-vote of any kind. Is this covered in a part of the FAQ I haven't read?– Aaron Bertrand StaffCommented Sep 6, 2012 at 14:48
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7Why not answer your own question instead?– S.L. Barth is on codidact.comCommented Sep 6, 2012 at 14:49
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5@TinaCGHoehr - there's no down-vote penalty if you delete your own question.– ChrisF ModCommented Sep 6, 2012 at 14:50
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1 Answer
Deleting your own questions can contribute toward a question ban, I believe, though the algorithm isn't exactly public and I'm not sure a deleted question with no activity counts any less than a deleted question that has been down-voted and VtC'd.
If you've found the answer, I'd agree with S.L. Barth - you're much better off posting an answer to the question (and not just a link to the answer you found on Google).
In the long run, this is better off for other readers (who may come across the same problem), better for the site (by providing another quality answer), better off for you (since you may attract better answers), and better for other contributors (who may be able to provide a better answer). As such I would post the answer (to avoid others duplicating work) but I wouldn't self-accept immediately - give other folks a chance to absorb your challenge and propose an alternate solution.
This assumes the question wasn't a brain-dead one that can only have one answer, like "what is the function name for x?"
answered Sep 6, 2012 at 14:54
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good advice thanks my question was about autoit and the answer was on their forums Commented Sep 6, 2012 at 16:32