Sometimes I see a question and a humorous answer to it. Sometimes it makes me laugh, and I'm tempted to up-vote it, even if it doesn't really solve the problem stated by the question.
But, I have even bigger doubt: Should we down-vote funny answers?
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3Humor is for comments. Answers should be helpful in answering the question.– GEOCHETCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 18:40
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How can this question have a correct answer when it is tagged subjective? Should the community not be deciding that with votes?– mattlantCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 20:00
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BTW, I did not put the 'subjective' tag. Look into history, someone else added it.– Milan BabuškovCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 21:50
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14 Answers
Humor should be allowed if they are answering the question.
If somebody posts something just to be funny, for the sake of being funny, but doesn't answer the question it should be down voted.
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I totally agree with this answer. Not the one selected as 'correct' :(– mattlantCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 19:57
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Humor is appreciated in technical books and blogs, assuming it's on topic and actually funny. I'd suggest the same bar applies here.
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1Yes, the definition of funny is obviously universal. Commented Oct 9, 2008 at 19:51
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1My problem with this, is what if it is on topic, and it is funny, but it doesnt answer the question or doesnt even attempt to answer the question– mattlantCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 19:54
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@Moranar - I know it when I see it....................hahahaahah!– curtiskCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 19:54
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@Moranar - nothing is universal. If something isn't funny or on topic <i>in your opinion</i> then vote it down.– Cory HouseCommented Oct 10, 2008 at 16:01
Good lord I hope so, otherwise my reputation is about to drop into the basement.
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lol, i have taken quite a few dings for my wit.– MostlyharmlessCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 18:53
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This site is only going to continue to work if people keep coming to use it, so what's wrong with injecting a little humor here and there to keep the process entertaining?
Insisting on a no-humor policy will probably have the same effect on StackOverflow that it would have on your place of work: you're going to go somewhere else at the first opportunity.
answered Oct 9, 2008 at 19:26
If it answers the question, then sure. If the answer is just snarky or sarcastic, then save it for Digg.
I recommend only downvoting unintentionally funny answers.
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"You can laugh at everything, but not with everyone."
-- Pierre Desproges
Keep in mind that people cannot see your facial expression and gestures, so not all humor translates properly. Also, people from all over the world come here, and different cultures may not find every joke funny.
That being said: If people have a problem with Humor, they should remove the stick from their behinds and relax.
answered Oct 9, 2008 at 19:54
To address your first question: The answer is THEIR answer, and it will solely their choice whether or not to include humor (or attempts thereof).
To address your second question: That's entirely your call, I don't think this needs to be a hard and fast rule. To blanket down-mod "funny" (now you have to quantify 'funny') seems a touch ridiculous.
Some have argued that "it goes against what the site is about", but that's just it, it's moderated by the community. Not any one or two or three opinions.
Perhaps I'm of the mindset that I won't mod up unless it is funny. Maybe I read a really,really misguided answer and think that its "funny" in a different way....
I think the point of user\community moderation is that you moderate what your gut tells you instead of following some pre-described rules or consensus verbatim.
Rectum? it nearly killed 'em! Bamp-rump-bum!
This site is a forum for programmers. Humour has always been deeply mixed with programmers' culture. See "The New Hacker's Dictionary" for an example of how deep this goes.
I honestly don't see how you are going to get rid of that or why you should want to do so. So, in my opinion humour -- programmer humour -- is certainly welcome here.
That said, completely off topic answers, even if funny, are going to be moderated down. Witty, on topic answer to funny questions are going to be moderated up.
I think that while humour is nice to see, these humourous answers should be provided as Community Wiki answers and yes, they should probably be either voted down or not voted on at all, otherwise they will detract from the real purpose of this site. However, we shouldn't ban humourous responses because we all need that unexpected chuckle every once in a while.
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Your avatar gave me an unexpected chuckle. Is that "Blue Steel" or "Magnum"?– Ben HoffsteinCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 18:55
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@Ben - Man, can't you tell it's 'Le Tigre'?? amateur!– curtiskCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 18:58
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@curtisk - Don't know how I forgot about 'Le Tigre' and 'Ferrari'!!– Ben HoffsteinCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 19:02
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@Ben - Gotta stay true to the roots! Never forget!– curtiskCommented Oct 9, 2008 at 19:03
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To answer the direct questions: Yes, humor is allowed in answers. No, funny answers don't need to be downvoted.
To answer the metaquestion: I do not vote in either direction based on whether the answer is funny or not. I upvote helpful and accurate answers and downvote answers which are incorrect or unrelated to the question. Humor or its absence is irrelevant to this criterion.
Thought 1: Humour is part of communication, so it can't be excised from communicating an answer.
Thought 2: Sometimes the deeper truth is revealed by humour.
Thought 3: Sometimes funny is just plain worth it.
If this site is to be used as a serious resource I would have to say yes.
My selfish reason would be to maintain the integrity of this site as a repository for constructive answers and feedback. If people are rewarded for clever digg/reddit like comments I am afraid the quality of responses will decrease.
I've been very satisfied with the professional level of comments and responses that I've seen here. I look at this as a more accessible alternative to the Experts Exchange. I'd hate to see it move from that to another digg.