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I'd have killed for such a question/answer combination when I started with elastic search.

Use LINQ to Process Elastic Search Results

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So, what can be done to improve the answer?

I know the question is a good one, as it is the first combination-tagged question.

Edit: Turns out I was wrong. The answer was good, the question needed some work

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18
  • Another example, but without the abrasive response. stackoverflow.com/questions/1305954/…
    – user133440
    Feb 13, 2013 at 4:50
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    Why would you think the answer is the bad one? The question is terrible, and a unique tag combination does not mean anything on question quality.
    – animuson StaffMod
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:00
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    How would you rephrase the question to make the Internet better?
    – user133440
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:01
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    The common question "What have you tried?" comes to mind. Just because your answering your own question doesn't mean you can skimp on the question. You still need to include all the details that a normal, good quality question would need to contain in order to be acceptable here on Stack Overflow. "How do I do this?" with no other information is not an acceptable question.
    – animuson StaffMod
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:03
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    I agree with you in most cases, but the purpose of providing such material is to A) Express to answerers that you at least tried and B) to provide useful information for passersby and C) provide useful keywords for search engines. A) is not valid here, B) is invalidated by the immediate answer, but C still stands and I'm open to suggestions.
    – user133440
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:06
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    The purpose of that information is to make the question specific. Your current question is extremely broad, and could gather a very wide variety of very different and still correct answers. When evaluating the question and whether it should be closed, you can only look at the question, and the evaluation comes down to "Is this a good question?" In your case, that's a resounding no. The fact that it has an answer is irrelevant here.
    – animuson StaffMod
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:10
  • Ok, I rephrased it so that can only have one correct answer. However, I don't think it is a good idea for me to inject a fake story about "what I've tried"
    – user133440
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:15
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    Doesn't have to be fake, Brian. When'd you start researching Elastic? Put yourself back in the mindset of Brian from a month or six months ago, and write the sort of question you might've asked, if you'd known someone would be able and willing to answer it.
    – Shog9
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:19
  • Shog, you make some good points. How is the edit?
    – user133440
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:26
  • I am wholly in favor of self-answered questions, even (especially?) ginned-up ones, and I think closing this one would be utterly asinine, but I am forced to agree that the question part could use a bit of work. Making it less broad will not only make it a better search target, it'll make the value and context of the answer clearer. If I may shamelessly plug myself, I'd like to offer my own SAQ as, I think, a decent example: stackoverflow.com/questions/11850950/…
    – jscs
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:29
  • I guess some of the downvotes might stem from the fact that other answerers are at a handicap when answering the question, since it is extremely broad. Finding the "most efficient" way to do something comes one step after a suboptimal attempt at doing something (which should be detailed in the question). The information you have shared is very useful, but needs to be framed as the solution to a specific problem.
    – user200500
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:29
  • Quality is quality. I think your comment to your question was key to deflect some of the paranoid down/close votes
    – user133440
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:32
  • @BrianWebster: Could be; you're more than welcome to copy it!
    – jscs
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:33
  • @JoshCaswell Do you think my edit is sufficient, or would you go further? I can't say much more without fabricating a story, I think.
    – user133440
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:35
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    Just to add some context (I don't think anyone has already said this), when people see a question in the review queue, they don't see the answers, so your question will be judged solely on its own merits.
    – Benjol
    Feb 13, 2013 at 6:00

2 Answers 2

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7

You've answered enough questions - what would you do if you came across one that looked like this (ignoring the detailed answer)?

Generally, you expect someone asking a question like that to provide a bit of context, right? Show their work maybe?

Heck, when you were first starting out with elastic search, what sort of question would you have asked?

Imagine the sort of question that, if you'd come across it last week, might've inspired you to write an answer like the one you did. That's the sort of question your answer deserves to be introduced with.

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3

No, the answer is fine, but it would be better if the question was more specific, but to be honest I like simple questions and answers that are to the point. You might just edit in some stuff dealing with the specific technologies you used to solve the problem.

It's great that you shared that information, hope we can keep it alive.

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4
  • Any recommendations on how to rephrase the question? People will have the desire to use LINQ against elastic search results.
    – user133440
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:08
  • Modified my answer after looking at it again, I think it's fine, though maybe you could craft it to reference the question method (like using JSON).
    – Lance Roberts
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:09
  • I appreciate the feedback. I intend to post a few more valuable elasticsearch question/answer pairs this week. I'd like to get this one right. I was very surprised by the negative response (7 down/close votes).
    – user133440
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:11
  • Let me know if it gets closed and I'll cast a reopen vote for you.
    – Lance Roberts
    Feb 13, 2013 at 5:44

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