Why was my good answer deleted?

Question

On the question How to Ping External IP from Java Android I posted the following answer:

Thanks your solution with execute ping on works fine. You even need no root permissions (tested on Android 4.1.1).

Currently InetAddress.isReachable() does not use ICMP on Android, instead it always uses TCP Port 7 (Echo). It says reachable when there is an echo or an RST packet is send, so actually echo must not be running on the target machine. But when there is no answer (stealth port) on port 7, then isReachable returns false. Tested on Android 4.1.1 and with Wireshark.

Please restore this answer. If I'd had this information, it would have saved me a lot of time, so I think it should also be provided to others.

Answer 1

This was deleted because it's not a "good answer." (Sorry.)

The first sentence is what makes it clear that this isn't an answer; it's a "thank you" for the real answer. This "thank you" should be in the form of an upvote and/or accept, not a new answer.

And while the second paragraph may provide the information you wish you'd had to begin with, that's not really clear from reading it. You have described some behavior you've observed, but it isn't really clear whether this is an answer to the original question, a new problem you're observing, or what. It's also not clear whether this is the same information conveyed by whomever you're thanking, since you haven't provided any way for us to figure out whom you're thanking. So this information isn't really useful to other people who might have the same problem.

The only case in which it might make sense for you to edit this answer and ask again for it to be undeleted would be if whomever you're thanking didn't provide a full solution to the problem; instead, they merely pointed you in the right direction, and you solved it yourself. If this is the case, please do the following:

1. If their advice was in an answer to your original question, upvote their answer. If it was just a comment on your original question, you can upvote the comment, but keep in mind that it won't gain them any rep. If it was something else...then it probably depends on what that "something else" was.
2. Edit your answer, then come back here and edit your meta question, making it clear that you've followed these suggestions and that you think your new answer is a good candidate for re-opening.
3. Be sure that your new answer is obviously an answer; make it clear what the root cause of the problem was and what was done to solve it. I think this is sort of what you tried to do in your original answer, but again, it was not clear.
4. In your answer, do acknowledge the work of the person who helped you figure it out. However, instead of starting your post with a "thank you," end it with a sentence or two acknowledging that so-and-so's answer or comment helped you figure it out, and if it's an answer, then consider including a link to that answer.