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I had recently answered my own question, and thought that this dialog is completely annoying. I think that it can get removed at least under certain circumstances, like having XXX reputation points, or a "self-learner" badge... Anything indicating that the user is not considering an "answer" as comment.

It may also be one reason why the same "should I answer my own question" meta-questions are asked over and over again.

Dialog

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    Are you sure you wish to remove this dialog? – Bart Jul 10 '13 at 19:36
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    it makes no sense for users with > 1000 REP – Rafael T Jul 10 '13 at 19:37
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    The stuff I've seen high-rep users pull makes me doubt pretty much all "don't show that warning for users with > X rep, they don't need it" claims – Michael Mrozek Jul 10 '13 at 19:59
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    I'm fine either way. But unless you constantly need to answer your own question (like a few times a day), it's not that big of a deal. – Old Checkmark Jul 10 '13 at 21:10
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It is pretty rare for a person to ask and answer the same question. It is very common, however, for new users to accidentally add an answer to their own question when they intend to comment. The dialog is useful for them.

For higher rep users, self-answers are rare enough that the extra check in the code doesn't seem to be worth the trade-off. Even when they dialog is presented, it still provides value; even high-rep users sometimes make mistakes.

Consider that such a code change would require:

  • One or more developers to update code
  • One or more testers to test not only the intended change, but all potentially-affected areas (regression testing)
  • Possible management involvement to coordinate schedules
  • Documentation updates

Since the dialog is useful for new users, and is rarely seen by anyone else (and provides a small benefit even in those cases), the cost does not outweigh the benefit.

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    stackoverflow is freaking dynamic in all the things so the "its not worth it" argument is none. Also if there is no comment, the message makes no sense. If one has an "editor" badge and is a "self-learner" why not reward them? – Rafael T Jul 10 '13 at 19:42
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    A change would require developers to update code? Oh, how horrible. – Ry- Jul 10 '13 at 19:46
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    I agree "its not worth it" is a very pale, tired argument, but also agree that it's really not a big deal. If you are > 1000 rep then you can probably deal with this (still legitimate) dialog. Most users will see this less than a few times in their entire life. – user159834 Jul 10 '13 at 19:46
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    Indeed. If the SO devs can use web sockets to keep question and answer scores updated in real time, then I don't think an if statement checking the user's rep before showing this dialog would be a huge deal – Adam Rackis Jul 10 '13 at 19:46
  • @minitechη Code updates are not the problem. The question is whether the benefit is worth the cost. In this case, I don't think that it is. – George Cummins Jul 10 '13 at 19:46
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    @GeorgeCummins: And I think your cost is hugely overblown. The privilege system exists; how hard can it be? (Read: What Adam Rackis said.) – Ry- Jul 10 '13 at 19:48
  • @user I agree (with your now-deleted comment). Paying users are different: they can have whatever they want since the cost-benefit analysis is built in. We, however, aren't that. I'm simply advocating a bit of a filter so the SE developers only get pestered with real issues. – George Cummins Jul 10 '13 at 19:50
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    @GeorgeCummins I never encountered something that can be considered as "bug" on this wonderful site (just personal experience), but am curious what you consider as "real issue" – Rafael T Jul 10 '13 at 19:54
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    @RafaelT There have been several bugs (search for questions tagged 'bug' or 'status-complete') and the developers are great about fixing them. More recently, there was a huge overhaul in the closing system that made the close/hold process much clearer and more useful. The flagging system was recently updated to show flag responses for comments. Those fixes benefit everybody. – George Cummins Jul 10 '13 at 19:57
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I completely agree. Certainly, by the time you've earned 1K+ rep, you know how the site works and whether or not you should answer your own question. I can't really think of a reason this shouln't at least be considered (assuming the development time is minimal).

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