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If you look at this question, my answer is the accepted one because it was the first to be posted, but the most upvoted one is clearly better than mine (and has been consequently upvoted)

What should I do there? AFAIK, only the OP can change the marked answer.

Should I copy the other answer into mine (that doesn't seems right because the poster won't get credit for it).

I don't want to delete my post because it was still a good answer, and I don't want to lose the rep it earned me (although I'm ready to lose the +15 of the accepted answer)

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8 Answers 8

Reset to default
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Let the community decide through voting. The poster may be persuaded by the votes to change which answer is accepted.

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    I know, but since the OP has had the answer he wanted, I doubt he will go back to his post to change the accepted answer.
    – Brann
    Mar 28, 2009 at 1:46
  • the problem with this is that questions scroll off and are forgotten. bad answers stay bad answers because there's new ones appearing all the time that everyone pounces on. relatively few members here scan the older, especially ANSWERED questions
    – Scott Evernden
    Mar 28, 2009 at 1:46
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    Anyone who reads the referenced question will see this poster's answer as well as the highest voted non-accepted answer. The system works.
    – user27414
    Mar 28, 2009 at 1:49
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A related question is what to do if the correctly marked answer is simply wrong

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    Well, I'd suggest starting by adding a comment explaining why, and voting it down.
    – derobert
    Mar 28, 2009 at 4:14
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Often an answer that's not perfect or even correct in all cases might have been just what the original poster needed to solve his specific problem, so he has all right to accept that answer. If the community thinks another answer is better, it will upvote the other answer higher and people who come along later will see what the general consensus is.

Also there's no need to feel bad about the poster of the not-accepted answer, he's probably getting more rep this way. People feel the need to convince the OP that this answer is the best one and therefore keep upvoting it.

And you can't delete an accepted answer, so that's not even an option.

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Why not just edit your question and link to the better answer? You can also leave a comment for the OP (right under his question) indicating that you think the other answer is better, and why. The OP will see this when they next visit the site.

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There is no remedy. Conventional wisdom often prevails, especially if its from Quickdraw Coder. I think it would be fair to say that Manasgement thinks it could be worse.

What I'd do is edit my answer to disavow it, referring by name to the better responder, and chalk it up to imperfect site design. (SO is no better or worse than other sites in this respect)

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It's your answer. You can edit it to make it accurate, if you feel that's important.

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If the answer is wrong or unclear, correct it. If it's correct, but just not as entertaining or educational as someone else's, don't worry about it. The questioner selects the answer that they think is best. There's no point to questioning preference.

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In that situation I've referenced the other poster's answer within the accepted solution, giving credit where it is due. Only other people can do the upvoting.

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