Questions tagged [not-an-answer]
Content posted as an answer that doesn't actually answer the question at hand may be flagged "Not an Answer". Note *bad* answers are not eligible for this kind flag.
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Not An Answer flag on Link Only Answer declined without action [closed]
I went through the 10K mod tool flag queue and flag this link only answer as not an answer, which got rejected.
Answer text (full) is:
For those wondering, here is another website showing a way to ...
CommunityBot
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36
votes
1
answer
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Make VLQ and NAA flags equivalent to a negative review in the LQ queue (if the flagger can access that queue)
Reason
It is my understanding that casting a very low quality or not an answer flag on an answer that already has received such flag only affects the flag statistics and the number of positive ...
- 99.9k
75
votes
4
answers
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Why don't we treat rubbish the same as spam?
Spam gets fairly heavily punished - 100 reputation penalty, if I recall correctly, and the content itself gets hidden in the revision history.
Now if we just have some rubbish:
...
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1
answer
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Are wrong answers non-answers? [duplicate]
Suppose I ask, "What is the best way to add two numbers with my pocket calculator?" and someone answers "jQuery." That answer is obviously wrong, but it is technically an answer; ...
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13
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2
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What's the modus operandi when encountering a not-an-answer?
I am a non-20k-er on many sites. What am I supposed to do when I encounter a not-an-answer?
Flag it as not an answer?
Downvote it?
All of the above?
I have 20k reputation on one of the sites. What ...
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10
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1
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When NAA includes rude language - red flaggable?
I know that the general rule for rude language is to edit it out if possible rather than knee-jerk red flagging it just for a few swear words or inappropriate terminology. So, for example, a post,
...
- 31.5k
107
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2
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How do I properly use the "Not an Answer" flag?
What is the "Not an Answer" flag and what is its purpose?
When should I use this flag?
When should I not use this flag?
But I'm still not sure if I'm using the flag correctly...
An answer is ...
12
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3
answers
424
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Should a custom flag be used instead of the "not an answer" flag when the answer isn't a blatant non-answer?
There appears to be a bit of a dispute going on in the FAQ answer here. On one hand, a group mostly consisting of Stack Overflow moderators says that if it isn't immediately clear that an answer isn't ...
30
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2
answers
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Expand LQ review comment for "me too" non-answers with advice about "follow post" feature
The "follow post" feature is convenient for users having the same problem as asked about in the question.
Currently, the system generates the following comment for those who post non-answers ...
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8
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1
answer
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My "not an answer" flag is gone and not showing in my history
Some time ago I flagged this as not-an-answer.
For a while, link to this flagged answer has been visible in my flagging history (flag was declined in case if that matters). As far as I remember it ...
- 22.3k
46
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11
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Convert non-answers into new questions?
We see a lot of occasions where a new user posts an answer when in fact they should be asking a question; for example here or here.
Given that:
we want to make life as comfortable as possible for ...
14
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2
answers
191
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What difference does it make when selecting the reason to flag an answer?
What difference does it make when selecting the reason to flag an answer? For example the description for "not an answer" and "very low quality" are so similar what's the point of having both?
Does ...
23
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2
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After an answer is deleted as "Not An Answer" give a timed message box before posting the next answer
No one reads anything
Lets get this out of the way to begin with; no one ever reads anything unless they are made to. It's a sad fact, but it is a fact none the less. So as helpful and crystal clear ...
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3
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Judgment of "not an answer"
When a “question” is actually four questions, none of which can actually be answered, should saying so really be deleted as "not an answer"?
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3
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Your answer is in another castle: when is an answer not an answer?
I think we can all agree, this sucks:
If you've been around a little while, you've probably encountered hundreds of answers like this in various forums, some of them even marked as "The Answer&...
CommunityBot
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Explain reason for "not an answer" flag [duplicate]
This is about my following declined but helpful flag.
History:
I saw an answer which almost copy-pasted another answer and I decided to flag that.
In my first flag, I chose not an answer option, as ...
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1
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Is there a way to migrate a non-answer to a comment/question edit?
This question is in some ways the inverse of Add a feature to migrate a comment into an answer .
A mistake I see many new users make on their questions is to respond to comments on their questions by ...
GlorfindelMod
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votes
2
answers
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How is anyone *helped* by deleting relevant questions added to a post? [closed]
I recently viewed a question that was nearly identical to a question I have (requesting AppleScript solutions), and there were at least three helpful responses.
My question is essentially the same--...
- 11.3k
5
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2
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Does Meta have a different standard for NAA?
There is an answer here (screenshot) which does not attempt answer a question and instead posts a joke in response to a whimsical bounty message. Several people flagged it as NAA and it quickly ...
- 85.4k
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3
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How to differentiate a "low quality answer" and "answer that should be a comment"
All the day I am confused around "Not an answer", "comment" and "disputed flag".
So, another question from the set of confusions.
On this answer of Stack Overflow, IMHO this should be a comment,
...
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6
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1
answer
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The new flag dashboard doesn't include the reputation of the user whose post is being flagged
Having the reputation of the user whose post is being flagged is a useful piece of information - especially for "not an answer" flags. If the user has less than 50 rep - i.e. a new user - then they ...
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2
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Is the answer “Don't do that” an acceptable response to a “how do I” question? [duplicate]
Hold up!
before you click that button to report this question as a duplicate of this, consider that not only is that question 10 years old, but is also fairly non-specific, and doesn't make good use ...
- 85.4k
60
votes
4
answers
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Add a deactivated "wrong answer" flag option
When I look at the flagging queue I see almost one flag reason only: Not an answer. (At this very moment 440 out of 470 flags!)
I have the feeling it is used wrongly most of the time. Many seem to ...
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2
answers
227
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Declined NAA flag? [closed]
I flagged this as Not An Answer and just saw it declined, which I hadn't seen coming. For posterity, here is the answer, which is by the OP of the question:
Sorry for the late answer , I've found ...
CommunityBot
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2
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Are link based answers ok if they link to other Stack Exchange Answers?
Is it ever ok to provide an answer to a question that's essentially a link only answer to another Stack Exchange question or answer?
Often I do this when
The answers of the other question could be ...
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1
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What happens to NAA flag on a local meta?
As far as I can tell, when an answer on a main site is flagged as "not an answer" it enters the low quality posts review queue.1
What happens on per-site metas? On meta sites the only review queues ...
- 180k
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0
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I comment on answer why NAA and flagged but my flag is declined [duplicate]
Regarding this post, I flag NAA and comment on that post.
How your answer is different from above answer
The post is deleted, but my flag is declined. Why?
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2
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FATFQ (First Answer the Fine Question) [duplicate]
This question is not a duplicate, it is not about right and wrong answers and questions, it is about whether an acronym for sloppy answers to good questions would be useful, and I propose one that ...
31
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2
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Enable the community to handle "not an answer" flags without diamond intervention [duplicate]
New users posting thanks, comments or new questions as answers on existing questions is very common. It is also something that should be easily handled by the community itself, without requiring ...
CommunityBot
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33
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0
answers
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Change "Your Answer" to "Your Answer to this Question"
Many new users use the "Answer" section to answer another answer. It seems they (reasonably) assume the Stack Exchange sites work the way many forums and Facebook work: a chronological sequence of ...
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2
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accepted-answer is not-an-answer? [closed]
I'm aware that it could be me be missing on something here, but... but... what?
Later edit:
Yes, I'm aware of most of the points raised in answers and comments. The thing is I'm a regular user who ...
- 13.4k
44
votes
3
answers
589
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Unify “not an answer” and “very low quality” in a single “delete” flag
The “not an answer” flag on answers is meant to be used when
This was posted as an answer, but it does not attempt to answer the question. It should possibly be an edit, a comment, another question,...
- 31.5k
4
votes
1
answer
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Allow custom flagging a post after (a still pending) flag as VLQ/NAA
I have flagged an initial version of a post as Not an answer, which at the site seems okay, since it was more a comment (user uses an outdated browser which isn't supported and doesn't allow adding ...
GlorfindelMod
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2
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Your answer is in another castle Part 2: can we stop the confusion about NAA flags and posts that tackle a different question from the one posted?
DISCLAIMER: This is not yet another post trying to discuss what NAA posts are and / or answers to different questions are NAA. What this post is trying to do is to find a way to stop people for having ...
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2
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2
answers
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How do I ensure a poor answer doesn't get bounty if it's the only answer? [duplicate]
I feel like someone made a comment as an answer on a question with a bounty just so they could reap the "auto bounty" since they are the only answer on it.
I've flagged the bad/useless answer (as a ...
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Is it okay to dispute the premise of a question? [duplicate]
In the limited number of questions I have asked on Stack Exchange, I have had several comments and answers that are not answering my question, but are instead saying that I should be asking something ...
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2
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What constitutes an answer on Meta?
We have plenty of guidance about what constitutes an answer on a main site. However, Meta is very different from main sites (as we all know), and I don't know of any "Not an Answer" guidance ...
CommunityBot
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0
answers
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Introduce answer-deletion reasons [duplicate]
Proposal
When flagging an answer for deletion or voting to delete an answer, users are opted to select a reason for deletion from a list or enter a custom reason (much like when flagging/voting to ...
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11
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4
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If I solve someones problem instead of answering their question, should I post a comment instead?
I posted this answer to a question where someone was trying to use regex to parse Html. The question was "How can I get my regex to work?" and my answer was "Don't use regex, use this instead".
...
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Can we have a "plea for attention" LQP comment?
These are the auto-comments that I can post for a self-answer:
I recently saw a non-answer by the question author that was something like this:
plz, i can haz ancorz?plz
(Okay, it had a bit more ...
- 99.9k
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4
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How to deal with non answers? Automated ways preferred
I have started reviewing posts recently and I notice a pattern with people who can't comment because their reputation is 1.
They will click answer and ask a question there something like here:
...
CommunityBot
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2
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Should I flag obviously wrong answers as NAA? [duplicate]
I came across some scenarios like these:
Case 1: Obviously not true
Q: Why does the sun rise and fall every day?
A: Because the Earth self-rotates.
A2: Because the sun orbits around the ...
9
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1
answer
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"Not an answer" flag declined with "This is NOT spam. Use 'not an answer' for this." [duplicate]
This is the answer that was flagged: Passing data to a bootstrap modal
Is this because of another user flagging this as spam, and the tool for community moderator doesn't allow for flexibility in ...
CommunityBot
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8
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3
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Is it a bad practice to make assumptions in order to answer a question?
There are always going to be those low quality questions that have a few gaps in the question and are quite often down-voted for this reason.
A few times I have tried to understand these poor (often ...
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2
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Should have notice boxes if the answer contains "Thank you", "I have a same problem?" or "Can you help me"
I flag extensively each day, and most of the post*(answers)* starts with "I've the same problem" or "Can you help me".
So what if we throw a notice box before the user submits an answer which says "...
CommunityBot
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2
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How to flag link-only answers / what happened to the very low quality flag?
I ran across an answer on Stack Overflow that is a link only answer. The link in the answer is dead.
Normally I would have flagged this as very low quality (VLQ), but the flag doesn't exist anymore. ...
CommunityBot
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10
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Warn new mobile users not to ask questions as answers
When a new user tries to post an answer, they are warned not to ask questions as answers. The text of the warning is pretty good (although I think it could use some ALL-CAPS BOLD instead of subtle ...
CommunityBot
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5
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5
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The "me too" problem of 1 rep users unable to upvote questions
A couple weeks ago, I asked a question on Super User about Netflix in Media Center not working. Clearly, other people were experiencing this, as the question is entirely answered by 1-rep new users (...
CommunityBot
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5
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2
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Is it ever appropriate to give guidelines or hints instead of a straightforward answer?
For one of my earliest answers on Stack Overflow, instead of simply providing a code sample that would explicitly solve the OP's problem, I decided to give a sort of "non-answer" amounting to "do your ...
CommunityBot
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23
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5
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Function to convert an answer to a new question [duplicate]
My apologies if this is a repeat, I searched, but I couldn't find anything quite like this.
There are times when users (particularly very new users) post a question as an answer to an existing ...
CommunityBot
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