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After I created a question, I get the notification "Does this answer your question?" with yes/no choice and a link to another question which is no related to my question. I click "No". After a while I again get the same notification with the same link to the same question. If I already pressed "No" once, I think I mustn't get it the second time because when I often encounter this it causes a feeling of irritation. Could you please technically mend it?

As far as I understand, this problem exists in any section of "stackexchange.com".

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  • Pretty sure it comes back in response to a new duplicate close vote, even when it's the same question being voted for. I already reported it on the main meta. Fun fact: ELU only requires 3 votes to close. On other sites it's 5, so this could happen to you four times on the same question instead of just once (per close cycle)!
    – Laurel Mod
    Oct 30, 2022 at 1:06
  • @Laurel You reported it four months ago. Why did nobody want to fix it?
    – Loviii
    Oct 30, 2022 at 3:34
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    Because this is not the only technical issue that has to be resolved, and it is far from a pressing concern.
    – Nij
    Oct 30, 2022 at 5:51
  • @Nij Your comment can be referred to any bug question and by your logic any bug question may remain unsolved.
    – Loviii
    Oct 30, 2022 at 6:11
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    I see the idea of a priority is an issue for you. But your issue is not a priority.
    – Nij
    Oct 30, 2022 at 6:32
  • @Loviii "Your comment can be referred to any bug question and by your logic any bug question may remain unsolved." This is completely true, and is one of the reasons why many bugs in all kinds of software remain unsolved for months, years, or indefinitely. The same is true outside of software - many problems in the world remain unsolved because other problems are considered more pressing.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Nov 16, 2022 at 18:39

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
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As Laurel has noted in comments, this is how the system notifies you that someone else considers there is already an answer to your question.

You get such a notification every time someone casts a vote to that effect, and that is by design.

It is your opportunity to examine the offered answer(s) and either say

  • Yes, I can apply that to my question¹
  • No, it doesn't apply to my question, because... and then update your question to explain how it is not helped.

Every time you get a "Does this answer your question?" notification and you answer No, you should edit your question to explain how your question is different. You need to show that your question is not answered elsewhere.

¹ Very often, a "duplicate" is not exactly the same question [those are merged] but one where the answer or its explanation can be applied to your question. A question about "The government is/are" would be answered by a question about "The police is/are" or "The team is/are". If you cannot apply the thinking behind the suggested answers to your question, you need to explain why it doesn't apply in your case.

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  • You described how it was supposed to work. But the reality is not the same as the expectations. This is what actually happens: someone attaches some other thread at the top of my post, suggesting me look at it. I'm looking at it and see that it is no related to my original post at all. What should I do? To write the thread you suggested is something that may be called a spam? And so several times, for every single user?
    – Loviii
    Oct 30, 2022 at 11:09
  • Perhaps the problem is there is no way to downvote the users who suggest the spam-threads. If everyone could see the suggested thread, the user who suggested it and the up/down arrows near it to vote, then users would be thinking at first before suggesting a spam.
    – Loviii
    Oct 30, 2022 at 11:09
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    It's not spam: someone has actually voted to close your question as a duplicate. And everyone with close-vote privileges (3000 rep) can see it. Because it's a real close vote, you do need to address it. Without addressing it to avert future votes nominating that duplicate, you will continue to get votes for closing as a duplicate, and it only takes three to close your question. Stop that happening by addressing the issue.
    – Andrew Leach Mod
    Oct 31, 2022 at 8:01
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    @Loviii The number of times someone casts a spurious "duplicate" vote is negligible. All "duplicate" votes have something in common with the original question, in my experience. Occasionally the voter has misunderstood the question and not picked up the salient point, but then the question can be edited to make it clear. If you are getting more than your fair share of "duplicate" votes you don't consider relevant, you may need to alter the style of your questions. You certainly do need to address the reason why it's not a valid duplicate.
    – Andrew Leach Mod
    Oct 31, 2022 at 8:07

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