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On Stack Overflow, where I usually spend my time, the questions are mostly objective, and failing to accept a correct answer is generally sloppy.

Here, the topics can be much more subjective. Case in point: Word that means "more accepting of other cultures"? has a lot of good answers, none are really "correct". In that case, the votes and comments are a good indication of how helpful/valid an answer is. I accepted an answer because SO etiquette demands closure, but is it bad form to not accept any answers here?

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The question you've quoted is not open ended in the least. You're just not finding a stellar answer that knocks your socks off.

You can up vote the good ones. And, hold out for the perfect answer. Or just accept the nearest to your intended meaning.

To avoid appearing not to care you have several options:

1) Make comments. e.g. Great word, not quite the exact context I was looking for, because …

2) Offer a bounty. Offering the 50 or 100 pts gets people's attention. And, it shows that you are still searching for your answer.

3) Revise your question so that your intent is clearer and someone may hit the nail on the head for you.

But, as Kit says above: avoid asking open ended questions altogether. (Yours is not one, though.)

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    Comments as in (1) need "...because..." and the question should also be amended to match.
    – Andrew Leach Mod
    Feb 28, 2014 at 18:27
  • @AndrewLeach absolutely correct. I believe I said as much in 3). I will edit 1) to reflect though.
    – David M
    Feb 28, 2014 at 18:28
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    Thanks; this is a great answer. After reading Kit's answer I went back to my question, selected the top-voted response as the answer, and removed my comments explaining why I didn't select an answer. In the interest of moving on with my life, I'm not going to mess around with that specific question any more, but these are perfect guidelines for future questions here. I get a little bit paranoid about etiquette on non-programming forums because I'm generally used to the matter-of-factness/harshness on programming forums (and let's face it, human-speak is my second language). Thanks again!
    – Jason C
    Feb 28, 2014 at 19:47
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I suppose it is OK, but the idea for this site is to not ask open-ended questions.

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  • Thanks for the answer; I unaccepted this and chose David's instead because it has a nice set of general guidelines.
    – Jason C
    Feb 28, 2014 at 19:51

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