Questions tagged [answering-advice]
The answering-advice tag has no usage guidance.
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May I speculate in comments?
The question What does "make the Iacke go" mean? has received four answers, all of which propose theories as to what the phrase means. Under it are also some comments that, to me, raise an ...
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Should we compile synonymous answers?
Full disclosure: I have the currently top-ranked (4 UV) answer.
The OP asked for a single-word meaning "not up for discussion". I posted the first answer, and four others (2 nearly identical to each ...
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Comment(s) or Speculative Answer?
Given a question asking for the original source of a quotation. Some digging around the 'net has thrown up an avenue for further exploration but not an answer. What I've found (and their links) would ...
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In relation to answers in the answer section, what is a "complete answer"?
I made the following partial answer a comment to the question "Word choice: to parent somebody?":
One can certainly parent with tolerance (and love, and kindness, etc). But the verb parent isn't ...
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Answers in comments
There are quite a large number of Meta.ELU questions about answers in comments, but none which definitively settles community opinion, mainly because they are rather old now, but also because they don'...
Andrew LeachMod
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What to do with yes/no questions?
I'm sorry if this is a duplicate, but I can't find any prior guidance on this. Closest I could get was Asking questions with very short answers.
Someone just posted this question:
Possibility ...
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Can a newly constructed word answer a single word request?
When I searched for this question, I found questions regarding whether asking for people to coin words is on-topic.
I have a little bit of a different question.
Suppose if OP is making a single word ...
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Should we discourage the use of argot such as AmE, BrE, ELU, ...?
[With Addendum]
Should we discourage the use of argot such as
AmE and BrE—even ELU—[added:]
in answers to nonspecialists' questions at ELU?
Most visitors who find answers here come from ...
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What is our current position on these issues?
I’ve been noticing an increase in answers that, essentially, consist of nothing but a suggestion or bald assertion and that are often lacking any apparent effort to even format, punctuate, or spell ...
user98990
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Is Urban Dictionary an acceptable source?
The reason I ask this is because an answer I gave to a question quoted an Urban Dictionary definition and received 2 downvotes without any explanation as to why. Could anyone please tell me what (if ...
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If the answer I was going to submit has already been submitted what should I do?
Here's what occasions my question: I submitted an answer (the first answer) and in the course of the next 24 hours three other users provided essentially the same answer. Until now, my conduct has ...
user98990
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What advice would you offer to a new EL&U user perplexed by the first downvote of an Answer they wrote?
I'm an earnest new user here at EL&U. I'm enjoying the site very much, and I'd like to make useful contributions.
I'm perplexed as to why someone downvoted this Answer that I wrote the other day. ...
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Negativity on other people's EL&U answers
Is there a good way to handle people on EL&U who seem to thrive off of making others feel their opinions and explanations are inferior or "incorrect"?
Is this a forum for constructive, respectful ...
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What's the best way to answer when there's a really good answer elsewhere?
In researching the question Which is correct, “buck naked” or “butt naked”?, I found a very thorough examination of this question at Language Log that I linked to in a comment under the OP. I feel ...
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How should I report the author of a quote on English.SE?
When I include a quote from a book, blog, or a site, how should I report who is the author and from where the quote comes from?
Principia philosophiae, René Descartes
René Descartes, Principia ...
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How should I report the origin of a word on English.SE?
When I report the origin of a word, how should I write the meaning of the word from which the word derives?
I write it in quotes, after the word in that language: Latin minister "servant".
I write it ...
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Is it OK to answer to old questions?
I was wondering—if we find an old question without an accepted answer, are we allowed to answer? Or should we expect down-votes for that?
I don't know if it's a stupid question but I didn't find ...
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Exception to 30 character minimum for answers
Is there any way to create an exception for the minimum answer length for questions tagged "single-word request?" It seems wasteful and inconvenient and seems feasible from a coding perspective.
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What to do with repeated question types?
StackExchange is all about answering questions and spreading knowledge. However there comes a point where particular types of questions are getting asked repeatedly, despite being relatively easy to ...
user1579
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How to answer questions about acceptability
Relating to this question about what tag to use for questions about acceptability, I thought I would ask what is the best way to answer these kinds of questions, so as to address both prescriptive and ...
nohatMod
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