12
votes
Are there any topics that are off limits in answers/comments?
If something is irrelevant to an answer, it should be edited out. If something is only relevant as an example, but the example is too inflammatory or distracting, it should be changed. The fact that ...
- 26.4k
10
votes
Accepted
Is it wrong to answer the intent of the question?
It's fine to try to infer intent. The real problem this answer ran into is that it's answering a guessing game question. The question in a nutshell is "what is the word that I can't currently remember,...
- 28.1k
9
votes
Accepted
Can a newly constructed word answer a single word request?
A question asking for people to coin a word is out of scope for this site. A coinage in an answer might be in scope, depending on how well-reasoned it is.
If the answer is a coinage which follows ...
- 28.1k
8
votes
Suggestion: Prominently clarify that asking homework questions is not cheating
I'm taking my moderator hat off here. I don't want this answer to be construed as EL&U policy (unless it's agreed that it should be).
I think I disagree with your definition of cheating.
To me ...
- 28.9k
8
votes
Accepted
How do I provide a proper answer for a usage (descriptivist) question?
Three types of tools, if carefully used, may provide evidentiary bases for authoritative answers to the question about 'glee'. Two of those types of tools have already been deployed in the question ...
- 32.3k
7
votes
is english.stackexchange normative or creative?
suppose that for unexplained (but possibly mystical) reasons of my own i decide to capitalize every Seventeenth word in my answer to this question. on the one hand, such a decision seems difficult To ...
- 157k
5
votes
Are either questions or *answers* purely about how to pronounce things in foreign languages on-topic?
It seems to me that this is precisely why such questions should be closed. It may very well be that the poster actually wants to know 'how this Greek term is pronounced in English', and if edited to ...
- 34.8k
4
votes
I often find erroneous responses on Stack Exchange. Is there a way to flag these as wrong or false?
There are limited options for dealing with wrong answers on Stack Exchange, especially if you have not earned any reputation points.
Answering (no rep needed)
You have to have reputation before you ...
- 76.7k
4
votes
Accepted
is english.stackexchange normative or creative?
In your terminology, the community at ELU is almost entirely normative, meaning answering according to existing rules and variations (more on that in a second).
The community has explicitly noted ...
- 70k
4
votes
How do deal with answers to a "try to guess" question
You are certainly not alone in your thinking; many people feel that rewarding a poorly-framed question with a thoughtful and detailed answer is not only futile, but in fact is actively detrimental to ...
- 59k
2
votes
How do deal with answers to a "try to guess" question
Questions (especially from new users) often lack the required details to help us narrow down the list of possible answers.
What I'd normally do is vote to close as "unclear what you're asking", and ...
NVZMod
- 22.5k
2
votes
I often find erroneous responses on Stack Exchange. Is there a way to flag these as wrong or false?
You have to have reputation before you can do anything?
Without reputation, you can write questions and answers. This is also how you earn reputation, which will soon allow you to do other things, ...
- 6,373
1
vote
I often find erroneous responses on Stack Exchange. Is there a way to flag these as wrong or false?
No, there is not. You shall have to wait until you earn the reputation to vote.
There is a flagging system, and a Very Low Quality flag that seems like it should allow you to flag some answers as ...
- 4,501
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible