4 ms·

If they are not going to pin the accepted answer to the top, do they even need an "accepted answer" feature any more? I guess it provides closure that a questi

by emrah 5y ago

If they are not going to pin the accepted answer to the top, do they even need an "accepted answer" feature any more? I guess it provides closure that a question is "done" so it's still useful. Maybe they need a different method to accept answers, also based on votes?

junon 5y ago
Yes. Having your answer marked as the accepted answer gives you rep. Rep is the lifeblood of the platform. If you take away accepted answers, then the 10 rep reward (might be more now) goes away, which means incentive to answer potentially low-popularity question (note, not low-quality, just those that will not be seen often) will diminish and thus it'll lead to people writing highly senationalized/clickbait-ey questions, even further ruining the content quality of the site (something SO has been struggling with the last several years).
- SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
  What would the difference be if you were awarded points to the person who was excepted, but didn’t necessarily show the rest of the users who that was? If anything they have to be at least a portion of people who were up vote the excepted answer over better answers, just because it has the checkmark. Just like if a comment section shows up or downvotes somehow, they can be intended to influence groupthink. EDIT: Answered with two good comments below this, no need for me to address them separately.
  - junon 5y ago
    Because you bump into the problem of transparency. SO has always had a transparency-first attitude - that is, until the new owner came along.
  - dspillett 5y ago
    > What would the difference be if you were awarded points to the person who was excepted, but didn’t necessarily show the rest of the users who that was? People might then post more answers that are not needed, possibly only varying in a minor detail to the accepted answer in which case they should instead add that detail as a comment or (if they have sufficient rep) a direct edit to the answer.

by emrah 5y ago

junon 5y ago

Yes. Having your answer marked as the accepted answer gives you rep. Rep is the lifeblood of the platform. If you take away accepted answers, then the 10 rep reward (might be more now) goes away, which means incentive to answer potentially low-popularity question (note, not low-quality, just those that will not be seen often) will diminish and thus it'll lead to people writing highly senationalized/clickbait-ey questions, even further ruining the content quality of the site (something SO has been struggling with the last several years).

SV_BubbleTime 5y ago
What would the difference be if you were awarded points to the person who was excepted, but didn’t necessarily show the rest of the users who that was? If anything they have to be at least a portion of people who were up vote the excepted answer over better answers, just because it has the checkmark. Just like if a comment section shows up or downvotes somehow, they can be intended to influence groupthink. EDIT: Answered with two good comments below this, no need for me to address them separately.
- junon 5y ago
  Because you bump into the problem of transparency. SO has always had a transparency-first attitude - that is, until the new owner came along.
- dspillett 5y ago
  > What would the difference be if you were awarded points to the person who was excepted, but didn’t necessarily show the rest of the users who that was? People might then post more answers that are not needed, possibly only varying in a minor detail to the accepted answer in which case they should instead add that detail as a comment or (if they have sufficient rep) a direct edit to the answer.