6

The primary answer to question I washed my USB drive. Any long-term risks? was deleted as off-topic:

37 upvotes, answered 2011-12-28 22:03:55Z, deleted by a moderator at 2011-12-29 22:52:33Z

Seems likely that the life span has diminished. There are metal parts that if got wet may corrode over time, unless you are absolutely sure you got all the water out.

Putting it in a bowl of rice overnight would help. I would say that the increased risk versus the cost of a new usb drive isn't worth it.

I am a big proponent of keeping value in both questions and answers in SU, yet an answer with significant upvotes with to a question with significant upvotes was deleted as off-topic, and while I understand the premise may be trivial, it got enough attention from the community that people spent the time to show it was worth considering both the question and answer. Enough to trigger the "good answer" badge.

I have only been a participant in this community for four months or so, so am relatively new. The question was deemed by the moderator as on-topic, yet the answer is off-topic. It wasn't inviting discussion, as only seven comments were added.

It is important for people approaching the 10k mark to understand when SU policy should supersede the direction of the community, so I am looking to understand why this answer was deleted. The question was asked, and voted up. The answer was provided and voted up.

So why the deletion?

4
  • Might help those who cannot see deleted posts to have an excerpt of the post edited into your answer.
    – soandos
    Commented Dec 30, 2011 at 9:11
  • @soandos: Updated, there were no comments that told that it was bad. One suggested "uncooked rice" as a correction; even Jeff Atwood himself was helpful by adding two links about the uncooked rice technique. The last comment was a joke on cooking the USB, but that wouldn't have affected it. Looking at the total thing, I wonder why it has been deleted as it looks perfectly fine to me...
    – Tamara Wijsman
    Commented Dec 30, 2011 at 9:18
  • @Paul: What 7 comments are you talking about? I only see 4. What were they about?
    – Tamara Wijsman
    Commented Dec 30, 2011 at 9:21
  • Why do you think the answer was deleted for being off topic? (see here, but I don't think that is possible)
    – soandos
    Commented Dec 30, 2011 at 9:23

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

Your answer was flagged as not an answer, and I deleted it as such, since it was borderline... However, after consulting with the other moderators, we've reached a consensus and are undeleting, as it has an actual, useful suggestion, rather than chiming in with "yeah, had that happen to me, no fun", etc.

1
  • Yes, the extended answer is far better. This thing will happen enough that a single solid answer will be better in the long term as a closer for dupes. Thanks for taking the time.
    – Paul
    Commented Dec 30, 2011 at 11:32

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .