Is to clarify (not ask) about Accepting an Answer inappropriate in ALL cases?

Question

Okay, so I had an edit to a part of one of my answers (a few actually) for a question asked by someone that has not accepted ANY answers today but asked about 4 questions all with answers but no acceptances (see below screen shot).

The member has been a member for one day and may not clearly understand (I see this OFTEN with what little time I've been around) how easy it is to accept an answer if they feel (at their discretion) that the answer to accept suffices for the need of the question they asked.

Below are the various part and my questions below that at or near the bottom.

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The part removed from my answer looked like this . . .

Other Notes

Please take a moment and look here (Accepting An Answer) to familiarize yourself with accepting answers on Super User and other Stack Exchange communities for that matter. If this works for your needs, accepting the answer would be appreciated for gratitude.

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The note for the edit claims "remove inappropriate asking for acceptance of the answer"

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Questions

1. Am I wording something wrong with that section being part of my answer for a new user to assist in giving them clarity on the procedure? I don't feel that I'm asking or begging but suggesting they look over the link to become familiar and accepting an answer that suffices for their need if appreciated.

   • I read this post Is It Wrong To Ask~ and based on what others say, they think it's within reason and I don't feel it to be bad etiquette to use here and there for certain members.

2. Who makes the final decisions on answer edits or what is or is not appropriate in an answer that can help me with this topic? I could easily edit to add this back but I certainly don't want to do so if this is totally wrong on my part, or play the back and forth game, as I'm responsible enough to write answers and exclude things that are inappropriate from a small and quick writing I type up in an answer.

3. Should I just do this in certain cases where it may be helpful to an OP in a comment only and keep it out of an answer entirely?

Final Thoughts / Comments

I felt with doing this in my answer I was actually being helpful to the OP (and SE) so they understand how Q&A sites work on SE to ask a question, get an answer, if the answer is what you need, then accept that answer.

I've circled back around to some of my old answers (old to me in my SE time) where a comment was left such as: "IT WORKED", "YOU ARE AWESOME", "I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH", "YOU SAVED MY DAY", or whatever it may be, but NO accepted answer. I'll leave a quick comment with a link and a little explanation as my above example, and bam, it gets accepted with just a little clarification.

I guess I was just trying to be proactive for members with little rep and mulitple questions but no accepted answers here and there, but if someone thinks it's inappropriate and I really should NOT be doing this, then I won't.

I know there are many unaccepted answered questions on SU (some rightfully maybe some not), and I thought this strategy actually ssisted in trying to not to contribute to those as well. If someone only becomes a member to ask one question and clarifying this (how to accept an answer) a little up front helped to get them to accept an answer that someone spent time on that worked for them, then I don't see the big deal.

• Am I really wrong here, or am I being nitpicked, etc.?
• Would a comment be appropriate with this if I am wrong?
• How would I know when it is or is not appropriate (guidelines?)?

Answer 1

What Michael Frank said in his comment -- if it isn't part of the answer, it shouldn't be in the answer.

There's been previous discussion on Meta about whether you should broach the subject in a comment. I think it would be a little presumptuous to include such a comment when you post your answer, since you don't yet know that your answer will satisfy what the OP actually intended to ask, or that it will be the best answer.

However, if the OP comments that it solved their problem and doesn't accept your answer, it's perfectly acceptable to add an informative comment, such as linking to the help topic on accepting answers. I usually explain that clicking the checkmark helps others by identifying proven solutions and rewards the author.

Unfortunately, probably a majority of new posters who don't accept on their own come for a single question and disappear as soon as they get an answer. So only a few of such comments will result in an acceptance. Occasionally, such posters run into another problem and return with a new question, at which time they may see the alert for your old comment. So acceptance might result months later.

Answer 2

Raises hand - I edited that text out of the answers.

If you want to educate/remind users about voting/accepting then that belongs in a comment not an answer.

For what it's worth the user in question still hasn't voted/accepted any of the answers to his first 4 questions.

He has just posted another question (which I probably not answer).

I left him another gentle reminder (as a comment under his question):

You are more likely to get some help if you start upvoting and accepting answers to your other questions where people (for free in their spare time) have helped you. This shows your appreciation of their efforts and also shows the answers are useful.

And:

Please also read Why is voting important?

We shall have to wait and see if he takes the hints.