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I added an answer to this question: Window in focus doesn't minimize when I click on its icon in the taskbar (Windows 10)

I added this answer:

for me, this only happened with the Chrome browser window. Restarting Chrome fixed it.

The moderator deleted it with this explanation:

This is really a comment and not an answer to the original question. You can always comment on your own posts, and once you have sufficient reputation you will be able to comment on any post. Please read Why do I need 50 reputation to comment? What can I do instead?

I don't understand why my response was not considered to be an answer, since clearly, it IS a solution to the question given. I had this problem and what I did solved it, and it seems to me this is a useful answer which others will benefit from. It seems to me I should be able to appeal to the moderator, but I don't see any way to do that. Can anyone explain to me why my response isn't an answer?

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It seems to me I should be able to appeal to the moderator, but I don't see any way to do that.

Posting on meta is the right thing to do if you wish to discuss why a question or answer has been closed or deleted and you believe incorrectly.

When you do this other members of the community with sufficient privileges can also answer or comment on your question.

Can anyone explain to me why my response isn't an answer?

My observations regarding your answer:

  1. You were answering a question that was nearly 5 years old.

  2. The question was not about Chrome browser but about all windows in the taskbar.

  3. The question was answered and the answer accepted more than 4 years ago.

  4. The issue was a temporary one that was solved by restarting explorer (which controls the taskbar).

  5. The answer gave other steps to try (which where not needed).

  6. Your answer solved your issue but would not have solved the issue of the person who asked the question.

Given all of the above I concluded that your answer should have (at best) been a comment on the question.

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    1) I didn't think there was a time limit on answering a question, esp when I experienced the same issue, but with a more well-defined cause. 2) It does not say it was happening to all windows. Why would you assume that? 3) Just because an answer was accepted, it doesn't mean it is the correct one. Also there were 7 to 8 answers given. Mine may help someone else. 4) It was temporary for me as well. I merely did more research as to the cause, for me. It may help someone else understand the issue better, and it will lead to less drastic solutions. (will be continued)
    – Don
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 9:24
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    5) You don't know what steps everyone having this issue will need to follow. Since I didn't wish to restart explorer to test it, and since it didn't solve the issue for everyone, I decided to research further. 6) You don't know that any more than I do. And anyway, I didn't do it for that user's benefit. I did it for everyone else encountering the issue, like I did. (will be continued once more)
    – Don
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 9:29
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    >Given all of the above I concluded that your answer should have (at best) been a comment on the question. Well, I disagree, and I think your decision does a disservice to others. The purpose, correct me if I am wrong, is to provide a repository where users can find solutions to their problems. I fail to see why this system should silence anyone who wishes to add value. I am not some rookie - I've been in the business for over 40 years. I don't chime in on issues I don't know about. I know you wish to eliminate noise, but I hardly think my response to the question is noise.
    – Don
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 9:32
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    1. There isn't a time limit to answer a question, but your answer, did not actually address the author's question. 2. While the question does not explicitly indicate that, it also makes no mention of Chrome, which again points to your answer not addressing the author's question. 3. In this case the accepted answer is the correct answer. 4. If you restarted your machine the accepted answer would have applied to your problem also. 5. Your answer is a single sentence. It contained zero steps beyond restarting the application.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 13:45
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    6. Anyone with significant experience with Windows can conclude what the author's problem was. Your answer should have been submitted as a comment to the answer. It does not change the fact the question was about File Explorer and some odd behavior the author was experience which was resolved by restarting the machine and/or the process itself.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Jul 20, 2021 at 13:49
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    1) You don't know that. 2) The author simply may not =have known the issue is related to only one window. It might even be another single application. 3) You don't know that either, and there is no single "case" since this system isn't just for a single person. If it is, I won't waste time contributing again, because that's useless. 5) As I said, I am not willing to take a sledgehammer approach to every problem and disrupt my work. 6) I disagree, and I have significant experience with Windows, as I am a sysadmin of 40+ years. (continued)
    – Don
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 1:59
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    (continued) Not everyone wants to reboot. Why do you want to hide a reasonable solution? That doesn't encourage contribution. My solution doesn't apply to any particular answer, which is why, structurally, it is a separate answer. If you make assumptions and delete comments, you'll get takers and fewer givers. If that doesn't bother you, keep it up. I'll stop contributing, since as demonstrated here, it's a waste of time. Thanks for listening...
    – Don
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 2:06
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    Oh, and how many steps does it take to restart a browser? I don't insult people's intelligence. You seriously wanted me to tell people how to do such basics steps? lol
    – Don
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 2:09
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    One last point... you keep glossing over the fact that the chosen answer didn't fix it for everyone, and you accepted other answers. Why did you accept those as answers and not comments if you thought they were not applicable? Why make people read them? Your approach doesn't seem very consistent.
    – Don
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 2:18
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    @Don it seems like the salient points here are: 1. From your description of the problem you ran in to, it sounds like it might be different from the asker's original problem. Because this is a question-and-answer site and not a forum, we try to only have answers that attempt to answer the question that was originally asked. 2. Your answer appears to be very short and low-effort (you didn't even bother to capitalize "For") and is to an old popular question with plenty of good answers already, so people aren't inclined to give you the benefit of the doubt.
    – Gavin S. Yancey
    Commented Jul 27, 2021 at 0:24
  • @GavinS.Yancey 1) The problem description wasn't mine, and the description wasn't 100% clear - that poster didn't clearly indicate if the issue was with one window or all of them. My answer is just as valid as others that had different solutions based on their own experiences. 2) Effort doesn't indicate value. And sometimes my shift key doesn't work properly - that's a poor argument to show how much effort I put in, and anyway, low effort in typing doesn't mean I didn't put effort into finding the solution, so there's that.
    – Don
    Commented Jul 30, 2021 at 6:45
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    @GavinS.Yancey You can't know how much value an answer has when it's taken down before others can even see it. And just because some moderator doesn't think there's value, doesn't mean it won't help someone else who searches on this issue.
    – Don
    Commented Jul 30, 2021 at 6:45

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