4

I added an answer to the following question, thinking I fulfilled what the OP expected:

Is there an equivalent of a downloads list for attachments saved from MS Outlook?

The OP says the answer is not satisfactory, emphasizing one additional criterion in the comment below the answer, which is not explicitly indicated in the text of the question.

In the discussion, he states that the answer is not a sufficient proof of non-existence of a better solution and therefore it deserves to be upvoted at best, not to be accepted.

I do not insist on accepting but I would like to understand how to evaluate such a situation in the future.

3
  • 10
    It is up to the asker to accept the question (or not). It is solely his decision.
    – DavidPostill Mod
    Commented Oct 31, 2023 at 22:03
  • 1
    I often don't accept answers when I feel there's a better answer out there, even if the answerer claims there is no other way. Usually I come back later and either accept my fate (and the answer) or I forget. You can't force askers to accept that your answer is the One True Answer, no matter how confident you may be, and that's ok. If you truly are correct, it's their loss if they don't believe you :)
    – Clonkex
    Commented Nov 9, 2023 at 6:29
  • Maybe if the answer had started with "No, you can only see the last folder. Here is how..." the asker might have accepted it. As it is, the "no" is buried quite a long way through.
    – Andrew Morton
    Commented Nov 13, 2023 at 18:42

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
12

To quote the help center (bolding added for emphasis):

Accepting an answer is not meant to be a definitive and final statement indicating that the question has now been answered perfectly. It simply means that the author received an answer that worked for them personally. Not every user comes back to accept an answer, and of those who do, they might not change the accepted answer even if a newer, better answer comes along later.

Accepting an answer is a recognition that it solved the OP's problem. I see it as a nice display of gratitude, but like most pleasantries, there's nothing mandatory about it.

10
  • 1
    Thank you for the insight. And what about giving additional requirements in comment to an answer? Is it common?
    – miroxlav
    Commented Nov 1, 2023 at 9:18
  • 1
    @miroxlav I don't know if I would call it common, but it's definitely no unheared of. Sometimes, the OP understand the additional complications only after reviewing some answers, and attempts to refine their question. IMHO, the right way of doing it is editing the question ("EDIT: Alice's answer suggested that I do XYZ, but in this situation it's not possible because of reason ABC I forgot to originally mention"), but some stick to comments.
    – Mureinik
    Commented Nov 1, 2023 at 9:21
  • 2
    @miroxlav I usually just send people to ask a new question, unless it's a very small detail that they need forthe answer to reconsider.
    – Destroy666
    Commented Nov 6, 2023 at 12:23
  • 1
    Gratitude is something seriously lacking by some Super User community members. I've spent over a half hour of my time (via answers, comments, and chat) helping some community members, and they don't even offer a simple "thank you" in response. Sometimes, even after they say the answer solved their issue, they don't even take 1 second to click the upvote button, which takes zero effort. The result is that I tend not to spend my time posting many answers these days. I prefer to help people who appreciate and value the time and energy expended by those of us who provide help.
    – Amazon Dies In Darkness
    Commented Nov 8, 2023 at 15:54
  • 2
    In many cases it's not the lack of gratitude, but the fact that new users might be clueless about how things work here.
    – harrymc
    Commented Nov 9, 2023 at 14:05
  • 1
    @harrymc Perhaps sometimes. But often it's experienced community members that show the least gratitude. I've had community members pull me into chat and ask all sorts of questions, and after spending my time helping them, they offer not even a simple courteous "thank you for your time". If they know how to ask detailed questions in chat, I imagine they know how to type "thank you" in chat. :)
    – Amazon Dies In Darkness
    Commented Nov 10, 2023 at 15:13
  • 1
    They may do - but it's below minimum post length ;)) Sometimes you can waste far more effort trying to feed help vampires who just don't know when to stop asking less & less pertinent, yet mesmerisingly attractive questions in comments. Eventually, you just go get more coffee & 'forget' to come back.
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Nov 10, 2023 at 18:21
  • 1
    @EndAnti-SemiticHate - We actively encourage users to avoid specifically saying “thank you”. Commentary that contains those words is automatically deleted after a singular flag.
    – Ramhound
    Commented Nov 13, 2023 at 6:07
  • 1
    @Ramhound Yes, this is true, but it is probably not in the best interest of a healthy community (it likely contributes to the reason why SE has the reputation it has). As part of a chat session, however, where you spend your time helping someone in depth, it is customary and acceptable (and often appreciated!) for the recipient of the help to say thank you (I always do). And upvoting helpful answers (and questions) is certainly desirable as well. I'm interested in a few of your thoughts on the topic... would you perhaps be open to a short chat in the near future?
    – Amazon Dies In Darkness
    Commented Nov 13, 2023 at 7:43
  • @EndAnti-SemiticHate - No
    – Ramhound
    Commented Nov 13, 2023 at 12:51

You must log in to answer this question.

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