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I tried to answer this question, but was not able to because I don't yet have 10 reputation points. I used Google when I had the same problem, and would like to post an answer. How am I supposed to earn points if I can't answer anything?

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2 Answers 2

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That particular post was protected by a moderator. The initial question was asked 3 years ago. As a result that the question was never marked as answered, people will still try and offer new solutions. But because of the age of the post and the spam received, the question was protected to protect the integrity of the question.

New questions don't require any reputation to answer them... unless they are protected.

10 rep is not hard to achieve. Stack exchange want people to be involved in the site not just pass by.

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  • "and the spam received" -- I don't see any removed spam there, but indeed 3 out of 11 answers were deleted as they were "did (not) work for me" non-answers.
    – Arjan
    Aug 8, 2013 at 22:39
  • You don't consider those sorts of responses spam? With in the scope of Stack Exchange, I would think they are.
    – SLaG
    Aug 8, 2013 at 22:45
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    Nope, "spam" in "This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users." is really about advertisements. Like you'd find a lot on questions about creating PDF, or recovering passwords. Just a detail, of course.
    – Arjan
    Aug 8, 2013 at 22:48
  • Fair enough. I would consider spam as a response that is as helpful to finding an answer as a can of spiced meat is to a vegetarian. ;) Point taken though.
    – SLaG
    Aug 8, 2013 at 22:53
  • Fine, they're 'mislabeled mystery meat' ;p.
    – Journeyman Geek Mod
    Aug 9, 2013 at 1:09
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    btw, if >3 posts by new users get deleted, it is automatically protected
    – Sathyajith Bhat Mod
    Aug 9, 2013 at 4:05
  • @Sathya Doesn't protection start at 3 deleted posts?
    – Daniel Beck Mod
    Aug 9, 2013 at 19:06
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Please be nice. Using profanity and getting angry isn't very nice. Take some time to read the About page, and learn how the reputation system works.

Questions are occasionally protected when they get too many non-answers that are either spam, or saying things like "thanks!" or "me too!" The vast majority of questions are not protected, and can be answered by anybody.

All it takes is one upvote on an answer or two upvotes on a question to earn 10 reputation points. It's very easy to do as long as you write clearly and are polite.

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