I [gave an answer today][1], being just a software recommendation, to a question, asking for a recommendation. If you cannot see deleted answers, there was the software name, a [link to homepage][2] and installation instructions. I understood that it's quite short by the SE standards, but had no idea of what to add. Any speculations about pros and cons would be subjective, and giving a full usage guide seemed absolutely off-topic. The answer recieved +1-2 votes and a comment, proposing that I should improve it according to the [software recommendation guideline][3]. I read the guideline and was gathering information for an edit. Then it suddenly appeared that the answer is deleted by a moderator. So now I have no chance to improve it. According to my experience on SE, if I re-answer, it won't be appreciated too. I've got these several questions: 1. What was so exceptional about my answer that a moderator had to intervene and delete it? I remember it clearly that a [moderator is not supposed to handle ordinary situations][4]. 2. I would really like to know how I should answer to "What is the analog of software X for operating system Y?". These requirements are quite troubling to me in this case: > * Give a brief overview of HOW to use the product OR in cases where it's too long, link to the product's manual pages. What first comes to mind is "Read the manual and use it just as X, but on system Y". Should I make a research and give a full feature comparison? > * Give any personalized information to the OP regarding how the recommendation solves his/her question. I have no idea of how OP is going to use a 2-pane file manager. There's no personalized information in the question. I hoped that the other answer (recommending just the same software) will be a good example, but I fail to see how it answers the above questions. It gives a good insight on the history of the subject, but no usage instructions, and not even an installation instruction, which mine had. I'd really like to know how I could have answered it in a good way. Please give me some advice. [1]: http://superuser.com/a/965167/450318 [2]: http://www.mucommander.com/ [3]: https://meta.superuser.com/questions/5329/how-do-i-recommend-software-in-my-answers/5330#5330 [4]: https://blog.stackexchange.com/2009/05/a-theory-of-moderation/